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Mimi Jones

Mimi Jones, multi talented bassist, vocalist and composer, brings her beacon of musical light to the world while embracing a positive future with her inspiring messages. Mimi’s elegant sound is an eclectic mix of genres based on a strong jazz foundation that leaves room for funky bass grooves, world beat rhythms, gentle textures and the soulful cries of the Wurlizter. “This music taps in directly to the senses using elements of jazz, folk, rock, blues and different sounds from around the world which have all had such a profound effect on me.”

Mimi Jones (aka Miriam Sullivan) was born in New York City and raised in the Bronx by parents that descended from Barbados and St.Croix, which explains why Mimi has so many musical influences that flow easily through her compositional style. “As a child my parents always played music around the house,” remarks Mimi, “besides their traditional roots they had tons of records from the greats like Gene Ammons, Miles Davis, James Brown, Gloria Lynn, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra, The Doors, Beatles, BeeGees, Barbara Streisand, Al Green, Michael Jackson, Earth Wind & Fire, Peter Paul and Mary. Every Sunday we had a ritual of cleaning while the music blasted through the house.” Mimi started buying her own records and showed such enthusiasm to play the guitar that her father enrolled her in the Harlem School of the Arts. There she learned the classical guitar and eventually the instrument of her choice, the electric guitar. By the age of twelve she was studying guitar with her first teacher, Jim Bartow, taking classes in dance, chorus, drums, music theory, piano and composition which all helped her secure a spot at Fiorello La Guardia High School of Music and Performing Arts. Once there she realized that the school didn’t have a guitar program so she was quickly switched to cello and placed into the orchestra. However, during cello practice time she could be found in the mirror spinning her comrade's bass and playing the “Barney Miller” theme. “I was spotted doing this one afternoon by the band director, Justin Diccioccio, and he asked if I played the bass. I said no and he responded saying “well you do now because we need a bassist for the jazz band.” “This was an exciting experience because for the first time I found my own musical voice.” 
 Mimi began her relationship with the bass by receiving classical lessons from Linda McKnight and attending the Jazz Mobile Workshop to study with world-class bassist Lisle Atkinson who became her first mentor and even supplied Mimi with her first bass, a Juzak. “I’ve often said that the bass chose me,” said Mimi “and there were so many early experiences that confirmed that feeling.”

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Album Review

Leap Day Trio: Live at The Cafe Bohemia

Read "Live at The Cafe Bohemia" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Drummer Matt Wilson and tenor saxophonist Jeff Lederer have worked on many projects together, over a thirty-year period, covering everything from Christmas songs to the poetry of Carl Sandburg. This particular album finds them in a stripped-down trio, playing some of their most intense music ever, live at New York's reopened Cafe Bohemia. The trio's third member is bassist Mimi Jones, a recent acquaintance of both men, who fits right in with their freewheeling dialogues. Lederer blows with ...

13
Album Review

Matt Wilson: Live at The Cafe Bohemia

Read "Live at The Cafe Bohemia" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


From its modest opening in 1955 until its closing in 1960, 15 Barrow Street in Greenwich Village, aka Cafe Bohemia, housed such progressive jazz creators as Oscar Pettiford, Horace Silver and Kenny Dorham. Charlie Parker, who lived across the street, was booked to open the club and play for drinks but passed away before his run began. Cannonball Adderley made his New York debut there sitting in for Pettiford's regular sax man Jerome Richardson. A slew of hydrogen hot discs, ...

2
Radio & Podcasts

Bassisterhood - Part 1

Read "Bassisterhood - Part 1" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


All around the world, there is a bassisterhood that is rapidly expanding and claiming its rigthful place on the jazz scene. This week we'll focus on the queens of the low-end and the fascinating bands and projects they lead.Happy listening!PlaylistBen Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Noriko Ueda “Bohemia After Dark" Debut (Terashima) 0:16 Host talks 5:49 Giulia Valle “Clave Baloo" Eden Club (Fresh Sound/New Talent) 7:26 Host talks 13:26 Silvia ...

