Hungry for some good guitar jazz? Don’t fret. Siskiyou Music Project has a string of concerts lined up this spring and summer for fans of the iconic instrument.

“Jazz in the Vineyard” kicks off Sunday, May 25, at Grizzly Peak Winery, 1600 E. Nevada St., Ashland, with a solo concert by Mimi Fox, a virtuosic improviser who’s collaborated with many of jazz’s greatest figures.

She’ll be followed by the Marcos Silva Quintet with its Brazilian jazz artistry on Sunday, June 29, and South African Derek Gripper in his Southern Oregon debut on Wednesday, July 9. All concerts begin at 7 p.m.

It’s all part of SMP’s 22nd season, launched at the Old Siskiyou Barn on April 26 with a sell-out performance by Affinity Trio, a Midwest piano-trumpet-bass combo playing standards from the Great American Songbook, original music and bebop.

“It was a great way to kick off the season,” said Ed Dunsavage, SMP artistic director.

Jazz reunion

Dunsavage has a long history with the first artist in the vineyard series, Mimi Fox, a Bay Area jazz guitarist.

“I was her manager for 15 years,” he said. “I met her when I was booking music for the Mark Antony Hotel (now Ashland Springs) in the 1990s.”

It will be a return engagement for Fox, who will perform on both acoustic and electric guitars on May 25. She’s known internationally for her work as a player, composer, and recording artist.

Much of her exposure worldwide has been at international festivals, such as the Montreal, Guinness Cork, Perth, and Jamaica Spice jazz festivals. Stateside, she has headlined at Lincoln Center, the Monterey and Newport jazz festivals, Kennedy Center, and Blues Alley, among others.

Guitar Player Magazine said, “Fox plays with a profundity that only results from a lifetime of commitment and total immersion in one’s art.”

Brazilian heat

Making its SMP debut during a summer swing through Oregon, the Marcos Silva Quintet will light up the winery stage with its signature Brazilian jazz fusion on Sunday, June 29.

“He’s a Grammy-nominated artist, now based in the Bay Area,” Dunsavage said.

Silva was music director for Flora Purim and Airto Moreira for 23 years, and has written arrangements for Dizzy Gillespie’s band.

A multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger, Silva will lead the group on piano and keyboards — but there’ll be plenty of guitar for fans of the venerable instrument.

Joining Silva will be guitarist Seth Burrows, bassist Andrew Lion, saxophonist Idit Shner, and drummer Zach Mondlick. They will perform a mix of bold originals and iconic standards.

“It will be a hot night of Brazilian jazz music,” Dunsavage said. 

African echoes

South African guitarist Derek Gripper will close out the season on Wednesday, July 9.

“I found him online and have been listening to him for several years,” Dunsavage said.

A classically-trained guitarist, Gripper has gained fame with his kora interpretations for guitar. The kora is a West-African stringed instrument, often described as a harp-lute hybrid, typically featuring 23 strings.

When Gripper released “One Night on Earth,” his first album of kora translations, classical guitar legend John Williams said he thought it was “absolutely impossible until I heard Derek Gripper do it,” while kora maestro Toumani Diabaté asked for confirmation that it was indeed just one person playing.

Gripper is appearing in Ashland during a West Coast solo tour.

“This will be a very special evening of music you won’t want to miss,” Dunsavage said. “I’m happy he’s finally able to play a concert for Siskiyou.”

Two decades strong

Founded in 2001, Siskiyou Music Project came back after a pandemic break to mark Dunsavage’s 20th year helming the organization with a full season of concerts in 2023.

“I never imagined when I was asked to be part of Siskiyou Music Project that I’d still be at it 20 years later,” Dunsavage said at the time. “I hope the organization can continue bringing world-class music to Southern Oregon and music into our schools.”

Dunsavage is three years into experiencing long COVID, so is limiting his time performing.

“I still teach guitar at Southern Oregon University, and have played a few shows, but I save my energy for my work on the Siskiyou Music Project,” he said.

From Brazil to South Africa, Jazz in the Vineyard brings global guitar-driven firepower to Ashland — proof that the Siskiyou Music Project still knows how to hit all the right notes.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit siskiyoumusicproject.com.

Tagline: Freelance writer Jim Flint is a retired newspaper publisher and editor. Email him at jimflint.ashland@yahoo.com.