Mimi Fox is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
guitarist and educator, known internationally for her work.
Career
Fox's mother was a jazz singer and her father owned a large record collection that she heard from an early age. After watching
the Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...
and the Beatles, she became interested in guitar at the age of ten. She taught herself to play by listening to the Beatles album ''
Rubber Soul
''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom, on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single " Day Tripper" / "We Can Wo ...
''.
In her teens, she played drums at school. Her professional career began at the age of seventeen when she performed in the lounge of a Chinese restaurant.
In the late 1970s, she moved to California and took lessons from guitarist
Bruce Forman
Bruce Forman (born 1956) is an American jazz guitarist.
Forman took piano lessons at an early age before picking up the guitar at age thirteen. In 1971, his family moved to San Francisco, where he led his own groups in the area and performed wit ...
, which she has called the turning point in her career.
Joe Pass
Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...
became her friend and mentor.
Fox has taught at Yale University,
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...
,
New York University, and has led the guitar department at
California Jazz Conservatory.
She has worked with guitarists
Charlie Byrd,
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...
,
Jim Hall, and
Martin Taylor and with
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz perfo ...
,
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ense ...
,
Houston Person
Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the ...
,
David Sanchez
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, and
Lonnie Smith Lonnie Smith may refer to:
* Lonnie Smith (baseball) (born 1955), American baseball player
* Lonnie Smith (boxer) (born 1962), American boxer
* Lonnie Smith (organist) (1942–2021), American organist
* Lonnie Liston Smith (born 1940), American jaz ...
.
Discography
* ''Against the Grain'' (Catero, 1985)
* ''Mimi Fox Live'' (Tusco, 1993)
* ''Turtle Logic'' (Monarch, 1995)
* ''Kicks'' (Monarch, 1999)
* ''Standards'' (
Origin
Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Comics and manga
* ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002
* ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...
, 2001)
* ''Two for the Road'' with Greta Matassa (Origin, 2003)
* ''She's the Woman'' (
Favored Nations, 2004)
* ''Soul Eyes'' with
Bruce Arnold (Muse-eek, 2005)
* ''Perpetually Hip'' (Favored Nations, 2006)
* ''Live at the Palladium'' (Favored Nations, 2011)
* ''Standards, Old and New'' (Origin, 2013)
*''May I Introduce to You'' with San Francisco String Trio (Ridgeway, 2017)
*''This Bird Still Flies'' (Origin, 2019)
References
External links
Official websiteMimi Fox interviewed on Marian McPartland's ''Piano Jazz''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Mimi
American jazz guitarists
American women guitarists
Women jazz guitarists
Living people
American jazz educators
1956 births
Women music educators
Favored Nations artists
21st-century American women