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"Jazz & Beyond: Carson City
Music Festival" (2013)
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The Millennium Bugs
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How to contact us
Mile High Jazz Band
External Links
Carson City Symphony
David Bugli website
Carson City Arts &
Culture Coalition
Sacramento Traditional
Jazz
Society (STJS)
The Mile High Jazz Band Association formed in 2001 as a nonprofit corporation
to support the MHJB and its subgroup, the Millennium Bugs (jazz combo), 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!
To book the Mile High Jazz Band (big band)
or Millennium Bugs (jazz combo),
call 775-883-4154.
Mile High Jazz Band Association Updated Mission Statement - Adopted March 4, 2012, by the
Board of Trustees:
Our mission is to enrich the cultural life of our community by promoting live
jazz performance in and around Carson City; enhancing arts education in collaboration
with other organizations and school programs; and supporting our resident big band,
the Mile High Jazz Band, and its affiliated combos.
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Millennium Bugs play for Ice Cream Social
Saturday, August 9, 2014
The Millennium Bugs play for Ice Cream Social for the
Carson City
Historical Society on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014, at the Roberts House Museum,
1207 N. Carson St., Carson City from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Note: Time of event
is subject to change.) This is part of the
"Jazz & Beyond: Carson City Music Festival." Admission is free.
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Mile High Jazz Band presents
Trombonist Bill Watrous in concert and master class
Monday, August 11, 2014
The Mile High Jazz Band is proud to present legendary trombonist Bill Watrous in
concert and in a master class on Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at the Carson City Community Center,
851 E. William St., Carson City. These events are part of the "Jazz & Beyond:
Carson City Music Festival," which runs from Aug. 1 to Aug. 17, 2014, and features over
40 events, mostly in the downtown Carson City area.
The concert is at 7:30 p.m. The Mile High Jazz Band will accompany Mr. Watrous
on the first half of the program. On the second half of the program he will be
accompanied by Bill Hecht on piano, Hans Halt on bass, and Andy Heglund on drums.
Hecht is a staple of the regional jazz scene, as are Halt and Heglund, who are on
the music faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno. Admission to the concert is $15.
Tickets are available at Play Your Own Music in the Carson Mall, may be ordered online
from the festival website at JazzCarsonCity.com, or may be purchased at the door.
The trombone master class with Bill Watrous is from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m., at the
Community Center. Local trombonists were invited to work with Mr. Watrous on their
trombone technique, jazz improvisation, and other musical skills. This is a great
opportunity for the public to learn by observing these lessons up close. The master
class is open to the public and is free. It is funded, in part, by For the
Love of Jazz (FTLOJ).
Bill Watrous is a master technician on the trombone and is generally considered
a bop-oriented player. He is known for his clean sound on up-tempo songs and ballads.
His first solo album, "In Love Again," featured his ballad playing and was the first
in a long discography featuring his work as a leader and as a sideman. Sought after
for studio work, he performed or recorded with several famous bandleaders including
Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman, and Quincy Jones, as well as fellow trombonists
Kai Winding and Carl Fontana. He was with the house band for the Merv Griffin Show
from 1965 to 1968. In the 1970s he created his own group, Manhattan Wildlife Refuge,
which he renamed Refuge West when he moved from the east coast to southern California.
He now lives in Los Angeles and is on the faculty of the University of Southern California.
Information about "Jazz & Beyond" can be found at JazzCarsonCity.com.
"Jazz & Beyond" is supported by Mile High Jazz Band Assoc., Carson City, and the
Nevada Commission on Tourism. This will be the only performance by the Mile High
Jazz Band in August, but the band generally performs on the second Tuesday of each
month throughout the rest of the year. For more information, call the
Mile High Jazz Band at 775-883-4154, or visit the web site: MileHighJazz.com.
Tickets
Tickets for the concert are available online at ActivityTicket.com, where you can use a credit
or debit card. Just click on the "BUY NOW" button below. Tickets are $15. You may
also call 775-883-4154 for tickets or obtain them at
The Purple Avocado at 904 N. Curry St. and
Play Your Own Music in the Carson Mall, (cash or check only).
Use the "Buy Now" button to order your tickets at ActivityTickets.com.
Note: Because of this event with Bill Watrous, the Mile High Jazz Band will not be
performing on the second Tuesday in August, nor on the last day of the "Jazz & Beyond"
festival. The next "second Tuesday" performance will be on Sept. 9, 2014.
Photo of Bill Watrous is courtesy of John Dugan.
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Most Comma Coffee gigs
are on the second Tuesday of each month from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
General Information
The Mile High Jazz Band, an 18-member "big band" composed of 17 instrumentalists
and a vocalist, began performing in 1997. The group features music in the Count
Basie-Duke Ellington-Woody Herman tradition, as well as more contemporary styles,
selected from a repertoire of over 100 tunes. They play ballads, high-powered
jazz tunes, and dance music arranged by Nestico, Niehaus, Taylor, and other great arrangers.
Mile High Jazz Band performs for community events, fundraisers, dances, receptions,
private parties, and in concert. They have played benefits for New York Firefighters,
Red Cross Disaster Relief, Carson-Tahoe Hospital Foundation, Douglas County Library
Foundation, and the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. They have been featured
in concerts at the Brewery Arts Center and on the Carson City Symphony's "Holiday Treat"
and "Pops Party" concerts. They play monthly at Comma Coffee and collaborate with local
poets in quarterly "Jazz and Poetry" events, alternating poetry readings with related
musical selections. Mile High Jazz Band has performed in Carson City, Reno, Minden,
Fallon, Yerington, Stateline, Incline Village, Virginia City, and Crystal Bay.
In 2002, Mile High Jazz Band won "Best Band" award in Carson City's "Taste of
Downtown." In 2003, American Composers Forum selected Mile High Jazz Band and
Bella Voce women's choir for a national Continental Harmony project. In 2007,
leader David Bugli received the Nevada Governor's Arts Award for Distinguished
Service to the Arts, and the band played for the awards ceremony. Mile High Jazz
Band plays annual benefits with the Carson High Jazz Band to help the high school
band attend the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. Also, the Mile High Jazz Band Association
founded and produces or co-produces an annual, multi-day Jazz Festival in Carson City in August.
The band performs around the Carson City area. You can
catch us on most second Tuesdays of each month at Comma Coffee,
across from
the State Legislature Building.
Millennium Bugs
The Millennium Bugs, a jazz combo associated with the Mile High Jazz Band,
play a great variety of jazz styles. They performed for the Carson City
Preservation Coalition/Historical Society, Olympic Torch Relay Ceremony in
Carson City, Carson City Music Club, Westview block party, Camel Race Day in
Virginia City, Carson Nugget showroom, Carson-Tahoe Hospital Foundation, Carson
High Prom, BAC Beer Tasting, weddings, receptions, and parties.
Mile High Jazz Band Association board meetings are held quarterly.
Call 775-883-4154 for details.
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