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Danny Mixon

A prolific piano virtuoso who has performed in the U. S. and Internationally, Daniel Asbury Mixon was born on August 19, 1949 in Harlem and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up in a musical household he was influenced by his mother and grandparents beginning his early artistic expression at the age of 3. He studied and performed as a tap dancer at the Ruth Williams Dance Studio and even then was known as “The Show Stopper.” Danny attended the High School of Performing Arts with dance as his major.

During an afternoon outing at the Apollo Theatre with his grandfather Danny was inspired by the jazz musicians he heard. It was then that he decided that he would like to be a pianist and he never once looked back. At the age of thirteen Danny began piano lessons. His most memorable piano instructor was Sir Roland Hanna. By the time Danny was 17, he was invited to play with Sam Brown and Patti Labelle and the Blue Bells in Atlantic City and two years later he found himself with the Muse Quartet under the auspices of Chris White. Among his earlier credits Danny played regularly with Joe Lee Wilson from 1967 to 1970, Betty Carter from 1971 to 1973.

He also recorded and played extensively with Charles Mingus and Dannie Richmond in the late 70’s. He began playing the organ at Brooklyn’s Baby Grand with Carlos Garnet, and accompanied Big Maybelle at the Blue Coronet. In the mid 90’s he appeared regularly at Showman’s as an organist.

Danny has worked with such legendary performers as Lionel Hampton, Joe Williams, and Frank Foster and continues to be in Frank Foster’s Loud Minority Big Band and his Non-Electric Company. He was honored to have participated in the first Newport Jazz Festival at Sea on the Queen Elizabeth 2. He was also a recipient along with Max Roach for the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation Jazz Appreciation award and in December, 2002 was awarded the Harlem Unsung Heroes of Afrikan Amerikan Classical Music award.

In April of 2002 Danny was privileged to take part in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake city, Utah while performing with Savion Glover, and also performed at the International “Fall in Jazz Festival” in Milan, Italy. From November 1-8, 2003 he performed for the second time aboard the Holland American Ms Zaandam Jazz Cruise.

In May of 2004 Danny was one of the first musicians to be honored by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem in a series entitled “Harlem Speaks,” which resulted in an invitation to the White House for Black Music Month on June 22nd. More recent, Danny had been interviewed by New York Oneat Showman’s and Lenore Raphael on her show on Pure Jazz Radio. He was honored by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Mark Markowitz along with other artists from Ft Green in June and September 22, 2011 was decreed “Danny Mixon Day” in Brooklyn. He performed with the Lisle Atkinson and the Neo Bass Choir June 10th and later kicked off Jazzmobile’s Summer Series with the Danny Mixon Quartet at Grant’s Tomb July 27, 2011.

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8
Album Review

Pharoah Sanders: Live In Paris (1975)

Read "Live In Paris (1975)" reviewed by Chris May


Pharoah Sanders' catalogue of newly-discovered album releases is expanding as fast as those of his fellow travellers Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane. Which is great, but... most of the albums were recorded live, sometimes with poor audio capture, and do not always find the musicians at their best. You have to pick and choose between them. A further consideration is the legitimacy or otherwise of the releases and whether it is acceptable to support pirates and bootleggers. This is particularly ...

4
Album Review

Danny Mixon: Pass It On

Read "Pass It On" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


You'd think that a pianist who's solidly served as sideman for such pillars of the jazz community as Charles Mingus, Betty Carter, Kenny Dorham, Grant Green and others (including Afro-Cuban firebrands Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers), would be at least somewhat famous. But since his first performances in the mid-1970s, pianist Danny Mixon has maintained such a low profile that he's still relatively unknown. Mixon's first release since his self-produced Peace & Music (2008), Pass It On ...

8
Album Review

Danny Mixon: Pass It On

Read "Pass It On" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


Despite his low profile, veteran pianist Danny Mixon has quite a history. His career has included stints playing with Betty Carter, Kenny Dorham, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Frank Foster, Grant Green, Pharoah Sanders, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Charles Mingus, and many others. Most of Pass It On finds him alternating between solos and trios. Many of the songs chosen come from the usual sources: Duke Ellington ("Single Petal of a Rose"), Thelonious Monk ("Blue Monk"), and the Great American Songbook ("On ...

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141

Performance / Tour

Lisle Atkinson's Neo Bass Ensemble Meets "Ellington" Featuring Valerie Capers, Danny Mixon And Richard Wyands @ Symphony Space, June 10, 8pm

Lisle Atkinson's Neo Bass Ensemble Meets "Ellington" Featuring Valerie Capers, Danny Mixon And Richard Wyands @ Symphony Space, June 10, 8pm

Source: The Cinarae Group

Lisle Atkinson's NEO BASS Ensemble, a unique, multi-bass ensemble, features the bass as “lead" instrument, putting the full range of the double bass on display: from lead instrument, harmonic front line, solo and rhythm section. Founded by well- respected leader, Lisle Atkinson and his wife and fellow bassist, Karen Atkinson, The NEO BASS Ensemble's annual summer fetes at Symphony Space have featured such stellar Jazz names as Ron Carter and Richard Davis. In its' 11th year, NEO BASS Meets ELLINGTON ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Live In Paris (1975)

Transversales Disques
2020

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Pass It On

Self Produced
2015

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