Blue Mitchell - The Thing To Do

One of the most soulful of all trumpeters, Blue Mitchell could be identified within two notes. Mitchell learned a bit about soul when playing with r&b bands in the 1950s and quite a lot more during his six years as a member of the Horace Silver Quintet. When he left Silver, he took the pianist's band with him including tenor-saxophonist Junior Cook, filling in Silver's spot with a youngster named Chick Corea. On The Thing To Do, arguably the finest of all Blue Mitchell recordings, the band introduces the very catchy "Fungii Mama," a true Blue Note highpoint which immediately became a standard. Other songs by Joe Henderson ("Step Lightly"), Jimmy Heath and Corea are prime hard bop that are filled with enthusiastic ensembles and solos that are direct and exciting. Mitchell and Cook consistently inspire each other and Corea displays strong potential for the future. The Thing To Do defines soulful straight ahead jazz of 1964, effectively making the case that Blue Mitchell was the king of soul jazz trumpet.