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Mint Julep Jazz Band bandleaders Lucian Cobb and Laura Windley are featured in the June, 2013 episode of Yehoodi’s Hey Mister Jesse podcast! The show features an interview with Lucian and Laura and clips from several of the songs off the Mint Julep Jazz Band’s new release, “Durham on Saturday Night.” Click here to listen to the show.

For those not familiar with the Hey Mister Jesse podcast, “DJ Jesse Miner will serve up a platter of swingin’ music that matters to dancers. Check out the show every month to hear music, interviews, listener feedback and news about the music swing dancers love.”

In addition to the feature, it’s a great podcast, full of amazing jazz artists (new and old) and a format that invites listeners to engage in and be a part of the show. Highly recommended if you are a fan of trad jazz, swing, and blues and are looking for new listening material.

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An aerial view of Cinema Circle at The Streets at Southpoint.
An aerial view of Cinema Circle at The Streets at Southpoint.

We are excited to be performing at the Music on Main Concert Series at The Streets at Southpoint on June 8, 2013. This free concert series is open to the public and occurs in the large open space with the fountain in front of Southpoint Cinemas.

Cinema Circle, in front of AMC Southpoint 17
8030 Renaissance Parkway
Durham, NC

6:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.

We’ll see you there!

***RAIN PLAN*** If it rains, the show will move from the outdoor stage to inside the mall.

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We’re kicking off June with our #1 Kickstarter backer, the Triangle Swing Dance Society! Join us at the Murphey School this Saturday, June 1, 2013 for our first swing dance of the summer, with a great venue and a great floor.

Swing out!
Swing out!

Murphey School
3717 Murphy School Rd
Durham, NC

7:00 p.m. beginner east coast swing lesson

Dance from 8:00-11:00 p.m. with the live music from the Mint Julep Jazz Band!

Members/Students $8
Non-members $12

For more information about the Triangle Swing Dance Society, visit their website at http://www.triangleswingdance.org.

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Jared, Aaron, Laura, and Jason performing at G2B Gastro Pub
Jared, Aaron, Laura, and Jason performing at G2B Gastro Pub

This Friday we once again take the stage at G2B Gastro Pub, Durham’s new institution of awesome food consumption. The amazingness must be consumed to be believed! Extensive beer menu, lovely cocktails, unfathomably delicious dishes, and hot jazz and swing – Friday Friday Friday!

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

Admission: Free!

We highly recommend making a reservation if you would like to eat or have a seat – please specify that you would like to be seated in the jazz lounge.

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On Sunday, May 19, 2013, band leaders Lucian Cobb and Laura Windley will be guests on WXDU‘s Divaville Lounge from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. to talk about our new album “Durham on Saturday Night” and listen to songs from the album – tune in at 88.7 FM or go to http://wxdu.org to listen to the live stream!

We’d like to thank DJ/host Sarah Ovenall for inviting us to be on the show, which is fantastic, by the way – lots of great music from the jazz age and swing era every Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

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The kids from Sesame Street making a paper sculpture in the video.
The kids from Sesame Street making a paper sculpture in the video.

We are so excited to have been involved in this project with Sesame Street – here is the segment of the show where we provided the background music. The word of the day is “scuplture.” 🙂 Click on the link below to watch!

http://www.sesamestreet.org/videos#media/video_80fddfc4-8358-4e68-a134-5297017750ba

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Our next big milestone is Sesame Street – tune in to Sesame Street on April 18 to hear an original tune by the Mint Julep Jazz Band! If you are in Durham, NC, Sesame Street airs at 10:00 a.m. on PBS.

We’ve been asked a lot about whether or not the band will be seen on the show and if we got to meet the Muppets, etc., but even though we will not appear on the show in person, we are in the business of making music and we are happy to lend our skills to one of the non-Muppet segments that features a great enrichment activity for children. Perhaps we can work our way up to meeting the Muppets, like local legends the Squirrel Nut Zippers. 🙂

For more information about how we snagged this great opportunity, check out our previous post on Sesame Street.

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We’ve got Mint Julep Quintet gigs back to back, coming right up!

On March 22, 2013, we’ll be making our monthly appearance at the stellar G2B Gastro Pub! Admission is free, but we recommend making a reservation if you would like to eat or have a seat – please specify that you would like to be seated in the jazz lounge.

We’ve rescheduled for March 23 after getting snowed out last time – the Mint Julep Quintet is ready to take on Durham’s venerable jazz venue, Beyu Caffe! Join us for a night of swing, cocktails, and delicious food…and maybe a little dancing.

Purchase tickets for the Beyu Caffe performance here.

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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