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Record Label Profile

Hot Tone Music: Creating Great Music of Today

Read "Hot Tone Music: Creating Great Music of Today" reviewed by Jakob Baekgaard


There was a time when the only possibility for an artist was to record for a major label, but nowadays things have changed. While major labels are struggling to make the money they used to do, many of them have also stopped being innovators. Instead, they churn out repackaged product and focus on new music that is guaranteed to sell. Patience and long term talent development isn't a thing that is seen very often. Fortunately, in spite ...

6
Extended Analysis

Mimi Jones: Balance

Read "Mimi Jones: Balance" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


Balance is one of three new titles released in February 2014 by Hot Tone Music, the label founded by bassist/vocalist Mimi Jones. “Hot Tone Music was created to give chances to those who may have been overlooked and denied the necessary support and knowledge to develop," Jones explains. “Women are a big part of that group, and so I always look out for them. Women have come a long way but are still a minority in jazz, so we've formed ...

4
Album Review

Mimi Jones: Balance

Read "Balance" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian


Virtuoso bassist and superlative bandleader Mimi Jones' (AKA Miriam Sullivan) Balance is a delightful album filled with 79 minutes of engaging music. Despite the title, however, it is an unevenly structured work. The edgy, dramatic “The Incy Wincy Spider" for instance completely deconstructs the children's rhyme into an intriguing, darkly hued and haunting piece. Jones' evocative vocals evolve over percussionist Shirazette Tinnin's angular beats, Jones' own plucked and bowed strings and keyboardist Miki Hayama's rolling sonic cascade. The ...

4
Album Review

Mimi Jones: Balance

Read "Balance" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


NYC-native bassist-raconteur Mimi Jones founded Hot Tone records in 2009, releasing her debut, A New Day. Jones states the label ..."was created to give chances to those who may have been overlooked and denied the necessary support and knowledge to develop." Specifically, and appropriately, the focus of the label has evolved as a resource for women jazz instrumentalists. After an incubation period of five years, Hot Tone records detonates with the release of Jones' second effort as a leader, Balance. ...

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4

Recording

Hot Tone Music To Release New CDs By Bassist Mimi Jones & Pianist Luis Perdomo, May 13

Hot Tone Music To Release New CDs By Bassist Mimi Jones & Pianist Luis Perdomo, May 13

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

Hot Tone Music, the artist-run label founded by bassist /composer Mimi Jones in 2009, announces the simultaneous release on May 13 of new CDs by Jones (Feet in the Mud) and pianist/composer Luis Perdomo (Montage). Perdomo’s Montage is his eighth album as a leader but the first solo piano recording in his distinguished career. After he’d begun playing solo concerts three years ago, this ever-evolving artist reached out to his pianist friend Fred Hersch “to fine-tune some aspects of my ...

1

Performance / Tour

Bassist/Composer Mimi Jones Announces New Tour Dates

Bassist/Composer Mimi Jones Announces New Tour Dates

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

For bassist/composer Mimi Jones, the release one year ago of her second CD Balance accomplished several goals. It tested her mettle as a businesswoman, as the CD was released on the Hot Tone Music label she’d founded in 2009. It highlighted her propensity for collaboration and support of other indie jazz musicians, particularly women, as Hot Tone Music simultaneously released Jones’s album with new discs by saxophonist Camille Thurman and drummer Shirazette Tinnin. And it established Jones as a leader ...

2

Music Industry

Hot Tone Music Release's Three New CD's

Hot Tone Music Release's Three New CD's

Source: Craig Neely

Mimi Jones is the label founder and a N.Y.C. native, bassist, vocalist, composer and producer! Her new Balance CD release is a blend of genre's of classic and contemporary jazz, edgy soul and even a rock element. Balance stands firmly in its leaders dedication of “creating great music of today"! With Balance, Mimi's universal music heritage is well founded as she says of her early family life “on any given day I could hear John Coltrane's “Syeeda's Song Flute," followed ...

