Mitch Mitchell

Mitch Mitchell

"He played the kit like a song, it was just wonderful," said Roger Taylor of Queen, praising Mitch Mitchell's "fusion of jazz technique and wonderful riffs, but with this rolling ferocious attack on the whole kit … Total integration into the song. Not just marking time." And Stewart Copeland of the Police has admitted "All of this stuff I did that I was rather proud of, I thought I came up with it. But no, I got it from Mitch." However, in 1966, when it came time to choose a drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the decision was literally a toss-up — a coin was flipped to pick between Mitch Mitchell and Aynsley Dunbar. Mitchell won out and this hard-hitting Elvin Jones disciple brought a heavy improvisatory quality to Hendrix's power trio, typically constructing a tense, heavy groove then veering off into a fluid yet structured counterpoint to Jimi's guitar.

Rolling Stone