Mimi Jones (born March 25, 1972, in New York City) is an American bassist, vocalist, composer, bandleader, education and founder of Hot Tone Music.
Mimi Jones was born Miriam Sullivan in New York City and was raised in the Bronx. She attended The Harlem School of the Arts, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. She studied with Linda McKnight and attended the Jazz Mobile Workshop. There she studied with Lisle Atkinson, a bassist, who became her mentor.
She later received a full scholarship to the The Manhattan School of Music conservatory in New York. There, she attended workshops with Charles Davis, Barry Haris, Yusef Latif, Max Roach and other prominent jazz figures. She later graduated from the conservatory.
Career
For more than two decades, bassist/vocalist/producer/label owner and now filmmaker Mimi Jones has reigned supreme, as a side woman to an impressive coterie of musicians and as a leader with three CDs on her own label, Hot Tone Music . Her elegant sound is an eclectic mix of genres, based on a strong jazz foundation that leaves room for funky bass grooves, world beat rhythms, and gentle textures.
Mimi has toured extensively throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean, and is recognized as a U.S. Jazz Ambassador. Her vast work as a side woman includes gigs with Kenny Barron, Frank Ocean, Dianne Reeves, Tia Fuller, Ingrid Jensen, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Marc Cary, Toshi Reagon, Rachel Z, Sean Jones, Ravi Coltrane, and Terri Lyne CarringtonâÂÂs GRAMMY-winning Mosaic Project.
Mimi also serves as co-director (with ArcoIris Sandoval) of the D.O.M.E. Experience, a multimedia project that fosters awareness of environmental and social issuesâÂÂwithin the local community and globallyâÂÂthrough choreography, composition, and cinematography.