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TL/DR: The Mint Julep Jazz Band is recording our third album, Watch the Birdie, and the Kickstarter launched today for pre-orders and swag!

Our album artwork was lovingly painted by the incredible Durham-based artist Darius Quarles.

(From our vocalist Laura Windley)

When I was young, I wondered why each subsequent band album seemed to have more and more years between albums, but now I understand. When a band does well, they are busy, then the members are busy contributing to other endeavors, and then people need a break after being so busy, so the thought of a new album is definitely lower on the priority list, particularly when other work is steady.

In 2020, we decided that 5 years was enough time gone by since the release of Battle Axe and that we should record another album. You know how the rest of this story goes with the global COVID-19 pandemic essentially putting a halt to life as we knew it.

We scheduled this recording a couple of times during the pandemic and had to keep pushing it back, but we believe it’s for real this time, so we are launching a Kickstarter today for album pre-orders and swag. I know some of you have told me that you need a new tee shirt, so we got you! I’m also excited to add enamel pins, Burt’s Bees, a sponsorship option, and some quality time noshing with yours truly as rewards, in addition to some of our recurring rewards.

What will this album be? It’s a dance album, of course, but it’s also the culmination of efforts aggregated just prior to the pandemic that still feel new to us, plus some new-to-us arrangements created during the pandemic, and some old favorites that should be put on tape. The project feels fresh to us, so we hope you enjoy it as we slowly re-open our jazz dance and music community.

It’s also a celebration of our 10th anniversary as a band! Our first gig was in February of 2012 at the (now defunct) Hot Club of Durham weekly swing dance in the Trotter Building in Durham’s DIY district. I look at videos of that night and think about how far we’ve come, but also how we did a respectable job for a very first gig. It’s been a wild ride and we thank you for all the wonderful musical experiences we’ve shared since then.

Visit our Kickstarter page for more information about the tracks on the album, swag, and how to get your copy/copies of our recordings – we’re offering digital, CD, and vinyl this time! You have 58 days to get your order in, the countdown begins…

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Photographs from the 2021 Orchard Park Jazz Picnic, courtesy of Tom Lassiter

We are excited to announce that the Orchard Park Jazz Picnic will be happening again on June 4, 2022 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at historic Orchard Park near downtown Durham. The first OPJP in June of 2021 was a huge success, in that small, hopeful period of time between vaccinations and the rise of the Delta variant. For many, it was their first outing amongst a gathering of people and/or their first social dances since the beginning of the pandemic.

We were able to crowd fund our basic expenses for permits, port-a-potties, and band pay in order to make this event happen once again – thanks so much to our swing jazz community for supporting this event, which is free and open to the public. Our donors/sponsors are the following:

Raleigh Rolfing (official sponsor)

Sarah Price

Michael Steinman Jazz Lives

Lauren Gibson

Valerie Glassman

Laura Stamm Paye

Lindsley Bowen

Elizabeth A Watkins

Allison Meeks

Jennifer Andrews

Micki McCarthy

Dee Mathews

Eliza Biehl

Audrey Fowler MacInnes

Michelle Long

Gretchen Midgley

Natalie Gabriel

Sue Carson

Gemma Odena

Anne Marie Warren Nolan

Eris Discordia

Jackie O’Neil Plys

Ken Hanson

Alina Kerov

Saira Jane

Abbey Berkebile

Theresa-Marie Rhyne

Mary Lou Mazzara

James Posedel

Alison Matney

Andrew Wilson

Brian Green

Lily Shaw

Andrew Selzer

Cassie Stoa

Andy Nishida

Summerlin Page Webb

Gary A. Miller

Jack Mitchell

Tom Lassiter

For more information and updates, please RSVP or check in with the Facebook event.

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In non-COVID times, the Mint Julep Jazz Band would have performed over Labor Day weekend at Camp Hollywood, but this year Camp Hollywood put on a four day virtual event that was as close to the real thing as we can get right now.  We decided to put together a remote recording with video and audio of the band performing “Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet” to premiere at Virtual Camp Hollywood and now you can watch it on YouTube.  Enjoy!

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UPDATE: In light of the pandemic, the Mint Julep Jazz Band concert on March 22, 2020 at Galloway Ridge for Fearrington Cares has been canceled. We are hoping to reschedule this concert for the fall.  Stay healthy and safe, everyone!

We’ll be performing a concert on March 22, 2020 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Chapin Auditorium at Galloway Ridge as a fundraiser for Fearrington Cares, which provides “information and services to all residents of the Fearrington Community that will facilitate the health, safety and independent living activities of those residents on a non-profit basis.”  Tickets are $40 and you can purchase advance tickets and get more information by visiting the Fearrington Cares website or by visiting the Fearrington Cares Center located at 26 Swim and Croquet, Pittsboro, NC on any weekday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. prior to March 18, 2020.  See you soon!

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We are excited to announce a double-nighter on the southern coast/Cape Fear area of North Carolina, which is a new area for us and I know some people are very excited to have us in their town for a little hot jazz listening and rug-cutting!

On Friday, January 10, 2020 we’ll be at the Hannah Block Historic USO in Wilmington, NC for a swing dance hosted by the Cape Fear Swing Dance Society – join us from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. for dancing in this historic venue.  Admission is $15.00.  For more information visit the CFSDS website.

On Saturday, January 11, 2020 we will do a rare sit-down concert for Brunswick Community College’s Odell Williamson Auditorium in Bolivia, NC.  We’ll plan a program of interesting tidbits and tasty tunes for your listening ears.  For more information and to purchase advance tickets, visit the auditorium’s concert series website.

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The next two weekends are packed with great dancing and music and we’re excited to be a part of all of it!  On July 6, 2019, find us at the historical Glen Echo Spanish Ballroom for the inaugural Red, White, & Bal, a Balboa Workshop weekend hosted by Capital City Swing.  We’ll be performing from 9 p.m. to midnight – for more information, visit the event website.

On July 13, 2019, our hometown of Durham, NC is the backdrop for the Triangle Swing Dance Society’s first full-fledged Lindy Hop workshop weekend, the Bull City Swingout.  We’ll be performing at another historic ballroom, the Durham Armory, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.  For more information, visit the BCS website.

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