Celebrated jazz duo visit O'Shaughnessy Center

Jazz duo Mimi Fox and Greta Matassa will perform their dynamic music at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish. 

Internationally renowned guitarist and composer, Mimi “Fast Fingers” Fox is one of the few established female jazz guitarists playing today. She has been named a winner in six consecutive Downbeat Magazine international critics polls and has been recognized by writers and colleagues alike as one of the most eloquent guitarists on today’s scene.  In one of many feature stories, Guitar Player Magazine hailed the San Francisco-based Fox as “a prodigious talent who has not only mastered the traditional forms but has managed to reinvigorate them.”

Seattle native Greta Matassa is increasingly recognized as a unique voice in jazz.  As she alternately slinks, scats and swoons, Greta is “a marvel of virtuosity” according to the Los Angeles Times. Matassa is a seven-time winner of the Northwest Vocalist of the Year award from Earshot Jazz and has been recognized as a powerful, distinctive vocalist whose talents are “limitless as to what jazz form she can master” by The Seattle Times.

The collaboration of these two artists presents “a musical partnership that brings out the best in both performers” says All Music Guide. With their live album “Two For the Road: Live at Bake’s Place,” their varied influences emerge in evocative interpretations of jazz with swing stylings, blues, Latin and bebop.  On stage, reviews have noted that “they are simply shimmering, trading improvised riffs seamlessly yet having the time of their lives.”

Preview several of Fox and Matassa’s songs on iTunes or watch their vibrant performances in videos posted on YouTube.  Visit www.mimifoxjazzguitar.com and www.gretamatassa.com for more information and song clips.

Tickets are $27 with reserved seating. Tickets can be purchased at the O’Shaughnessy Center box office, 1 Central Ave., Whitefish, or by calling 862-5371.  Box office hours are from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before a performance. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org.