For one unforgettable week in July, Truckee will be transformed into a base camp for some of the country's most talented jazz musicians, when Moody's Bistro & Lounge hosts the Third Annual Jazz Artists in Residency July 9 to July 14. The event includes free jazz shows by top-tier musicians, a week-long kid's camp and a benefit for the Truckee Youth Music Program featuring San Francisco's Shotgun Wedding Hip Hop Symphony, whose legendary performances blend a symphony of strings with the beat of an MC.

During the event, music fans mingle with jazz musicians from New York and San Francisco. The jazz artists are inspired as they interact with their musical peers, providing an elevated level of passion and creativity that isn't usually heard during traditional shows. By immersing themselves in music for the week-long event, the artists infuse a lot of color and culture into Truckee nightlife.

Jazz Artists in Residency includes four free jazz shows at Moody's from Monday, July 9 to Thursday, July 12. These same performers also will conduct free clinics during the Jazz Artists in Residency Kids' Jazz Camp from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, July 9 through Friday, July 13, allowing children to develop an appreciation for music in general and for jazz as a whole. On Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13, the Shotgun Wedding Hip Hop Symphony gives a whole new meaning to Truckee nightlife when they perform at Moody's as part of a benefit for the Truckee Youth Music Program.

According to JJ Morgan, Moody's Bistro & Lounge co-owner, "The musicians spend the entire week immersed in jazz and stretch themselves musically in the evenings when they play with each other."

Due to a week where nothing distracts them from their passion for jazz, the musicians deliver evening performances at Moody's that are some of the most energetic and innovative shows a jazz fan will ever witness. For the four free evening shows, Adam Theis will perform on trombone, Joe Cohen on saxophone, Josh Jones on drums, Benny Lackner on piano, Will Bernard on guitar and Andrew Emer on bass. Adam Theis and Joe Cohen are members of the Shotgun Wedding Quintet Hip Hop Symphony, known for its marriage of two seemingly unrelated musical styles-hip hop and jazz. Josh Jones has played with Jazz Greats Don Cherry, Steve Coleman and Omar Sosa and the hip hop groups The Coup, Digital Underground and Spearhead.

Jones was the former lead of Hueman Flavor, a ground breaking hip hop jazz band of the early 1990s and one of the most acclaimed groups of San Francisco's jazz movement. Benny Lackner is known for his groove-based music that reinvents standards while mostly focusing on original material. He incorporates modern elements like drum, bass and hip hop beats, as well as eclectic percussion and bass sounds. Will Bernard, the jazz guitarist/composer acclaimed for his imaginative genre-busting music, was once called "one of the best-kept jazz-guitar secrets on the planet" by Billboard Magazine. He is known for incorporating classical guitar techniques along with jazz angles, touching upon styles such as R&B, soul, blues, surf music and noise-rock. Andrew Emer, a New York-based freelance jazz and experimental bassist, has performed and toured with such notable musicians as John Popper (of Blues Traveler), Billy Higgins, Kenny Werner, Adam Nussbaum, Kenny Wollesen, Vince Lateano, Bruce Forman, and Eric Mcphearson.

As a grand finale to the Jazz Artists in Residency, The San Francisco-based Shotgun Wedding Hip Hop Symphony will treat the audience to an energetic and innovative show on Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14 as a benefit for the Truckee Youth Music Program. The band has quickly become known as one of the San Francisco Bay Area's top hip hop jazz bands. It's known for its cutting edge style that separates itself from traditional jazz and creates a musical style all its own. The band's creative style has earned them a loyal following of jazz enthusiasts, hip-hop heads, electronic music fans, and curiosity seekers. Admission both nights is $5, which will go to the Truckee Youth Music Program.

The event promises to delight jazz fans while educating students on the joys of music.

