Jazz Benefit Concert Feb. 15th

Jazz Concert Feb. 15

Looking for something to do with your sweetie for Valentine’s Day? You might consider coming to a Jazz Benefit Concert this Friday, Feb. 15th, at 7:00 PM at Sudley United Methodist Church in Sudley Springs, VA (just north of the Manassas Battlefield.) We will be playing jazz standards with a little Portuguese and bossa nova mixed in. The concert is free with a free-will offering at the end to benefit a little four year old girl who was in a serious accident. Please consider joining us for this fun event!

 Lineup Includes:

Shannon Gunn, Trombone; Joey Whitney, Saxes; Jeff Johnson, Trumpets; Peter LeBron, Vocals; Eugene Iosilovich, piano; Jerry Bresee, guitar; Clai Richardson, drums; Evan Young, bass; Travis Angerman, bass; Todd, Bongos and Congas; and anyone else who shows up with their axe! 🙂

Intermission Riff @BohemianCaverns ft. Herrera Jazz

I just wanted to say that I’m really looking forward to playing with Joe Herrera and his sextet tomorrow night at Bohemian Caverns during the Intermission in between the two BCJO sets. Can’t wait to play his transcription of Herbie Hancock’s “Speak Like a Child” and some originals. Here’s the song with Peter Phillips on bass trombone. One of the few instances of bass trombone in the jazz listening library! Unfortunately neither he nor Thad Jones takes a solo. At any rate, enjoy, and hope to see you if you’re around tomorrow night!

Bullettes play at the Carlyle Club nov. 20th

For Immediate Release

November 8th, 2012

News: All-Female Jazz Band, “Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes,” at the Carlyle Club

Event: Swing Dance

When: Tuesday, November 20th, 2012, 9:00 PM

Where: Carlyle Club
411 John Carlyle Street
Alexandria, VA

Cost: $10 Cover Charge

Alexandria, Virginia – On Tuesday, November 20th, 2012, in conjunction with “Gotta Swing,” “Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes” premiere all female big band will appear in a rare performance at the Carlyle Club in Alexandria, Virginia. The performance begins at 9:00 p.m. and will feature sounds from the 1940s swing era ballroom, including Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, and more.

“Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes” began as a dream of Shannon Gunn, trombone player and graduate of the George Mason University Masters in Jazz Studies program. “Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes” is a full all-female jazz band with goals to uplift women in jazz, create networking opportunities for young musicians, and provide a positive role model for aspiring jazz musicians in the D.C. area. Their music can be heard online at http://bullettesjazz.com.

Please contact Shannon Gunn, band leader and manager, at 216-789-5310 or [email protected] for additional information or to schedule an interview. See http://dc.gottaswing.com for information about Tuesday night swing dance classes at the Carlyle Club. Please visit the Bullettes website at http://bullettesjazz.com for updates. We hope to see you there! Please contact Shannon Gunn at jazztothebone [at] gmail [dot] com for any other questions.

Bullettes gig postponed

Hi everyone,

Unfortunately, the Bullettes gig at the Carlyle Club was postponed till a later date… We’ll let you know as soon as we know! Unfortunately a private party bought out the club on that date (which was October 30th). We are playing on March 22nd at the Westminster Presbyterian Church again, so that will be fun! Hope to see you there!

“State of Art”

A couple of weeks ago, I got to hear Ben Williams play at Bohemian Caverns for one of his many CD-Release concerts. Fantastic show. The piano player (forgot his name) was amazing, and Mr. Williams grooved his sox off. I actually went to school with Ben at Michigan State for the 2003 school year, but I was out of the jazz picture then because I was doing my student teaching at the time. As my husband said after the concert, “I’ve heard a lot of good bass players, but there’s just something about that guy…” And so I have been immersing myself in this album for the last couple of weeks, listening over and over as I drive around. I really like this album. There’s a lot of crossover, which surprised me, but in a good way. My favorite tracks are the lush arrangements with the string players. God it’s beautiful. He’s got MJ and a rapper on a jazz album. Good stuff, and I’m still hearing new things every time I listen. I will say the mixdown is interesting. There’s a ride cymbal on the right side that feels like it is right next to me, with a beautiful high pitched sound I like. I just wish there was more bass in the mix. I need a better sound system! Fantastic album, one I’ll be enjoying for years to come. Great job Ben Williams, and I look forward to the next one. Actually I should say, I look forward to purchasing the next one. Now everybody go out and do that too!

Post update – this album is now #1 for the jazz radio top 50 list at jazzweek.com! August 3rd 2011
http://www.jazzweek.com/radio/radiojazzradioweek/station171.html