ARTHUR
MITCHELL:
By Dean M. Shapiro
Some people, from an early age,
know exactly what they want to do
in life and they focus their attention
on the pursuit of that career goal.
Others may take a bit longer to decide
after considering and possibly even exploring
one or more options.
Arthur Mitchell was one of those who
decided on his career relatively late. But,
once he made that choice, he went all-out
for it.
A virtuosic, versatile and much-indemand
musician, Arthur shines on
saxophones and on flute, in addition to
being a skilled musical arranger and band
leader. He fronts his own namesake group,
backs up other groups and is proficient
in multiple musical genres. And, though
he has been playing the sax from an early
age, he didn’t make the lifetime commitment
to music until he was in his mid to
late 20s.
“I’ve been playing music since I was
eight years old, so that makes about 60
The Sweet,
years,” he said. “Not seriously the whole
time, though. I didn’t get serious about it
until much later in life. I looked at it, at
first, as an avocation. Something you do
for fun and to pick up girls,” he added
with a laugh.
Coming from a musical family and growing
up in the musically rich Lower Ninth
Ward, he remembers being enthralled by
the sounds of an alto sax coming from the
house next door where his uncle, George
McCullum, lived. McCullum’s father,
with the same name, was a renowned
trumpet player in his time and his instrument
and banner are in the collection of
today’s New Orleans Jazz Museum at the
Old US Mint.
“Growing up, I remember hearing that
sound and I fell in love with it,” Arthur said.
“My uncle had a beautiful tone and when
I told him I wanted to learn how to play
it he gave me my first instrument.” Soon
after that he began taking music lessons at
St. David School where he was enrolled.
Soulful,
Serene
Sax Man
Later on, at St. Augustine High School,
he played in the school’s famous “Marching
100” and, on the side, he also played
with a group called The Deacons, most
of whom went on to become members
of Chocolate Milk. “But these guys were
serious about their music and I wasn’t,”
Arthur recounted. “They practiced and
did what they had to do and those of us
who didn’t were cast aside.”
After high school, Arthur enrolled at
Dillard University where he first majored
in English, then accounting, but neither
one was “a good fit” for him. Continuing to
play music on the side to earn money, he
remained uncertain about what he wanted
to do for a living so he joined the navy and
helped form a band at the California base
where he was stationed.
Arthur enrolled at Southern University
at New Orleans after leaving the navy,
majoring in social welfare and playing
music on the side with vocalist Charles
Brimmer and the One Way Express. And
24 | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | breakthrumediamagazine.com JANUARY / F E B R UARY 2 0 2 0
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARTHUR MITCHELL
/breakthrumediamagazine.com
