Steve

Mitchell

“Influenced by every great drummer you can think of, Mitchell put it all together his way.  He is masterful, an intuitive musician who plays with a holistic approach.  Never more, never less, and never overpowering the balance of the group.  A sensitive man with a light touch, he draws sound out of the snare with a set of brushes that barely skims the surface.  You can sense that touch when the band plays the theme for Charlie Brown/Peanuts.  His stick control is laid back precision….Fills never dominate, he doesn’t override the cymbals or the bass pedal, and his high hat is a restrained accent which you can appreciate in Brubeck’s “Take Five” or on any old standard…”

                                — Annie Clark, The One

Since 2001, Burgess, Mitchell & Seal have performed hundreds of gigs, and Greg, Steve, and Andy thank the following drummers for filling in for Steve on occasion: Lou Feist, Rick Marcera, Dave Eisenhower, Mark Polis, Mike  Hudson,  Stu Shrawder, Jack Lawton, and Phil Haynes.

Photo by Ralph Wilson

A longtime San Francisco resident, Grammy-award winning drummer Steve Mitchell has been playing regularly with Greg Burgess since 2001.  While in California, Steve lived a very active life as a professional musician, which led to his winning a Grammy for best studio musician in 1976.

In the studio, working with composer Ed Bogas, he produced music for twenty-five years of Charlie Brown TV specials, as well as for Garfield the Cat, Sesame Street, Nova, the PBS documentary American Experience, and thousands of commercials.  He also contributed music to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with Jack Nicholson, Eddie Macon’s Run with Kirk Douglas, the NBC special End of the Rainbow, David Byrne’s True Stories, Walker with Joe Strummer of the Clash, appeared as a bandleader in Francis Ford Coppola’s Tucker, and composed two soundtracks for comedian Liz Scherr.  For eight years he was a featured soloist with the Joffrey Ballet, and he had a band with Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead called Too Loose to Truck.  He toured with Mose Allison, Van Morrison, the Smothers Brothers, Joy of Cooking, and the Coasters, and he played or recorded with Joe Henderson, Blue Mitchell, Herb Ellis, Vince   Guaraldi, Cal Tjader, Leon Russell, Albert King, Esther Phillips, Lou Rawls, Maria Muldaur, Roy Rogers, Norton Buffalo, David Grisman, Sally Kellerman, Freda Payne, Les Elgart, and Earl Van Dyke of Motown’s Funk Brothers.

     Upon returning to his native state of Pennsylvania, Steve has continued to be a musician much in demand, contributing music to the Bieber and Brafa films All Is Normal and Neck Deep and playing and recording with EG Kight, Ann Rabson, and Kenny “Blue Boss” Wayne, as well as with Averie Clark, Steve Adams, Arthur Goldstein, Flora Eyster, Ann Kerstetter, Jack Fries, Sascha Feinstein (editor of Brilliant Corners), John Johnson, the Gypsy Lizards, Infinite Bliss, the Mid-Life Cowboys, Kimbo, Tom Patton, E.D. Ward, and the Reverend Ann Keeler Evans.

     Early in his life, Steve recorded with songwriter Pat Ballard and was a touring member of the do-wop group the Skyliners.  With a degree in music education, Steve has taught at the University of California and the Wilmington Friends School and was a founder of the Children’s Media and the Academy of Rhythm.