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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:

John is a big fan of Fred Astaire and we’ll be performing at least one of his songs for the reception/dance

“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!

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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

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The terms “jazz” and “swing” can conjure very different imagery and sounds, depending on who you ask. With that in mind, it can be difficult to describe the music we perform in the Mint Julep Jazz Band. When most people think of “jazz,” what usually comes to mind is smaller combos playing bebop, modern jazz, straight ahead jazz, or standards. The term “swing” tends to bring up thoughts of Glenn Miller’s recording of “In the Mood,” Benny Goodman’s recording of “Sing Sing Sing,” or even Louis Prima’s “Jump, Jive, and Wail.” While the understanding of these terms may be more of a pop culture reference to most, it’s kind of like saying all music from the 1970’s is disco, or all music from the 1980’s is new wave – the terms jazz and swing have a much broader definition, with jazz as the umbrella term and swing as a subset of jazz.

A packed Casino Ballroom at Catlina Island, CA, circa 1940, swing band in the distance, beyond the sea of people...

So where does the Mint Julep Jazz Band fit into swing and jazz?

Jazz, in its earliest form, originated in the early 20th century. In terms of a timeline, the Mint Julep Jazz Band doesn’t go all the way back to the beginning of jazz, but does pick up jazz shortly thereafter. In the 1920’s, jazz grew to prominence and began to gain mass appeal, thanks to the popularity of radio and enhancements in recording technology. The Mint Julep Jazz Band plays several arrangements of jazz tunes from this era, primarily from the late 1920’s.

Jazz continued to gain popularity into the 1930’s, and began to take on the name “swing.” Most of the music we play is from the 1930’s and early 1940’s, which was the height of the swing era. This music is still jazz and, at the time, was America’s pop music – it was the music that filled the dance halls and airwaves, it was trendy and was associated with youth culture. We believe this music was popular because it is so much fun – it’s toe-tapping music, has a great energy, and is a joy to perform.

Thus, it’s possible for us to be both a jazz band and a swing band because the terms overlap. We hope you’ll come to one of our shows and hear some of this music firsthand – even within early jazz and swing, there are different sounds and subsets to keep things interesting, and we think you’ll like what you hear!

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On Saturday, March 31, the Mint Julep Jazz Band will be featured at Altar Ego, an event at the Washington Duke Inn that features a bridal fashion show, table top designs, food, music and dancing.

The Washington Duke Inn
3001 Cameron Boulevard
Durham, NC 27705

6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Mint Julep Jazz Band plays from 8:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

General Admission: $35.00
VIP Admission (front row seating): $75.00

For more information and to purchase tickets, see the event’s Eventbrite page.

For photographs of past Altar Ego events, visit http://www.trebellabridal.com/Fashion_Show.html.

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The Mint Julep Jazz Band is looking forward to playing the Saturday night dance of the Queen City Lindy Exchange on March 10, 2012 in Charlotte, NC! The Queen City Lindy Exchange is a weekend-long Lindy Hop event offering almost non-stop DJ’ed and live music for swing dancing, showcasing the dance community and venues in Charlotte. The Saturday night dance details:

Chantilly Hall
2101 Shenandoah Ave.
Charlotte, NC 28205

7:00 p.m. – Beginner Balboa lesson with Chris & Holly Owens

8:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. – Open dancing, with a Jack and Jill swing dance competition to occur during one of the band breaks

A la carte price – $25 at the door

Weekend pass – $60.00 until March 7, $65.00 at the door

For more information, visit http://www.qclx.org.

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Thanks to everyone who either came out last night to hear the band at the RDU Rent Party/Hot Club of Durham swing dance or tuned in for the show via live stream on Ustream – we had a great time playing for everyone! If you missed the show and the live stream, vocalist Laura Windley managed to video a few songs from the show, which are posted below – enjoy!

“Main Stem,” performed by the Mint Julep Jazz Band at the RDU Rent Party/Hot Club of Durham swing dance, February 23, 2012, Durham, NC.

“Deed I Do,” performed by the Mint Julep Jazz Band at the RDU Rent Party/Hot Club of Durham swing dance, February 23, 2012, Durham, NC.

“Front and Center,” performed by the Mint Julep Jazz Band at the RDU Rent Party/Hot Club of Durham swing dance, February 23, 2012, Durham, NC.

“Jive at Five,” performed by the Mint Julep Jazz Band at the RDU Rent Party/Hot Club of Durham swing dance, February 23, 2012, Durham, NC.

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Al's a crooner, who knew? Shenanigans at the photo shoot...

Several events have requested promotional photos, so we decided to put together a photo shoot. This proved to be a more difficult task than we imagined, coordinating schedules with 8 band members, a photographer, and various venues as possible backdrops. When all else failed, we decided to meet after a rehearsal at a public building. When we got to the location we realized it was locked, but we made the best of the situation by doing the shoot outside, in the dark, doing our best to stay warm in the freezing January weather. Special thanks to Richard and Katherine Springs of A Captured Image for braving the cold with us to take these photos!

Check out the frozen fruits of our labor, which are also available on the “Photos” page of this website. From left to right in the photo below: Peter Lamb (tenor saxophone), Jared Wofford (guitar/banjo), Aaron Tucker (drums), Aaron Hill (alto saxophone/clarinet), Jason Foureman (bass), Al Strong (trumpet), Lucian Cobb (trombone), and Laura Windley (vocals).