I’ll be making another appearance with esteemed Los Angeles bandleader Jonathan Stout and his Orchestra at Glen Echo Park’s Spanish Ballroom for the Saturday night dance at the Washington DC Lindy Exchange, April 25, 2015 – singing with this band at this venue for this event is going to be delightful! See you at DCLX!
It’s back to back weekends singing with Michael Gamble and his Rhythm Serenaders, this time I’ll be heading south to warmer climates for Swing Into Spring, a weekend of swing dance workshops in Columbia, South Carolina. We’ll be performing at the Saturday night main dance on February 14, 2015 from 8:00 p.m. to midnight. Come spend Valentines Day with us! 😉 For more information on the weekend, visit the Swing Into Spring website.
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)
It’s not every day that you get to sing with a big band, much less FIVE NIGHTS of big band music! This year I return to Lindy Focus to lend my vocals to the Jonathan Stout Orchestra, which will be featuring the music of a different bandleader each night of the event – Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and New Year’s Eve will feature all the other great tunes in Jonathan’s big band book. The lineup of musicians has been referred to as a “murderer’s row” of jazz/swing musicians and I’m delighted to be among their ranks – to have the opportunity to work with all of them and perform for so many wonderful dancers is such a joy! I’ll also be lending my DJ skills to the late night Balboa room – see you soon!
Singing with the Jonathan Stout Orchestra at Lindy Focus, New Year’s Eve 2013. Photo courtesy of Mike Thibault.
I’ve probably lost my mind, but I am beyond excited about the events coming in August and early September! The first two are for fun and the last four are gigs, which also happen to be fun – I love that singing has afforded me such great travel opportunities this year, performing with several different bands! Here’s where I’ll be, barring forces majeure:
August 8-10, 2014 – competing and social dancing at the Southeast Summer Brawl in Columbia, SC
August 16-17, 2014 – immersing myself in a 1920’s alternate universe and dancing like a mad flapper at the Jazz Age Lawn Party in New York City
August 21-24, 2014 – I’ll be pulling double duty at the International Lindy Hop Championships in Arlington, VA, DJ’ing and singing with the Jonathan Stout Orchestra and Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five!
August 28-29, 2014 – I’ll be joining Michael Gamble’s Rhythm Serenaders on vocals at Swing Out New Hampshire!
September 6, 2014 – the Mint Julep Jazz Band returns to the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, MD, courtesy of the Jam Cellar!
September 12-13, 2014 – I’m back with Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five for the Knoxville Lindy Exchange!
So many exclamation points!!! Six states in six weekends – see you on the road!
On the heels of Lindy Focus, I will be making another appearance with Los Angeles’ own Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five at the Rocky Mountain Balboa Blowout in Denver, Colorado, for two nights of performances, February 21 and 22, 2014. I have enjoyed DJ’ing this event in the past and am excited to return as a part of the live music for the weekend. Denver is such a fun place to visit – looking forward to dancing, singing, and dinner and cocktails at Steuben’s. 😀
I’m excited to announce that I will be DJ’ing and singing at Lindy Focus this year! I’ll resume my spot, along with DJ Kristy Milliken, at the Avalon Balboa Dance Party, the late night Balboa room at Lindy Focus. I’ll be joining Jonathan Stout‘s bands on vocals for three nights, singing with Campus Five, the Rhythm Busters, and the Jonathan Stout Orchestra on New Year’s Eve! To say that I am excited would be an understatement – looking forward to it and all the dancing, as well! 😀
I am excited to be performing at the very first Be My Jazz Baby, a weekend of workshops and dances in Norfolk, Virginia, January 20-22, 2012. Bill Speidel and Victor Celania have put together a fantastic schedule, featuring instructors Michael Gamble, Jaya Dorf, Adam Speen, and Abigail Browning, with Drew Nugent and the Midnight Society of Philadelphia bringing their raucous jazz age tunes to both Friday and Saturday night dances. I’ll be singing a few tunes with Drew and the boys!
Bill and Victor have also made arrangements for a number of vendors to attend Be My Jazz Baby, so Lindy Shopper will be on hand to get the scoop. 😉 Looking forward to Be My Jazz Baby!
Starting a new band raises a lot of questions – in conversations with people, these questions have come up most frequently, so here’s a little FAQ to get you more acquainted with the Mint Julep Jazz Band:
What kind of music will you play?
We will focus on music from the 1920’s and 1930’s, but some early 1940’s tunes may creep into the mix. The band will be playing arrangements that are either transcribed from original recordings or reproductions of original recordings (or a combination of both – sometimes having a hi-fi reference helps a lot) and arrangements that our maestro Lucian Cobb creates on his own, based on songs from this era. We will be playing a few arrangements Lucian has done in the past and songs you may have heard vocalist Laura Windley perform, but the majority of the material will be new. Most importantly, this music will swing!
How many people will be in the band?
Right now, we really like the idea of having either a 7 or 8 piece band, giving us either a 3 or 4 piece rhythm section with 3 horns, plus a vocalist. With this format, we are able to play arrangements of big band or smaller group charts, giving us a fuller sound than a jazz combo. We are also able to offer a more affordable alternative to a big band.
Will you have a smaller group?
Unfortunately, we will not have a smaller group. We understand that this limits the venues we can play, especially locally, but we are more interested in creating a specific sound.
Who is going to be in the band?
We’d like to have a set lineup, but in the jazz world this is not always possible – some of our band members have bands of their own, so we are fortunate enough to have other jazz musicians that we have worked with in the past to fill their shoes. You can be sure you will see Peter Lamb (sax), Al Strong (trumpet), Aaron Tucker (drums), Jason Foureman (bass), Aaron Hill (sax), Rich Willey (trumpet), Kyle Santos (trumpet), Mark Wells (piano), and other great jazz musicians from the Triangle and beyond who we enjoy performing with and will lend their unique talents to this endeavor.
When will you be ready to play?
The goal is to be ready in March and, indeed, we’ve already got gigs in March 2012 and beyond! For more details, see our calendar page. We do have a show on February 23 for RDU Rent Party – we invite everyone to come to this sneak preview!
Where will you play?
Our bread and butter will be swing dances, and we’ve already got a wedding on the books. We are also available for community events, outdoor festivals, jazz societies, schools, private parties, charity events/fundraisers, historic and reenactment-related events, and, really, anywhere that people enjoy music. We are looking to travel outside of the Triangle area of North Carolina and would welcome gig opportunities in other cities.
The Blue Crescent Syncopators are playing the Saturday night dance at Jammin' on the James
This weekend I will be traveling to Richmond, Virginia to DJ and sing at this year’s Jammin’ on the James, Richmond’s annual swing dance workshop weekend, featuring instructors Carla Heiney, Nick Williams, Casey Schneider, and Mike Faltesek.
I’ll be sharing DJ duties with Bill Speidel and hopefully grab some time to go vintage shopping with this infamous sartorialist. I’ve been invited to share the stage for the first time with Washington, D.C.’s Blue Crescent Syncopators, so I will be singing a few tunes with this band on Saturday night. It’s also my birthday this weekend, so there’s a lot to look forward to at Jammin’ on the James!
Laura Windley 