Vintage jazz dancer, DJ, songbird, blogger

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We have been working diligently to get everything in place to launch a Kickstarter for our second album on January 11, 2015 – we’ll be having our Kickstarter launch party at Common 414 in Raleigh, with the full 8 piece Mint Julep Jazz Band playing from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. Come join us to celebrate!

The title of the album, “Battle Axe,” is taken from a great Jimmie Lunceford tune in our book, and we anticipate that this will be a really fun album to put together, based on that title. Alexandrea Thomsen of Dtownperspective is putting together an awesome Kickstarter video for us and we have lots of new and interesting rewards in the works, as well as bringing back some old favorites (cupcakes, anyone?). Looking forward to January 11!

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What started out as a Mint Julep Quintet gig at G2B Gastro Pub on November 7, 2014 ended up a full-fledged Mint Julep Jazz Band for the second set – our regular tenor player Keenan McKenzie joined us from the audience and trumpet player Jason Bohde stopped by to sit in. Thanks to Keenan’s dad, Woody McKenzie, who filmed us and to Jack Mitchell for editing and uploading to YouTube! Check out “Egyptian Ella” and “Some of These Days” below:

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MJJB DOSN CD Cover

While we make preparations for launching our new album Kickstarter next year, we wonder if you’ve got a copy of our album or maybe a relative might like the gift of swing under their holiday tree?

We’re running a Cyber Monday special on our first album, Durham on Saturday Night, just to make sure your shopping gets covered at a better price – physical copies of our CD are usually $15.00 on CD Baby, but we’re running a one day sale on Monday, December 1 (EST), for $10.00.

Physical copies are easier to wrap than digital copies and for one day they will be the same price! Happy shopping!

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We are excited to announce that we will be working with Common 414, a new 1920’s themed cocktail bar that has opened in Raleigh, NC – three upcoming events of note!

1) Friday, November 14, 2014, the Mint Julep Quintet will play from 8-11p.m. and at 10:00 p.m. we’ll be hosting and playing live music for a Charleston contest! Come show off your gams and your hot jazz moves – the winner of the Charleston contest gets a Mint Julep Jazz Band prize pack (CD, shoe bag, button) and a VIP Booth Package for Common 414 (a $250 value).

2) and 3) On two Sundays in January (11th and 25th), 2015 we begin what we hope will be a regular gig for the Mint Julep Jazz Band, so you can hear all this great music from the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s performed by our little big band twice a month! We say we hope because continuation of this event depends on you voting to keep MJJB here with your feet and your wonderful presence. Band plays from 7-10 p.m., $5 cover because there are a lot of people in the band!

Thanks so much to Common 414 for giving us this opportunity, it’s rare to see bands this large with regular gigs and we’ll do our best to keep this one – swing out, Raleigh!

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The band recording an original tune for Sesame Street in 2012.
The band recording an original tune for Sesame Street in 2012.

It’s been a little over a year since we released our first album, “Durham on Saturday Night,” and the response to our album is consistently “we want more music – when are you recording another album?” I’m excited to announce that we will launch a Kickstarter for our second album in the early part of 2015 – it takes a lot of work to plan an album and run a Kickstarter, but this should give us a reasonable timeline to complete our goals and record an album in the spring/summer of 2015.

Stay tuned!

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The Mint Julep Jazz Band hits the road this Saturday, September 6, 2014 for the DC metro area, to perform at the Jam Cellar‘s swing dance at Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, MD! The gorgeous Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo was built in 1933 in the Spanish Art Deco Style and played host to the great bands of the swing era and beyond – we are always excited to perform at this venue!

Dance runs 9:00 p.m. to midnight, $18.00 gets you a free beginner lesson at 8:00 p.m. and admission to the dance – see you soon, DC!

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The Mint Julep Jazz Band is the first runner up for best musical artist/band in the 2014 Best of Durham Awards, sponsored by Durham Magazine! We are so grateful to even be in the running for this, so thank you to everyone who voted – we were inched out of the first place spot (which we won in 2013) by Sylvan Esso, a nationally touring indie folk band who relocated to Durham in 2013. Check it out in Durham Magazine’s August 2014 issue or on their website!

Does this mean we are still Durham’s best jazz band? 😉

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We are featured in the August issue of Our State for our Music in the Library recordings!
We are featured in the August issue for our Music in the Library recordings!

The Mint Julep Jazz Band is excited to be invited to provide music for Our State Magazine‘s Music in the Library video series, which shares and highlights songs from North Carolina musical artists filmed at Our State Magazine’s headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. We filled up their cozy library space with eight musicians, swing, and hot jazz on a hot June afternoon and the results came out great, using just three microphones and three cameras.

We are also featured in the magazine’s August issue – pick one up from your local North Carolina newsstand!

The band recorded “Swingtime in Honolulu,” “Rock it for Me,” and our original tune (composed by alto/clarinet/soprano sax mad man, Keenan McKenzie) “Miami Boulevard” – visit the Our State YouTube channel for all the videos from this series!

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The Mint Julep Jazz Band will kick off the weekend festivities at The Process, a Lindy Hop workshop weekend in Richmond, Virginia on Friday, July 18, 2014 at 9:00 p.m. The Process is a new event, in its first year, and seeks to answer the question, “What is the process guiding Lindy Hoppers to rapid improvement?” in its workshops throughout the weekend. With a great lineup of instructors (Casey Schneider & Mike Faltesek; Jaya Dorf & Michael Gamble; Chelsea & David Lee; Mike Herring; Abigail Browning & Adam Speen; and Sparrow Pants) and live music by The Low Down Sires, 504 Supreme, and Gypsy Roots, it looks like it will be a rumpus in Richmond! For more information visit The Process website.