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Tune in to Sesame Street on April 18, 2013 to hear an original Mint Julep Jazz Band song in one of the non-muppet segments! We are excited to have an air date and to finally be able to make this announcement, which we’ve been keeping quiet about since September, when Lucian composed and we recorded the song.

How did this happen? It’s all about networking (or being in the right place at the right time?) – we performed at a local wedding in August and one of the guests thought we’d be perfect for a project he was doing for Sesame Street. After a few phone calls and emails we had about a week and a half to put everything together, from Lucian composing the tune, getting everyone in the same place to record it, culling enough equipment together to have a quality recording, to lots of little logistical hurdles that occur when you are contracting out your services. Needless to say, everyone in the band was really excited to be involved in something that was going to appear on Sesame Street, and, with that motivation, we pulled it off in a very short amount of time.

If you can’t tune in to the show, there may be a way to watch it online after the air date – stay tuned!

I’ve included a couple of photos from the recording session below.

The rhythm section (Aaron Tucker, Jason Foureman, Jared Wofford) with Lucian fiddling with the recording equipment
The rhythm section (Aaron Tucker, Jason Foureman, Jared Wofford) with Lucian fiddling with the recording equipment
The horn section - Keenan McKenzie, Aaron Hill, Jim Ketch, and Lucian Cobb
The horn section – Keenan McKenzie, Aaron Hill, Jim Ketch, and Lucian Cobb

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The main dining room at G2B Gastro Pub
The main dining room at G2B

This month the Mint Julep Quintet is performing in Durham three Fridays in a row! If you haven’t made it out to see our small group yet, you’ll have plenty of chances:

January 18 at G2B Gastro Pub

We’re returning for our monthly engagement at this fine establishment that straddles the line between modern gourmet and comfort food and drink. Make a reservation to dine in the jazz lounge to ensure that you get a seat! You can make reservations through their website (they use OpenTable) or by calling the restaurant at (919) 251-9451.

8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
G2B Gastro Pub
3211 Shannon Road #106
Durham, NC

January 25 at Beyu Caffe – CANCELLED due to inclement weather, reschedule date is March 23

Beyu's lovely interior, inside the Art Deco era Snow Building
Beyu’s lovely interior, inside the Art Deco era Snow Building

We are making our debut at Beyu Caffe, the restaurant voted the best place to hear jazz in the Triangle in the Independent Weekly reader’s poll. Come join us at this wonderful downtown establishment for dinner, dancing, drinks, dessert, or all of the above! You may also want to make a reservation here, depending on your seating preference – call the restaurant at (919) 683-1058.

9:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Beyu Caffe
335 W. Main St.
Durham, NC

February 1 at G2B Gastro Pub

Laura in the jazz lounge at G2B
Laura in the jazz lounge at G2B

We’re making our February appearance at G2B Gastro Pub earlier in the month – your last chance to catch the Quintet until we return on March 22!

8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
G2B Gastro Pub
3211 Shannon Road #106
Durham, NC

We hope you will join us for one of these performances! Come find out why Durham is both a foodie town and a jazz town, thanks to creative chefs and restaurant owners who take pride in their food, their city, and their entertainment. 🙂

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We are looking forward to this special performance for RDU Rent Party on January 10, 2013 – we’re not exactly going back to the future, but we will give you a full preview of all the songs we are recording for our album in the second set! Polish up your dance shoes and come swing out to the tunes that will make up “Durham on Saturday Night.”

Triangle Dance Studio, back studio
2603 S. Miami Blvd.
Durham, NC
Band plays 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Admission: Pay what you can with a $10.00 suggested donation

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We have 41 days left to reach our funding goal of $6,000 and we already have pledges totaling around $4,000! We are over half-way with more than half of our time left to go! This has been a great start and we thank everyone who has backed our Kickstarter thus far!

If you’d like to help us reach our funding goal, pre-order a copy of our CD or back our Kickstarter in exchange for some fabulous rewards at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laurawindley/mint-julep-jazz-bands-first-cd-durham-on-saturday. If we don’t reach our goal, we don’t get any of the money pledged, so please consider supporting your local swing band!

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We are excited to finally press the launch button on our Kickstarter campaign and see if we can raise $6,000 through crowd funding and pre-sales to make our first CD a reality. We’ve got some great rewards in exchange for your backing and support, including pre-ordering the CD, so here’s the link for our Kickstarter campaign:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laurawindley/mint-julep-jazz-bands-first-cd-durham-on-saturday?ref=live

We have until December 30 to reach our goal – we’d love to have you as a backer!

