I just ran into this post a couple of minutes ago.  I gotta tell ya, as a rock n roller in the late 60's and an integral part of that scene, I am saddened and shocked.  

The best way to describe Mitch Mitchell's great talent:  "If you want to learn to play drums, listen to Mitch Mitchell with Hendrix."  Now the entire Experience has passed on, and with them great memories of a time like no other.  

Somewhere in the mid 70's one of the guitar teachers at the store I was with then told me that Mitchell had dropped in to the store (South Miami, Florida) while I was out.  So unfortunately I missed him.

He will be remembered as a late 60's icon and one of the best rock drummers ever.

Mitchell was chosen as Hendrix' drummer by a coin toss:

from 'Jimi Hendrix Sessions' by John McDermott:

"Choosing a drummer proved difficult, as Hendrix and Chandler [former Animals bass player] were forced to decide from a pool.  Days after their auditions, a coin flip decided the issue, with Mitchell coming up the winner.  The new group, Chandler decided, would be known as the Jimi Hendrix Experience."

Quite an experience for those of us who lived through it.  May Mitch Mitchell rest in peace.