“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!
July 12th, 2010
This evening was another great Monday night "Swing Night" at Sam's Burger Joint. The San Antonio Swing Dance Society (SASDS) packed the place and pulled out all the stops. The following was a dancing demonstration given during the Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats' intermission.
The following photos were taken during our performance by SASDS member, Ben Luhrman. Thanks, Ben!
May 9th, 2010
The Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats played a short concert for San Antonio’s King William Association as part of their “Concerts in the Park” series. Thanks to our pianist Mark Hess setting up his camcorder, we captured some video clips of our performance. Enjoy!
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 dancers). It looks like this may turn into one of our regular venues.
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."
September 22nd, 2009
This evening was our special Tribute to Benny Goodman concert at the Boardwalk Bistro. Both David and Pierre worked hard to prepare for this and it showed.
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.
July 23rd, 2009
We'd been looking forward to playing for the people of San Marcos, TX for quite some time. Our patience was rewarded last night with a very receptive and enthusiastic audience. We would like to express our most heartfelt and sincere appreciation to Arlis Hiebert and the San Marcos Performing Arts Association for including us in their annual "Summer In The Park" concert series. Click here to read the July 23rd, 2009 article that was published in the San Marcos Record.
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 46 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.
March 4th, 2009
This evening was our performance for City Year San Antonio and their Spring "Ripples of Hope" Awards Dinner held at La Villita Assembly Hall. City Year corps members provide critically needed services to some of San Antonio’s most underserved children and youth and the communities they live in.
February 21st, 2009
This past Thursday and Friday evening, the Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats were again called upon to fill in for the Jim Cullum Jazz Band at the Landing.
As usual, we gave our audience just what they wanted to hear; some hot, classic American jazz! It was great to see so many of our friends come down to hear our music - and to make some new friends as well!
Friday evening, pianist Aaron Prado and his lovely young friend, Lori Watt, came down to hear us as well. Aaron is the Music Director of Trinity University radio station KRTU and is responsible for the station's extensive jazz programming.
February 16th, 2009
Once again, the Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats knocked 'em dead at Sam's Burger Joint during Sam's regular Monday night Swing Night event.
It's always a pleasure for us to play for the swing dancers at Sam's. They love our music and they love to dance! This, combined with Sam's fantastic hamburgers and drinks, makes for a perfect evening of music and merriment.
February 10th, 2009
As you can see, the Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats website has received a complete facelift. There were some technical reasons for this, but the main reason was to give our website a more polished appearance.
Even though the site still needs some tweaking, our trombonist, co-leader and webmaster, Mike Pittsley (who's been busy slaving over a hot computer), wanted to get the new site published sooner rather than later; so, here it is!
November 16th, 2008
This particularly beautiful Sunday afternoon was the date of our eagerly anticipated 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.