Mimi Jones

For more than two decades she’s been on the scene, 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 original recording projects on her own Hot Tone Music label.

The jazz world is happy that Mimi Jones is on the scene. Born Miriam Sullivan in New York City on March 25, 1972, and was raised in the Bronx. Jones studied classically under the tutelage of Linda McKnight and simultaneously studied at the Jazz mobile school on Saturday mornings with bassist Lisle Atkinson. She also studied with jazz masters such as Barry Harris, Ron Carter, Milt Hinton, Dr. Billy Taylor, Yusef Lateef, Max Roach, Maria Schneider, and bassist Guillermo Edgehill.

As a Jazz Ambassador, Mimi toured Africa, Europe, Russia, China, South and Central America, and the Caribbean for the U.S. State Department. Her vast work as a side woman includes gigs with Kenny Barron, Lizz Wright, Beyonce, Dianne Reeves, Tia Fuller, Ingrid Jensen, Roy Hargrove, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nona Hendricks, Marc Cary, Rachel Z, Sean Jones, Jason Moran, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Peterson, and Terri Lyne Carrington’s Grammy Award winning Mosaic Project.

Jones launched her own record label, Hot Tone Music, in 2009 which now has produced nine albums thus far.

In addition, Mimi Jones co-directs with Arco Iris Sandoval a project called The D.O.M.E. Experience, a multimedia project that is meant to inspire its audience to become aware of environmental and social issues, within the community and globally, by original compositions performed by a 20 piece jazz orchestra, dance and cinematography. This project has been awarded.

Mimi also created an original mini musical production about the great migration and Harlem Renaissance, with a cast of seven entitled “Next Stop Harlem”.

Mimi has been hosting a jazz party/experimental jam called The Lab Session based at Small’s Jazz Club since 2019 as a bi-weekly event.

Mimi Jones was voted #2 rising star by the DownBeat polls for 2 years straight, and in 2018 received #1 rising star award by the DownBeat Polls. She is currently working on a new project called Black Madonna, featuring strings instruments, percussion, voice, and hopes to record new music later in 2021 Mimi Jones started teaching at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, MA, as a new professor in Sept 2018. Jones will also return to Purchase University for the third year as part of the faculty for Carnegie Hall Foundation, NYO summer 2020 program led by Joanna Massey and Sean Jones. This prestigious program selects the best players in the nation, from 16-19 years of age to experience a rigorous musical training, immediately followed by a performance at Carnegie Hall and an extravagant tour throughout Europe.

Mimi Jones has recently recorded and performed with The American Opera Project and Between the World and Me HBO Special (Kamilah Forbes, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jason Moran, Nate Smith, Ledisi, Common, Angela Bassett), Leap Day Trio featuring Matt Wilson and Jeff Lederer.