Mitchell Long: Reviews

Known for his incredible musical style and revered by all of his musical peers, Long plays Jazz and Brazilian style guitar like no other… Beautiful melodic music and captivating vocals will have you listening and looking for future performances. Truly elegant and sophisticated, Mitchell has a sultry and soulful way of astounding you with a command of the guitar that is pure musical excellence. Don’t miss this opportunity to see a rare international player of over 25 years in an intimate setting. Trust me there is only one Mitchell Long.

I believe that Mitchell Long’s The Organ Grinders with Gordon Sims on the Hammond B-3, and Mitchell Long on Guitar replicates and boldly extends the great and classic jazz tradition established by jazz greats Jimmy Smith, and Wes Montgomery. Sims weaves a masterful combination of solos, melody and base at once self-effacing, and then screamingly creative. Long's command of the guitar is deep and diverse; demonstrating a range - from classic to popular - that is cerebral, and also refreshingly modern. Together, this dynamic duo is more than amply complemented by the drum groves of Kevin Smith to deliver some of the best classic style jazz in the west. The Organ Grinders with Sims and Long are Denver's answer to jazz greats Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery. This unheralded local Denver treasure is worth the patronage of jazz aficionados and local media alike.

If you like to dance to Brazilian and Latin jazz music but don’t have the means to fly to an exotic location, cruise by Round Midnight, the basement club off the west end of the pearl street mall, on a Wednesday night. There you’ll encounter Latin influenced fusion jazz played by Mitchell Long’s Hi-Fi MoFo, and it’s as good as it gets in Boulder or anywhere else. That’s the great thing about Hi-Fi MoFo – Its music with so much backbeat that it’ll probably have you on your feet sooner or later (depending on your degree of shyness) “Our music is definitely on the edge. If people start dancing to it they find that they can, but if they don’t dance they find that they can sit and listen to it as well” opines Mitchell Long, Hi-Fi MoFo’s guitarist and lead vocalist. Long does most of the arrangements, bringing in all the Brazilian and Latin rhythms he has been studying for over a decade. Mitchell brings his musical expertise and crazy ideas to Hi-Fi MoFo and provides the open minded, discriminating musical taste and talent to create a Santana-like fusion from various essential sources. Whatever rhythm is laced into their music they stay true to. “If we play Latin-influenced music, we want the Latin people in the audience to feel like dancing” Mitchell enthuses. The fact that they have new music on hand every week lends a vary-ing trend to their shows. Mitchell also plays solo on Tuesday nights down the street at Mars Espresso and Wine Bar, as well as with the Mitchell Long Bossa Nova Trio and The Billy Tolles Jazz and Blues Express.

Trumpeter Brad Upton's previous CD on the Black Orchid label, Dragon, was recorded in May 2001 and released earlier this year; it revealed a jazzman whose ideas and gifts were spreading far and wide. His "current" release, also called Black Orchid, is, in truth, a leftover from 1999 that's just now making its way to the bins. The eight tracks -- all Upton originals -- seem to have one eye on the commercial airwaves and the other on new-age bliss, not a good quiniela for a player seeking to make a mark. The standout here is brilliant Denver/Boulder guitarist Mitchell Long, whose inventive improvisations are still underrated on his own turf.

Lannie Garrett's Second CD Release, "Just For A Thrill" echoes the innocence and sentiment of the 1950s and 1960s. "Just For A Thrill," is a trip back-in-time with a twist. Buddy Holly's "True Love Ways", Charlie Rich's "Who Will The Next Fool Be", and the title track, Ray Charles' "Just For A Thrill" are just a few of the classic songs you'll hear on this CD… But the piece-de-resistance are the rhythmic, almost hypnotic Afro-Brazilian arrangements guitarist/percussionist Mitchell Long weave around the Jo Stafford hit, "You Belong To Me", and the danceable re-make of Benny King's, "Amor." We LOVE this one.

The Mitchell Long Brazilian Quintet is a world class act that will take you “off the planet” with its well versed “samba-bossanova” music. The group also features drummer legend Claudio Slon (Sinatra, Jobim, Sergio Mendes)

Seeing him on stage, sitting among the rest of the musicians, you are merely aware that there is going to be a guitar player with the band tonight. The ensemble starts with some fine jazz music. A few tunes are played and everyone takes their turn at solos. Your awareness turns to delight as he takes the spotlight and runs away with the show. The evening truly belongs to Mitchell Long when he is featured strumming and singing, in perfect Portuguese, Brazilian tunes both familiar and originally new to your ear.