Super proud of the Mint Julep Jazz Band’s performance at the 15th annual All Balboa Weekend in Cleveland, Ohio on June 13, 2015 – it was our third year performing at the event and the dancers always show us so much love and appreciation! I took a video from the stage, including shots of the band and the crowd of Balboa dancers during the tune “Old King Dooji.” Enjoy!
On May 27, 2015, the Mint Julep Jazz Band will return to Koka Booth Amphitheater‘s Crescent Deck to perform as part of the Hob Nob Jazz Concert Series! We’ll be performing three sets of music from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bring a picnic and join us on the deck or bring a blanket and recline in the grass.
Admission is $5 for adults; Kids 12 and under free – you can purchase advance tickets at Koka Booth Amphitheater’s website. Pets on leashes are allowed and also get in free. 🙂 See you soon, Cary!
The view from the Crescent Deck at Koka Booth Amphitheater, taken at our performance two years ago, courtesy of Sweet Life Studios: http://www.sweetlifestudios.com/
I am so happy the Mint Julep Jazz Band is returning to Common 414, Raleigh’s 1920’s-themed cocktail bar, for another double header in May. We’ll be performing May 3 and May 17, 2015 (both are Sunday nights) from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Come relax and drink a cocktail on one of Common 414’s many comfy couches or bring your dance shoes and cut a rug in front of the band. There’s plenty of room for everyone!
My next traveling adventure will be roadtripping with my band, the Mint Julep Jazz Band, to Orlando, Florida for ORLX – the Orlando Lindy Exchange! We’ll be performing at the main dances on March 6 and 7, two nights of live music for your Lindy Hopping feet. Looking forward to warmer climates and we hear Orlando has some great venues. Maybe some pool time? Whatever happens, it’s going to be awesome. 🙂
I decided to put together a playlist of all the tunes I sang with the Jonathan Stout Orchestra (aka Jonathan Stout and the Lindy Focus All Star Orchestra) that have been published on the Lindy Focus YouTube channel for my personal reference, then decided it might be good to share it with followers of this website. Here they are, videos available (there were many more performed than recorded, but we are grateful that so many were recorded) from each night of Lindy Focus XIII – I’ve made a YouTube playlist or you can watch them individually below:
COUNT BASIE NIGHT, December 27, 2014 (which was really Billie Holiday night for me, since there were no available old testament Basie female vocal charts):
ARTIE SHAW NIGHT, December 28, 2014 (no videos were filmed of my songs from this night)
DUKE ELLINGTON NIGHT, December 29, 2014
BENNY GOODMAN NIGHT, December 30, 2014
NEW YEAR’S EVE, December 31, 2014 (unofficial known as Kitchen Sink night)
The Mint Julep Jazz Band will be performing at Austin, Texas’ unique and awesome event, Hot Rhythm Holiday, a weekend of dances, workshops, and live music focusing on the dances Balboa and Collegiate Shag. This is the band’s first fly-out gig and we’re excited, but hope everything goes well at the airport. Cross your fingers for no delays! Once we get there on January 17, we hope we’ll have the afternoon to explore a Austin a bit before we perform at The Fed that night. We’ll be sharing the stage with Austin’s own Thrift Set Orchestra for four sets of live music at the Saturday night dance!
I am excited to announce that the Mint Julep Jazz Band will be working with Common 414, a new 1920’s themed cocktail bar that has opened in Raleigh, NC – three upcoming events of note!
1) Friday, November 14, 2014, the Mint Julep Quintet will play from 8-11p.m. and at 10:00 p.m. we’ll be hosting and playing live music for a Charleston contest! Come show off your gams and your hot jazz moves – the winner of the Charleston contest gets a Mint Julep Jazz Band prize pack (CD, shoe bag, button) and a VIP Booth Package for Common 414 (a $250 value).
2) and 3) On two Sundays in January (11th and 25th), 2015 we begin what we hope will be a regular gig for the Mint Julep Jazz Band, so you can hear all this great music from the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s performed by our little big band twice a month! We say we hope because continuation of this event depends on you voting to keep MJJB here with your feet and your wonderful presence. Band plays from 7-10 p.m., $5 cover because there are a lot of people in the band!
Thanks so much to Common 414 for giving us this opportunity, it’s rare to see bands this large with regular gigs and we’ll do our best to keep this one – swing out, Raleigh!
The Mint Julep Jazz Band was excited to be invited to provide music for Our State Magazine‘s Music in the Library video series, which shares and highlights songs from North Carolina musical artists filmed at Our State Magazine’s headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. We filled up their cozy library space with eight musicians, swing, and hot jazz on a hot June afternoon and the results came out great, using just three microphones and three cameras.
The band recorded “Swingtime in Honolulu,” “Rock it for Me,” and “Miami Boulevard” – visit the Our State YouTube channel for all the videos from this series!
The Mint Julep Jazz Band‘s first gig was on February 23, 2012 at an RDU Rent Party swing dance, which we decided to live stream primarily because one of our friends was in the hospital and requested it. It was a great idea and, not only was our friend able to tune in, 79 other people did, as well!
We are excited that the band has seen success over the past two years and to commemorate our second anniversary we will live stream our February 1, 2014 show at the Triangle Swing Dance Society swing dance in Durham, NC!
To tune in, visit our UStream channel on February 1 any time from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mint-julep-jazz-band
Lindy Focus was such a tidal wave of positive energy this year – even though I didn’t have a lot of down time, all that energy kept me going and going! I got to work with some of the most amazing musicians and dancers, and even spin some tunes in the Balboa room. 🙂 It was an honor to be invited to be in the New Year’s Eve show, done to live music for the first time, and to work with Evita Arce, who is the creative genius who put together the show from scratch. It was a pleasure to perform with Jonathan Stout and his all-star band of musicians – the energy from the band performances was immense and infectious!
I’ve posted below my contributions to the New Year’s Eve show – a recreation of the Duke Ellington Short “Bli Blip” with whiz kid Jon Tigert and a performance of “Sunny Side of the Street” featuring tapper extraordinare Mike Herring – and a version of “Me Myself and I” performed with Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five. Campus Five first:
Laura Windley 