Welcome to the Mile High Jazz Band Website

 

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Past Performance Schedule

 

Rehearsal Schedule

 

About the Players

 

About the Alumni Players

 

"Jazz & Beyond: Carson City
Music Festival" (2016 to 2025)

 

Audio Samples

 

The Millennium Bugs

Press Releases

 

Membership form

 

Funding Priorities

 

How to contact us

 

  MileHighJazz.com QR code

 

Mile High Jazz Band


External Links

 

Carson City Symphony

David Bugli website

Carson City Arts & Culture Coalition (FB page)

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.


MHJB Assoc. Board and Officers
The MHJBA board, July 2024:

  • Trustees class of 2025: David Bugli, Rita Geil, Ted Xie
  • Trustees class of 2026: Ellie Bugli, Steve Hayes, Adam Cohen
  • Trustees class of 2027: Kelly Dodge, Alex Cassimus, Doug Conner
    (Class of 2027 elected at 6/20/2024 Annual Meeting)

Officers elected at 9/8/2024 Board Meeting:
  • President: David Bugli
  • Vice President: Kelly Dodge
  • Treasurer: Ellie Bugli
  • Secretary: Ellie Bugli

The Mile High Jazz Band Assoc. is a member of the Carson City Downtown Business Assoc.

Logo for CCDBA



Mile High Jazz Band Presents "Early Autumn Jazz"
at Gina's Good Life Music & Lounge in Carson City
Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Picture of Jakki Ford in straw hat

"Early Autumn Jazz" is an evening of big-band music by the Mile High Jazz Band with singer Jakki Ford on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Gina's Good Life Music & Lounge at 507 N. Carson Street inside the Carson Nugget. Admission is free, requested donation is $10.

The 17-member band will play old favorites and new swinging, big-band selections, including "Early Autumn," "Road Song," and "Moonlight in Vermont." Jakki Ford will sing "Let the Good Times Roll," "That Old Black Magic," and other great tunes with the band.

Mile High Jazz Band performances and educational activities are supported in part by grants from the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, Carson City, the Music Performance Trust Fund, and by memberships and donations. For information about the band performances and activities, see milehighjazz.com or call 775-883-4154.

Photo: Jakki Ford will sing with Mile High Jazz Band at Gina's Good Life Music & Lounge on Tuesday, October 14.



2025 Jazz & Beyond Art Contest Wrap-up
Posted Sept. 28, 2025

Photograph of composite art raffle sign

Mile High Jazz Band Association is pleased to announce the results of the 2025 Jazz & Beyond art contest. The winning design, "Sights and Sounds," a digital work by Katelyn Lehmann, was used for the festival poster, program cover, and T-shirt.

The artists contributed their original art works, valued at $150 to $800, for a raffle held during the festival, which added to the success of the festival. Winning tickets were drawn on the last day, August 24. Jay Tesik won Katelyn Lehman's winning design. Monique de Haviland, whose band played in the festival, won "Ensemble," a mixed media and acrylic work by Raindog (Jon Felix Clarkson). Lee Fitzgerald won "Play it again Sam," an acrylic by Jennifer Schnabel; and Tom Woodfin won "It is all about the Music!," a digital design by Carol Foldvary-Anderson.

The 23rd annual Jazz & Beyond Music Festival is planned for August 14 to 23, 2026. Annual Jazz & Beyond Festivals are presented by the Mile High Jazz Band Association and are supported by grants from the Carson City Cultural Commission, the Nevada Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, the Music Performance Trust Fund, and by private donations. For more information, see milehighjazz.com and jazzcarsoncity.com.

Illustration: Artwork from 2025 Jazz & Beyond festival.



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

QR code for making a donation to Mile High Jazz Band

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!



The monthly-gig tradition which started in 2001 continues! Starting in January 2023, following the pandemic, monthly Mile High Jazz Band gigs on the second Tuesday of each month resumed. Most performances are from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., and will be at Gina's Good Life Music & Lounge, in the Carson Nugget, at 507 N. Carson St., Carson City, NV. Check this website from time to time for details.

 


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 200 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 the annual, multi-day Jazz & Beyond Music Festival in Carson City each August since 2004.

The Mile High Jazz Band performs around the Carson City area. You can catch us on most second Tuesdays of each month at from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Gina's Good Life Music & Lounge, 507 N. Carson Street inside the Carson Nugget.

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.

 

 

 


Last updated 9/28/2025