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. 🙂
On Saturday, March 2, 2013, we’ll be back at the Murphey School for a swing dance, hosted by the Triangle Swing Dance Society. TSDS is also hosting a day of swing dance workshops that Saturday called Localpalooza, which features many of the local swing dance instructors teaching a range of classes for all levels. If you are interested in learning how to dance, this would be a great beginner crash course! If you already know how to dance, there’s a little something for everyone – information on the workshops can be found on the Triangle Swing Dance Society website.
MJJB at the TSDS dance on December 1, 2012
As for the dance, we’ll see you at the Murphey School!
Murphey School
3717 Murphy School Road
Durham, NC 27705
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:
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.
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
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
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. 🙂
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!
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!
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!
The MJQ horns at G2B – Lucian Cobb on trombone and Aaron Hill on tenor saxophone. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Weber.
This past Friday the Mint Julep Quintet premiered at G2B Gastro Pub in Durham, NC – we’d like to thank G2B not only for giving an unknown band a chance, but also for their impeccable hospitality to both the band and our guests and, without a doubt, the greatest hamburger we have ever tasted. We managed to fill up the jazz lounge and, for that, we thank everyone who came from near and far to hear us perform, including a group of fans from Lake Gaston. It was a lovely evening, we couldn’t have asked for a better venue or crowd!
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.
We had a great time performing at the 2012 Festival for the Eno here in Durham, NC! Jessica Lamb captured the last number from our set on video, which we’ve posted below. Many thanks to everyone who braved the heat to come hear us perform!
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
We’d like to thank Ashley Warren for these wonderful photographs from the Mint Julep Jazz Band performance on February 23, 2012 at the Trotter Building in Durham, NC – check them out below!
Peter Lamb and Aaron HillAl Strong and Lucian CobbThe band!The Mint Julep horn lineLaura sings the bluesDown the line...
Mint Julep Jazz Band 