Mitch Mitchell (1947 -2008)
The great explosion of hard-hitting rock music in the 1960's was powered by an unparalleled crew of distinctive, hard-hitting drummers: John Bonham; Keith Moon; Ginger Baker; Charlie Watts; Mitch Mitchell.
While all these drummer knew and played jazz, Mitchell was probably the "jazziest." The 3/4 undulation on "Manic Depression" is a distinctive gloss on Elvin Jones and his fills on medium-tempo pieces like "Hey Joe" and "Are You Experienced?" have a kind of strut related to swing.
What was really important about Mitchell, though, was how well he played the song's form. Arguably Mitchell's replacement, Buddy Miles, had the greater feel. But Mitchell worked harder at finding the drama in each piece, carefully guiding every song home.
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