It’s our last show of the year and we are delighted to be performing for the Triangle Swing Dance Society for their election/potluck dance. To usher in the season, we’ll be performing a couple of Christmas tunes in our set. Come dance off all the turkey you ate last week!
Triangle Swing Dance Society dance
Murphey School
3717 Murphy School Road, Durham, NC
Admission: Members/students $8.00, general admission $12.00
Free beginner lesson at 7:00 p.m.
Band plays from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
A Captured Image, the official photographers of the Eastern Balboa Championships, took a few photos of the band during the performance on November 2, 2012 – here are some of our favorites:
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!
We had a great time performing at G2B Gastro Pub last night and we are excited that this will be a regular gig for us every month! Here’s some video that our friend Jack Mitchell took from the show:
After a successful first show at G2B Gastro Pub, they have invited us back to perform again on Saturday, November 17! Come join us for one of the most delicious meals in Durham, prepared by Chef Carrie Schleiffer and served by her stellar waitstaff. We love the fried mac and cheese, goat cheese croquettes, sweet potato wedges, and believe that they truly have the best burger on the planet.
We’ll have a couple of new tunes this go around, come to listen or come to dance!
G2B Gastro Pub
3211 Shannon Road #106
Durham, NC 27707
8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
No cover!
Call (919) 251-9451 for reservations or make your reservations on the web at OpenTable.
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!
Never heard us or heard of us? Take a minute to check out our ReverbNation page for a preview: http://www.reverbnation.com/mintjulepjazzband
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!
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.
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.
No, seriously, they really do. John Ennis and Ruth Brown are getting married on September 8, 2012 and are opening up their wedding reception to be an open-to-the-public swing dance. For John and Ruth, there is no better way to spend their wedding weekend than surrounded by live swing music and dancing. To that end, they have planned a weekend doing just that and are inviting everyone who wishes to dance to amazing music to attend not one, but two dance events – the more the merrier!
Here’s the information from the Facebook invite:
“Friday, September 7th, 2012
Live Band: Gypsy Roots
9:00pm – midnight
Beginner Lindy Hop lesson at 7:30
Saturday, September 8th, 2012
Live Band: The Mint Julep Jazz Band
2:00pm-5:00pm
Beginner Lindy Hop lesson at 1:00
Location:
Lewis Ginter Recreation Association
3421 Hawthorne Ave.
Richmond, VA
Admission:
General: $10 for one dance, $15 for both
Students: $7 for one dance, $10 for both
Spiffy attire encouraged for the Saturday dance (we’ll be in wedding attire)! Please wear comfortable shoes with smooth soles (please, no black rubber soles).
New to dancing? Have no fear! Ruth and John will be teaching the beginner lesson before the Friday night dance, while Erica Vess and Ryan Lemar will be teaching the beginner lesson before the Saturday afternoon dance. No dance partner required.
Erica Vess will also provide her excellent and nationally recognized DJ skills during the band breaks!
And of course, there will be cake…”
We are excited to be a part of the wedding festivities and are looking forward to dancing, cake, and performing at the historic ballroom at the Lewis Ginter Recreation Center!
Mint Julep Jazz Band 