Billy Mitchell

A hard-swinging tenor saxophonist (who is no relation to the crossover keyboardist of the same name), Billy Mitchell made his mark in several settings. He worked in Detroit with Nat Towles' band and in the late '40s, he played with Lucky Millinder's Orchestra in New York. In 1949, Mitchell recorded with Milt Jackson, worked in the big bands of Milt Buckner and Gil Fuller, and toured with Woody Herman's Second Herd for two months. He spent the first half of the 1950s playing locally in Detroit and then was with Dizzy Gillespie's big band during 1956-1957, taking a memorable sol...