# Louis Mitchell > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Louis_Mitchell > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Louis_Mitchell.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Mitchell > Source revision: 1310443318 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American jazz drummer (1885–1957)}} '''Louis A. Mitchell''' (December 17, 1885 – September 12, 1957) was an American [jazz](/source/jazz) drummer and bandleader. Mitchell began performing in [vaudeville](/source/vaudeville) revues and [minstrel show](/source/minstrel_show)s from around the turn of the century, playing drums and [bandoline](/source/bandoline). After moving to [New York City](/source/New_York_City) in 1912, he founded his own group, the Southern Symphonists' Quartet. Mitchell sang and drummed for [James Reese Europe](/source/James_Reese_Europe) in 1918, and the following year founded a new group, which he called Louis Mitchell's Jazz Kings. Toward the end of the decade, Mitchell began touring [Europe](/source/Europe) as well as the United States, concentrating on the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) and [France](/source/France). He did solo percussion shows in addition to ensemble programs, and his drum solos were greeted harshly by French audiences. Nevertheless, his ensemble spent five years as the [house band](/source/house_band) of the [Casino de Paris](/source/Casino_de_Paris). He recorded for [Pathe Records](/source/Pathe_Records) in 1922 and 1923; [Sidney Bechet](/source/Sidney_Bechet) played with him at this time, though Bechet did not appear on the recordings. Mitchell remained in France until 1930, branching into [restaurant](/source/restaurant) and [nightclub](/source/nightclub) management in addition to music. He renamed one of his clubs "Chez Florence" due to the popularity of performer [Florence Embry Jones](/source/Florence_Emery_Jones).{{cite book |last1=Sharpley-Whiting |first1=T. Denean |title=Bricktop's Paris: African American Women in Paris Between the Two World Wars |date=2015 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=9781438455020 |page=27 |url={{GBurl|ME55BgAAQBAJ}} |access-date=30 April 2021}} He moved back to the United States in 1930 after the failure of his last club, the Plantation, but played little in his last decades. ==References== {{Reflist}} *[Eugene Chadbourne](/source/Eugene_Chadbourne), [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p695108/biography|pure_url=yes}} Louis A. Mitchell] at [Allmusic](/source/Allmusic) {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Louis}} Category:1885 births Category:1957 deaths Category:American jazz drummers Category:American jazz bandleaders Category:20th-century American drummers Category:American male drummers Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-drummer-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Louis Mitchell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Mitchell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Mitchell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.