Rale Micic Trio Featuring Alma Micic

Rale Micic trio featuring Rale Micic on guitar, Mimi Jones on bass, and Shirazette Tinnin on drums, with special guest Alma Micic on vocals.

Rale Micic is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to emerge from Serbia. His new release, symbolically titled “3”, is an entrancing trio record featuring Gregory Hutchinson (Ray Brown, Joshua Redman, Joe Henderson) and Scott Colley (Jim Hall, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker). “3”, already recognized by listeners and critics alike, is described as “ a groove heavy record… pure listening pleasure”. Rale Micic is CTA Records recording artist and has been featured in numerous publications including Downbeat, JazzTimes, LA Times, San Diego Tribune, Boston Globe, etc. He has performed at prominent jazz clubs and music festivals in US and Europe including Catalina Jazz Club, Blues Alley, Scullers Jazz Club, Dizzy’s, San Jose Jazz Festival, Hartford International Jazz Festival, etc. Born in Belgrade, Serbia and living In New York City for the last decade, Rale Micic recently signed an endorsement deal with D'Addario strings, joining the likes of guitarists Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Lenny Kravitz. www.ralemicic.com

“Micic is bringing an intriguing new perspective to the jazz guitar” LA Times

“One of the most interesting young guitarists on the New York City scene" All About Jazz

“Alma personifies what jazz singing is all about.”  Ron Della Chiesa, WGBH Radio

“There is no doubt about it: Alma Micic is a first rate jazz singer.” All About Jazz

Alma Micic was born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia. At the age of 16 she started performing with a local quartet at a time when jazz was making a big comeback in Belgrade. Soon she became a featured vocalist with the Radio Belgrade Big Band and began touring and appearing at many local jazz festivals as well as television and radio broadcasts. In 1995, she received a scholarship to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Alma graduated in 1999 with a BM in Jazz Performance.  Alma's highly successful second release "The Hours" beautifully displays her songwriting and arranging talents in addition to her exquisite singing. The album has been praised by renowned international publications such as Downbeat, JazzTimes, Jazzwise, and All About Jazz. Alma has been a resident of New York City since 2000. With her band, she has appeared at prominent venues such as the Jazz Standard, Scullers, Iridium Jazz Club, Cecil’s Jazz Club as well as various international festivals and concert halls. Her first album "Introducing Alma", hailed as "a striking debut" by Jazz Review, received radio airplay throughout the US, including Voice of America, XM Satellite Radio and international radio stations in South America, Japan and Europe. Alma Micic was also featured in a one hour NPR/WGBH Radio special “The Jazz Songbook”.
Alma’s singing has been described as "confident, soulful, vulnerable, rhythmically savvy, with the most sensual vibrato you're likely to hear" (All About Jazz). Featured articles include Swing Journal (Japan), Concerto Magazine (Austria), Jazzman and Citizen Jazz (France). She has received numerous awards such as the Cleo Laine Award for Outstanding Musicianship and BRIO Award from the NY Arts Council. 

Mimi Jones 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. A graduate from Manhattan School of Music Conservatory she studied early on with world-class bassist, Lisle Atkinson and saxophonist Charles Davis at the Jazz Mobile Workshop. She also studied, mentored and attended workshops with Barry Harris, Ron Carter, Milton Hinton, Dr. Billy Taylor, Yusef Latif, Max Roach, and Latin bass techniques with Guillermo Edgehill. Since then Mimi has gone on to share the stage with such talents as the great Lionel Hampton, Roy Hargrove, Rachel Z, Sean Jones, Kenny Barron, and Jesse Davis, just to name a few. She has toured extensively throughout Europe and the United States. In 2003, Miriam Sullivan co-founded the group ”Jazz Sabroson” with drummer Antonio De Vivo and was commissioned by the Kennedy Center and Department of State to participate in the international program of cultural exchange performing in Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Barbados, Jamaica, Nevis and the Dominican Republic. The group was elected in 2006 by the Department of State and Jazz at Lincoln Center to participate in the Rhythm Abroad Program.  In 2009, the Mimi Jones Band performed premièring her debut release, “A New Day.” Mimi Jones has also appeared at the Kitano Hotel, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, the Puffin Foundation, Symphony Space, the Zinc Bar and the Blue Note.

Born and raised in North Carolina, drummer Shirazette Tinnin’s sound resonates with  jazz, soul, and many other styles of music. An in demand drummer in New York City, has recently performed with Alicia Keys on BET in Black Girl's Rock (2012). She has been on tour with Tia Fuller at the Umbria Jazz Festival, Molde Jazz Festival and the Turkish Ambassadors, as well as leading her own group, The Shirazette Experiment Core-Tet. Shirazette is also collaborating with numerous other artists, and is the resident drummer for the Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet. She strives to keep the motion of jazz music progressive in all of her endeavors.

Besides performing, Shirazette is an active clinician, teacher, health coach and author, writing articles for Modern Drummer and Tom Tom Magazine. Shirazette is currently working on the release of her debut album as a bandleader, and is signed with the new record label Hot Tone Music. It is to be released in 2013.