[3] Mitchell attended Indiana University for three years[2] and then, in the late 1990s, he completed a master's degree at the Eastman School of Music and settled in New York.
[4] In the early 2010s, Mitchell was also part of Berne's Snakeoil band, and John Hollenbeck's Large Ensemble and Claudia Quintet.
He does it with hands moving in independent parts, with polyrhythms, with music that approaches the technical level of études but that churns and whirls and leaves spaces for broad interpretation.
"[10] Another New York Times reviewer observed that "Mitchell has his guideposts as an improviser, including Paul Bley and Andrew Hill, pioneers of stubborn poise and self-containment".
[4] Mitchell's playing reflects a thorough understanding of his predecessors but remains powerfully singular: "Mitchell is special [...] because he weaves together understanding of perhaps four distinct and critical jazz piano traditions, pulling in impressionistic texture from Bill Evans/Herbie Hancock, ravenous but dynamic attack from Cecil Taylor/Don Pullen, the rhythmic rush of Bud Powell, and the comfort with abstract melodic logic of Paul Bley.