Bassist Red Mitchell has had a long and respectable career, both in America and in Europe. This release is a true one-of-a-kind, as it finds the bassist in the intimate confines of either his apartment or a cozy club in his newly adopted home of Stockholm Sweden in the autumn of 1978. The recording is very cozy and casual, and Mitchell does some piano and singing along with his bass work on most of the tracks. Sometimes he includes some locals such as Bosse Broberg/tp, Goran Standberg/p and Rune Carlsson as on “Talking” (with Broberg) and “In A Sentimenteal Mood” (with Sandstrom). His vocals and use of poetry is sort of tenor/baritone hip, with an exquisite sense of rhythm but a bit of lack of confidence in pitch. What you get here is the feel as if you’re in a living room with a legend with his guard down, and for that alone it’s a intriguing illumination of a lost giant.
Caprice Reissue Records