2

Recording

Hot Tone Music To Release CDs By Bassist Mimi Jones, Saxophonist Camille Thurman, Drummer Shirazette Tinnin On Feb. 4

Hot Tone Music To Release CDs By Bassist Mimi Jones, Saxophonist Camille Thurman, Drummer Shirazette Tinnin On Feb. 4

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

The simultaneous release on February 4 of new Hot Tone Music CDs by Mimi Jones (Balance), saxophonist Camille Thurman (Origins), and drummer Shirazette Tinnin (Humility: Purity of My Soul) places the label at the forefront of bringing recognition to the increasing prominence of world-class female musicians in the jazz arena. “Hot Tone Music was created to give chances to those who may have been overlooked and denied the necessary support and knowledge to develop,” says bassist Jones, who founded the ...

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Performance / Tour

Jazz Bridge Presents Mimi Jones In Society Hill On Thursday, May 17th!

Jazz Bridge Presents Mimi Jones In Society Hill On Thursday, May 17th!

Source: Jim Miller

Appearing at Jazz at the Playhouse for the last concert of this season is bassist/vocalist Mimi Jones and her band featuring Shirazetti Tinnin on drums and pianist Rachel Eckroth at the Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. 8th Street in Philadelphia on May 17th. One Show: 7:30-9 p.m. Admission: $10/$5 for students. No advance sales. For info: 215-517-8337 or 856-858-8914. Parking is right across the street. Jazz Bridge, a 501C3 nonprofit that assists our local jazz and blues musicians in crisis, ...

155

Recording

Bassists, Mimi Jones Reveals Her Distinctive Style with Her Debut CD “A New Day”

Bassists, Mimi Jones Reveals Her Distinctive Style with Her Debut CD “A New Day”

Source: Sound Visions Media

Released today on Hot Tone Music, September 15, 2009

The debut CD, “A New Day” (Hot Tone Music), co- produced by bassist and composer Mimi Jones, is already receiving excellent reviews and attention as it receives it's official release. Jazziz Magazine features one of Ms Jones’s tracks in their current issue and said, “Mimi Jones displays a sure hand and a distinctive style on her fresh sounding debut.” She was recently the featured artist on the cover of “No Treble ...

319

Recording

In a World of Female Bassists Mimi Jones Sets the Bar with Her Debut CD “A New Day”

In a World of Female Bassists Mimi Jones Sets the Bar with Her Debut CD “A New Day”

Source: Sound Visions Media

With the musical world buzzing about Esperanza Spalding it’s no wonder that the timing is perfect for the release of yet another extraordinary female bassist, composer and vocalist.

Introducing Mimi Jones and her debut CD “A New Day” (Hot Tone Music) set for release on September 15th, 2009. Mimi Jones recently gave a sneak preview of her debut CD during the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at the prestigious Kennedy Center along with performances featuring the world's top female ...

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Performance / Tour

Mimi Jones CD Sneak Preview at the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival

Mimi Jones CD Sneak Preview at the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival

Source: Sound Visions Media

The “Magic Bass Sounds” Of Mimi Jones At The Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival Featuring a sneak preview of the debut CD release A New Day Mimi Jones brings her “magic sounds on the bass” to the Kennedy Center premiering her soon to be released debut CD, A New Day as part of the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival. Hosted by Dee Dee Bridgewater, the festival marks its 14th thrilling year with three evenings of star-studded performances featuring ...

“Jones puts down plush, rhythmically driving bass lines,” —Chicago Tribune

“...makes magic sounds on the bass.” —Eric Jackson, Panama News

“She has developed a style that is smooth, sure, uncomplicated but with a sensuous touch.” —Norman Munroe, Jamaica Observer

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Live at The Cafe...

Giant Step Arts
2023

buy

The Ellis Marsalis...

Nu Jazz Records/Nu Jazz Entertainment
2020

buy

Balance

Hot Tone Music
2014

buy

Mimi Jones: Balance

Hot Tone Music
2014

buy

Leap of Faith

From: Live at The Cafe Bohemia
By Mimi Jones

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