Located inside the historic Truckee Hotel on Commercial Row, Moody's Bistro & Lounge is known for its locally sourced ingredients served in an informal atmosphere reminiscent of Tahoe in the 1920s. The restaurant serves a variety of Contemporary American specialties in a range of affordable price points, as well as a seasonal drink menu made with fresh herbs and fruit.

Mimi Fox, one of the country’s premiere jazz guitarists, will take to the stage at Moody’s Bistro & Lounge on Friday, June 29 and Saturday, June 30. Truckee nightlife audiences will have the opportunity to find out why six-string musician Joe Pass once said of Fox, “She plays with tremendous fire. She can do pretty much anything she wants on the guitar."

Fox’s masterful command of the fretboard has led to her being named a Rising Star in four consecutive Down Beat International critics’ polls (2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006). She was also profiled in that magazine’s feature, 66 Hot 6-Stringers: Down Beat’s Look at the Guitarists Making Today’s Scene, which presented “66 guitarists in the worlds of jazz, blues and beyond whose work is innovating, invigorating and perpetuating the guitar tradition.”

A seasoned live performer, Fox also is an accomplished recording artist whose albums have earned extensive accolades and a huge following. In its 4-star review, Down Beat International praised Fox’s She’s The Woman as “everything guitar jazz is supposed to be,” while Guitar Player cited Fox as “a prodigious talent who has not only mastered the traditional forms, but has managed to reinvigorate them.” Cadence Magazine said of 2001’s Standards, "This may be the finest solo jazz guitar playing I have ever heard.” Her prior release, 1999’s Kicks quickly rose to fifth place on jazz radio charts and number 20 on Billboard jazz charts.

Born in New York City, Fox started playing drums at nine, and then guitar when she was ten. She began touring out of high school and eventually moved to San Francisco in 1979, where she became a sought-after musician. Since then, Fox has performed with fellow guitarists Charlie Byrd and Charlie Hunter as well as with Grammy-award winning saxophonist David Sanchez, saxophonist Don Lanphere, Manhattan Transfer's Janis Siegel, Hammond B3 organ virtuosos Barbara Dennerlien, Dr. Lonnie Smith and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. She also has shared the bill with Diana Krall, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Burrell and John Sebastian and has appeared as guest soloist with several orchestras, including Orchestra Sonoma, performing her original scores.

Fox is Chair of the Guitar Department at the innovative Jazzschool in Berkeley, California and adjunct professor at New York University. Mimi has appeared as guest clinician at the University of Southern California, Musician’s Institute of Technology, CalArts, University of Connecticut, University of Oregon, the Britt Music Festival and others. Fox is also a featured player in a current tour of women guitarists billed as La Guitara, which explores the contribution of women to the evolution of modern guitar.

Fox maintains a whirlwind touring schedule, playing major jazz clubs and festivals from New York to Tokyo to the Caribbean, Japan, Thailand, and Australia. She has performed at The Village Gate in New York City; Blues Alley in Washington, D.C.; Jazz Alley in Seattle; and Yoshi's, the Great American Music Hall, and Kimball's East in the San Francisco area. She’s also a favorite at jazz and music festivals.

Fox will entertain audiences with selections from her seventh release as a leader, the two-CD set Perpetually Hip as well as her previous She’s the Woman album and Standards. This concert by a member of the jazz guitar elite will reshape Truckee nightlife and provide a rare opportunity to hear one of the country’s most acclaimed female jazz musicians.

Located inside the historic Truckee Hotel on Commercial Row, Moody's Bistro & Lounge is known for its locally sourced ingredients served in an informal atmosphere reminiscent of Tahoe in the 1920s. The restaurant serves a variety of Contemporary American specialties in a range of affordable price points, as well as a seasonal drink menu made with fresh herbs and fruit.

The lounge also is home to live jazz concerts by top U.S. and international acts. Moody's is located a few minutes from Interstate 80 at 10007 Bridge Street in Truckee (on the corner of Commercial Row). For reservations, call (530) 587-8688 or visit http://www.moodysbistro.com">www.moodysbistro.com.

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