Drummer John \"Mitch\" Mitchell, the last surviving member of the the Jimi Hendrix Experience, has died. Mitch passed away in his hotel room in Portland, Oregon on 12 November, 2008. The drummer, who was 61 years old, had been in the city because of his tour with Experience Hendrix, a concert tribute series. Jimi Hendrix\'s sister Janie said in a statement: 
\"We\'re all devastated to hear of Mitch\'s passing. He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend. His role in shaping the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience cannot be underestimated. Over the course of the recent tour, he seemed delighted with the interchange with the other musicians and the audiences. There is no question that he was doing what he loved.\"
Mitch Mitchell was born in Ealing, London in 1947. Having taught himself to play drums, he developed into a session drummer by his late teens.
Only nineteen years old, he auditioned for The Jimi Hendrix Experience. His drumming, mostly on a Premier drum kit and Zildjian cymbals, can be heard on classic albums like \'Are You Experienced?\' (1967) and \'Electric Ladyland\' (1968).
Mitch Mitchell was also featured during the group’s spellbinding performances at the Monterey Pop Festival, where Hendrix famously set light to his guitar, and Woodstock.
Inituitive, explosive style
Mitch played in the Elvin Jones explosive style with fast snare and cymbal riding coupled with more basic rock triplet bass patterns and big bombs. In line with jazz drumming he played within the snare/hi-hat/ride cymbal/bass drum arc with the toms as variations.
Credited with developing a fusion drumming style that melded his jazz background with rock\'n\'roll, Mitch’s crucial asset was his explosive, intuitive responsiveness to Jimi Hendrix. He could lay down a strong, light groove but then instantly react as Jimi shifted gears or moved off in another direction.
After the trio dissolved in 1970, shortly before Hendrix\'s death, Mitch continued to play and record with some of rock and jazz world\'s biggest names.
When bassist Noel Redding died at 57 in 2003, Mitch was left as the only surviving member of the legendary trio.
In retrospect, Mitch Mitchell is considered as one of the three great British rock drummers of the 1960s, alongside legendary Cream drummer Ginger Baker and The Who\'s Keith Moon.
Watch Mitch Mitchell playing a drum solo on January 9, 1969 somewhere in Sweden:
