“Hot can be cool, and cool can be hot, and each can be both. But hot or cool, man, jazz is jazz.”- Louis Armstrong
“Hot can be cool, and cool can be hot, and each can be both. But hot or cool, man, jazz is jazz.”- Louis Armstrong
Late Breaking News!
December 2, 2011
Tonight was the San Antonio Swing Dance Society's Paper Moon Fundraising Ball. We were joined by a couple of very special guests this evening. Filling in for David Jellema was the fabulous jazz cornetist Larmon Maddox from Austin, TX. It was a pleasure having Larmon join us for the evening. David Jellema was in Washington, DC leading a 5-piece jazz band performing a very special event with the renown Capitol Hill Chorale.
And joining us once again on clarinet, tenor sax and vocals was Evan Arntzen. Evan is a tremendous asset to any band he plays with. Both Evan and Larmon made the night truly special for all of us.
Evan brought his lovely wife, Kirsten, and joined in the swing dancing festivities.
The seasoned swing dancing pros make it look so easy - and fun!
We like to call Pierre our "secret weapon." Not only is Pierre a fine reedman, Pierre is also a fabulous vocalist and a master at connecting with an audience.
November 12, 2011
This evening the Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats performed a private engagement for Trinity University's on-campus swing dance club, The Swing Bums. We were joined by Jim Cullum Jazz Band clarinetist, Evan Arntzen, who dropped by to sit in with us.
We kicked off our portion of the program immediately after the Trinity Jazz Ensemble played their set.
March 8th, 2011
The Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats celebrated Mardi Gras with a special concert at the Boardwalk Bistro tonight. Here's David, just back from a trip to New Orleans, sporting festive beads appropriate for the occasion. This was a fun night!
January 22nd, 2011
Tonight, the Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats performed a special concert to a capacity crowd for the Devine Area Artists' Series at the Dr. George S. Woods Community Center in Devine, TX. Our audience was very receptive and appreciative of our music. We had a great time entertaining the folks of Devine and the surrounding area!
January 3rd, 2011
The Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats played our first engagement of the new year at one of our favorite venues, Sam's Burger Joint. Here David and Eddie are providing some of our classic Mission City "Hot Rhythm" for the San Antonio Swing Dance Society.
September 25th, 2010
This evening was our performance for "Gardens By Moonlight," held at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. Our special thanks go out to Trinity University's jazz station, KRTU (91.7 FM) and Garden-Ville (suppliers of soil, mulch and other organic gardening products since 1957) for sponsoring our appearance.
September 2nd, 2010
This was our first time performing for the Austin Swing Syndicate. Swing dancing is here to stay and these folks are serious about it. We had a ball playing for this enthusiastic group of dancers.
August 17th, 2020
Tonight, the Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats paid tribute to legendary jazz trombonist, Jack Teagarden, at the Boardwalk Bistro.
April 22nd & 24th, 2010
On Thursday, April 22nd, and again on Saturday, April 24th, the Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats were featured on San Antonio's Trinity University jazz radio station KRTU 91.7 FM as part of their South Texas Jazz Project. This was our performance for Jazz At the Witte concert last September. Co-leaders David Jellema and Mike Pittsley provided informative commentary throughout the broadcast.
KRTU is a non-commercial radio station serving the San Antonio community since 1976. You can join KRTU's efforts to bring great jazz to San Antonio by becoming a member yourself. Your support enables KRTU to continue actively introducing exciting jazz into the local San Antonio community. For more information, or to make a pledge of support, click here.
For those who missed the original broadcasts, you can listen to the show by clicking on the embedded media player below.
April 18th, 2010
Today was our special afternoon concert for the Austin Traditional Jazz Society. Our special guest for today's performance was renowned Jim Cullum Jazz Band clarinetist, Ron Hockett. Ron is a world class musician and his presence made it a particularly special occasion, both for us and our audience.
March 13th, 2010
Tonight was our premier performance for San Antonio's Luminaria Arts Night. We were delighted to have been chosen to participate in this annual celebration of San Antonio's art and artists. It was estimated that close to 200,000 people were in attendance this year!
We couldn't believe how many people came downtown to see all the artists and musicians. The weather was perfect and the audience couldn't seem to get enough of our music. Hopefully, we'll get to do this again next year!
February 6th, 2010
This evening's engagement marked a special occasion for the Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats. This was our first “Quinceañera,” a coming of age ceremony held on a young lady’s 15th birthday. This is an important ceremony in Latin American culture and we felt particularly honored to be asked to participate.
The Lady of Honor was Savannah Cerna, a
delightful (and lovely) young woman who, along with her family, made us
feel welcome and appreciated.
Thank you,
October 29th, 2009
Here we are once again at McAdoo's Seafood Company. The atmosphere of the outdoor courtyard, the New Orleans-style seafood menu, the staff and the clientele are a very comfortable fit for our style of jazz. We also play a few swing tunes to accommodate the swing dancers.
McAdoo's is also the perfect place for
special events, meetings, wedding receptions, etc. They have
plenty of meeting and dining space that opens up into the outdoor courtyard.
October 24th, 2009
This evening was our first night with the full band performing at a new venue for us, McAdoo's Seafood Company in New Braunfels, TX. The food is fantastic (we highly recommend the Shrimp Po' Boy) and the outdoor courtyard has a New Orleans flavor that fits our music like a glove!
McAdoo's is named after then Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo who, in 1914, commissioned the construction of New Braunfels' first federally built United States Post Office (visit McAdoo's website for more information on this newly renovated, historic building).
October 5th, 2009
We were back at Sam's Burger Joint tonight. In spite of school being back in session and Monday Night Football, we still had a dedicated turnout of the San Antonio Swing Dance Society.
We gave the swing dancers a special treat tonight by performing our repertoire of Benny Goodman material, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Benny Goodman's birth. It seemed fitting, as Benny was known as "The King of Swing."
This afternoon was our Sunday Jazz at the Witte concert. We were prepared to play outside in the beautiful Witte Museum courtyard, but we had to play inside due to recent rain showers soaking the grounds. This wasn't a problem as the Witte has a fabulous indoor facility for performances. Everyone stayed dry and received a healthy dose of hot jazz!
We'd like to thank the Witte Museum and Trinity University's Jazz radio station, KRTU 91.7 for hosting our performance. Sitting at the front table welcoming our guests was KRTU's Director of Development, Kate Rawley Warters and Assistant General Manager of Programming, Ron Nirenberg.
April 6th, 2009
We were delighted when we were called upon by our friends at Sam's Burger Joint to fill in for another band that had to cancel on short notice. Our Monday night just happened to be open, so we naturally jumped at the chance. We love playing for the members of the San Antonio Swing Dance Society. Monday night is one of their regular "Swing Nights" at Sam's and their energy and enthusiasm is contagious.
It became a particularly special night for us when legendary San Antonio jazz cornetist and bandleader, Jim Cullum, honored us by dropping by and sitting in.
Jim Cullum's Landing is truly an institution in San Antonio. As of 2009, the Jim Cullum Jazz Band has been performing regularly on the San Antonio Riverwalk for 47 years! The Jim Cullum Jazz Band's regular radio broadcast on Public Radio International, Riverwalk, Live from The Landing is now in its 21st year on the air.
March 18th, 2009
Tuesday night, we performed a special concert for San Antonio's Boardwalk Bistro. Pierre was unable to make this particular engagement; however, respected San Antonio area musician and good friend Jan Halsema filled in admirably. We were graced with a fantastic audience that honored us with a standing ovation at the conclusion of our performance! We love playing the Bistro!
Our concert was broadcast on local Trinity University jazz radio station, KRTU, for their regular Tuesday night Protagonists Jazz Party show.
November 16th, 2008
This particularly beautiful Sunday afternoon was the date of our concert for the Austin Traditional Jazz Society. For more photos of our concert, click here to check out the ATJS Photo Gallery!
Click here to read the great review by Dan Augustine.