We’d like to thank everyone over the past year who has been so supportive of this band and encouraged us to move forward with this project. We are definitely excited about getting into the recording studio and having a CD that we can share with you!

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On November 2, 2012 we are launching a Kickstarter campaign to crowd fund our first CD, titled “Durham on Saturday Night.” We are asking for pledges toward our $6,000 funding goal and, in exchange, you can get different fabulous rewards based on the amount of your pledge/contribution – some of the rewards include digital and physical copies of the CD, handkerchiefs with the band logo, drawstring backpacks/dance shoe bags with the band logo, a limited edition poster, cupcakes baked for you by vocalist Laura Windley, and hanging out in the studio with us as we record the CD!

Here is what we are posting on our Kickstarter page as information about the CD project:

“The Mint Julep Jazz Band, Durham NC’s swing, hot jazz, and little big band outfit is putting together their first CD! We are excited to finally be getting into a recording studio with this group of jazz musicians to work a little magic and have something that you can take home with you after the show or the dance!

Never heard us or heard of us? Take a minute to check out our ReverbNation page for a preview: http://www.reverbnation.com/mintjulepjazzband

One of our Kickstarter rewards is a logo drawstring bookbag, which conveniently doubles as a shoe bag for dancers.

Why Kickstarter? Think of it as pre-sales – you are essentially ordering this album in advance, with the understanding that the new Mint Julep Jazz Band recordings will be more polished than the recordings we’ve taken with Laura’s iPhone and will have the energy we have at our shows. We’re going to bottle that up for you and give it to you, you just have to buy the bottle first. We guarantee it will keep your toes tapping and swing hard enough to get you out of your seat!

What do we need all this money for? It takes a lot of money to make a CD and the money is divided amongst recording, mixing, mastering, graphic design, duplication, licensing fees, and probably some unanticipated expenses that we will encounter. It is a big undertaking for any band and we hope that you will consider contributing to our Kickstarter campaign in exchange for some of the fabulous rewards we have for you, plus our undying love and loyalty.

The CD, “Durham on Saturday Night,” will feature Lucian Cobb on trombone, Jim Ketch on trumpet, Keenan McKenzie on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Aaron Hill on alto saxophone and clarinet, Aaron Tucker on drums, Jason Foureman on bass, Jared Wofford on guitar and banjo, and Laura Windley on vocals. Our cover art will be designed by Durham artist and watercolorer to the stars, Jamie Wolcott.”

The official go live date is November 2, which we chose because we will be performing that night at the Eastern Balboa Championships, the southeast’s largest and only Balboa event. We are excited about performing for such a large audience from all over the United States and about the possibility of being able to offer a CD for sale, even if it is pre-orders!

If we are do not reach our Kickstarter goal of $6,000, the CD project will not be funded. You are only charged if the Kickstarter is fully funded. We hope you will consider pre-ordering the CD through our Kickstarter campaign to ensure that we have a CD to share with you!

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The swanky lounge area at G2B

While an 8 piece band is great for dances and special events, it is generally too large for restaurants and bars in the Raleigh/Durham area. We’d still like to bring you the hot jazz and swing, so we’ve pared ourselves down to a quintet! The Mint Julep Quintet will have its first performance at G2B Gastro Pub in Durham, NC on October 5, 2012.

I’ll have one of these, please! And a side of Clarinet Marmalade.

G2B Gastro Pub
3211 Shannon Rd, Suite 106
Durham, NC
8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Admission: Free

We’re excited to be performing at G2B – we hope you’ll join us for a delicious dinner or come hang out and grab a beer!

Check out the gorgeous food and beverages on their Facebook page.

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Photo from Mint Julep Jazz Band’s performance at the Carrboro Century Center on St. Patrick’s Day, courtesy of Joel Carlin.

We are excited to return to Carrboro for the Mint Julep Jazz Band show on June 16, 2012 at the Triangle Swing Dance Society swing dance, held at the Carrboro Century Center. Come dance on the finest sprung wood floor in the Triangle! Don’t know how to dance? No problem! There’s a beginner lesson at 7:00 p.m. that is included with the price of admission.

Carrboro Century Center
100 N. Greensboro Street
Carrboro, NC

Beginner east coast swing lesson – 7:00 p.m.

Band plays from 8:00-11:00 p.m.

Admission: Members/students $8.00, general admission $12.00