William Melvin Mitchell (November 3, 1926 – April 18, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
[3] He and his family moved to Detroit, where he received early music education at Cass Tech.
He was known for his close association with trumpeter Thad Jones, who was also from Detroit, and worked in several big bands, including Woody Herman's when he replaced Gene Ammons.
[4]: 124 The band operated in different configurations, including with drummer Oliver Jackson and his bassist brother Ali; as a quartet with Terry Pollard, Beans Richardson, and Elvin Jones;[4]: 126 as a quintet including Thad Jones;[4]: 131 and, for several months in 1953, with Miles Davis as a guest soloist.
Mitchell performed and recorded with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band in Europe in the late 1960s and early 1970s.