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
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.
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.
We had a great time this past weekend performing at the 2013 Queen City Lindy Exchange! Here are a few videos we got from the show:
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.
Thanks to Jack Mitchell for taking this video of the Mint Julep Quintet performing “Some of These Days” at G2B last night!
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
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
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. 🙂
After spending the weekend in the studio recording our first album, we were sort of pinching ourselves and wondering how this was all possible – and then we remembered that this is all possible because of our amazing bunch of backers on Kickstarter! This is just a small token of our thanks, the list of all the people who crowd funded this endeavor:
If we have somehow missed your name, please email us at mintjulepjazzband@gmail.com and we will make it right!
We look forward to delivering these recordings to you all sometime before this May – thank you again for making our first recording endeavor a reality! Crowd funding is truly amazing!
We’re ready to record! This Saturday we’ll begin recording our first CD at Sound Pure Studios, located near the old Durham Bulls ballpark in Durham, NC. The studio has recorded for the likes of Merge Records, Branford Marsalis, 9th Wonder, Clay Aiken, The Mountain Goats, Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Old Ceremony, and Nnenna Freelon, and we are happy to be in such capable hands.
Also, the studio looks amazing – from the website:
“All studio room acoustics carefully combine beautiful weathered and exposed masonry-brick from the building’s original early 1900’s shell with carefully placed rough-sawn lumber and a fabric faux ceiling. The recording rooms feature slat-wall absorption with diffusive properties, that redirect sound up to the elaborate ceiling bass trapping system creating an acoustically neutral, but very musically appealing sound. The recording facility includes a lounge and kitchen- most rooms are also wired with built-in microphone wall boxes. Even the all-masonry, untreated studio lobby featuring 750 square feet of an outrageously live “wet” sound, and the entryway with near 30ft ceilings, are both wired with microphone inputs.”
Looking forward to spending our weekend there!
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
Mint Julep Jazz Band 