Mile High Jazz Band presents "On the Verge"
Big Band Jazz and Poetry
Tuesday, June 10, 2025

The Mile High Jazz Band, singer Jakki Ford, and nine award-winning poets and readers present "On the Verge," an evening of big-band jazz and poetry, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., at Gina's Good Life Music & Lounge, 507 N. Carson Street, inside the Carson Nugget.

The music is free, requested donation $10. Gina's is a smoke-free, climate-controlled venue, and has a well-stocked bar and interesting specialty drinks.

"On the Verge" features the 17-member band playing swinging songs on the theme of the evening in all its variations. Poets and readers are Rita Geil, Terri Breeden, Ursula Carlson, Wayne Carlson, Krista Lukas, Melanie Perish, Susan Sara Priest, Timothy Rhodes, and Reno Poet Laureate Jesse James Ziegler.

Each poem expresses an aspect of the theme and is followed by a tune that relates to the poem. Several tunes feature Jakki Ford singing with the band. Pianist and bandleader David Bugli said, "We'd like to tell you the tunes we will be playing, but that would spoil the fun. The audience can make connections between the poems and the tunes that follow them. You need to be there to experience it."

Mile High Jazz Band performances and educational activities are supported in part by private donations and memberships, and by grants from Carson City and from the Nevada Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts. For information about the band and its activities, see milehighjazz.com.

Photo: Mile High Jazz Band's "Jazz & Poetry" on June 10 will feature Rita Geil (pictured), eight other poets, and vocalist Jakki Ford.

Jazz & Beyond Planners Announce Entertainment for 2025
Posted: May 3, 2025

The planners of the Jazz & Beyond Festival are proud to announce most of the performers for this year's festival. Besides some of the finest jazz talent the area has to offer, we feature other styles of music and entertainment including country & western, folk, latin music, ragtime, and even cowboy poetry.

Here are the performers for 2025 (in alphabetical order): Carolyn Dolan Band, Carson Street Ragtime Band, Cherie and John Shipley's "Take This Band," cowboy poets (Larry Martinel & Johanna Foster, Nancy Harris McLelland), Dallas Smith & Susan Mazer, Darrell and the Darrell-Licks, Dom & Friends, Doug Sandall and Dale Poune (the Double D's), Gardnervillains, Jazz Catz, The Jazzettes USA, Kantu Inka Machu Picchu, Leslie Fudge group, Lucky Diamond and the Incontinentals, Mark & Bella, Mile High Jazz Band's Basie Birthday event, Monique De Haviland Band, Niall McGuinness' New World Jazz Project, No Comprende, Reno Jazz Orchestra, Reno Jazz Project, Retro Radio Dolls, RoseBud's Dance Band, Sagebrush Rebels, and Tom Stryker's Impromtu.

Details of locations and times will be posted later.

Jazz & Beyond Art Contest
Submittal Date Extended to May 15, 2025
Posted: May 3, 2025

The deadline for the 2025 Jazz & Beyond Festival art contest has been extended to Thursday, May 15, 2025. The contest is for northern Nevada artists, including teachers and students. The winning entry will be featured on the festival's advertising poster and program cover and the winner will receive a cash award of $200. Festival T-shirts this year may also feature the winning design. Entry forms are available for download from jazzcarsoncity.com. Participation is free.

The Jazz & Beyond festival, now in its 22nd year, is produced by Mile High Jazz Band Association. The artwork will be judged by a Jazz & Beyond committee. Art Contest Coordinator Alexander Cassimus said, "The artist's work will be front and center, viewed by thousands of festival patrons."

Artists may submit more than one entry. Artwork must be 11"x14" and may be in any two-dimensional medium (photography, digital collage and photography, watercolor, acrylic, oil, etc.). Artwork must be matted, backed, and submitted in a protective sleeve. The design should relate to music. Each submission requires a separate entry form.

Artists are asked to deliver their entries by Thursday, May 15, to the NAA Gallery, 449 W. King Street, Carson City, Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 4:00 p.m., or contact Alexander Cassimus at 408-264-4423 or away4@earthlink.net for other options.

Entry forms are available for download from jazzcarsoncity.com/artcontest2025.pdf (click on the link).

The entry form and a photo or digital image of the artwork (not to exceed 20 MB) must also be sent as an email attachment to jazzcarsoncity@gmail.com

For more information about the contest and entry forms, contact Alexander Cassimus at 408-264-4423 or away4@earthlink.net.

Photo: Jazz & Beyond Committee member Elinor Bugli (left) and artist Carol Foldvary-Anderson show winning artwork, "Digital Collage Improv," used for the 2023 Jazz & Beyond flyer, program, and T-shirt.

A Way To Make a Donation to Mile High Jazz Band
Posted: Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Updated: Sept. 27, 2024

We have a helpful way for people to make a donation to Mile High Jazz Band Assoc. They can scan a QR code with their smart phone, which will bring them to a webpage that will make it possible for them to donate $10, $20, or any multiple of $10 via Square. We are not charging admission for our events at Gina's, but we are encouraging people to make a donation to the band and the Association.

Tell your friends to try it out. We will have a sign with a QR code at performances.

If you like, click HERE to go directly to the Square webpage for donations.

The Mile High Jazz Band Association formed in 2001 as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation to support the MHJB and its subgroups, promote live jazz performance in northern Nevada, educate the public about jazz, and enrich the cultural life of the community. Member benefits include mailings, discounts on admissions, and invitations to special events, plus the satisfaction of helping big-band jazz to thrive!