On a Tuesday evening in early September, when the Sierra Nevada foothills begin to hint at autumn and the neon of the Carson Nugget glows against the dusk, a different kind of energy will fill Gina's Good Life Music & Lounge. The Mile High Jazz Band — seventeen musicians strong — will take the stage alongside vocalist Jakki Ford and six poets for "With Flying Colors," an evening that promises to weave together the swagger of a big band and the intimacy of the spoken word. The music begins at 7 p.m. on September 8, 2026, and admission is free, with a requested $10 donation supporting the band's performances and educational programs.
The evening's format is a signature of the Mile High Jazz Band's Jazz and Poetry series, a tradition that has been part of Carson City's cultural life for years. Each poet presents a piece that explores some facet of the evening's theme, and the band follows with a tune that relates to the poem. Pianist and bandleader David Bugli, who has led the ensemble since 1998, put it simply: "Some of our favorite, and your favorite, musicians and poets will be here to entertain you!"
The poets for this edition are Rita Geil, Teresa Breeden, Wayne Carlson, Elizabeth Jones, Susan Sara Priest, and Timothy Rhodes. Jakki Ford, the evening's vocalist, will lend her voice to several swinging selections.
The Mile High Jazz Band itself is something of a Carson City institution. Bugli, a native New Yorker who studied composition with composer Karel Husa at Ithaca College, moved to Nevada in 1984 and soon founded the Carson City Chamber Orchestra, which later became the Carson City Symphony. In 1998, he took the reins of the Mile High Jazz Band, and since 2000 the group has performed monthly concerts in the capital city. The band's repertoire draws on the greats — Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Woody Herman — as well as more contemporary styles.
The Jazz and Poetry series itself has deep roots. For years, the band held these events at Comma Coffee, the cozy cafe across from the state legislature building. The series has since found a new home at Gina's Good Life Music & Lounge, a venue that opened in December 2022 inside the Carson Nugget. Gina's is the creation of Gina Rohrer, who previously ran the Carson City nightspot Living the Good Life. Rohrer brought her vision of a smoke-free, climate-controlled lounge with a well-stocked bar and specialty cocktails to the Nugget.
The Mile High Jazz Band's presence in Carson City extends far beyond these performances. Bugli founded the Jazz & Beyond Music Festival in 2004, and the event has become an annual festival each August. The band also presents an annual Jazz Extravaganza with the Carson High and Carson Middle School jazz bands, fostering the next generation of musicians. These efforts have earned recognition, including the 2007 Nevada Governor's Arts Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, presented to Bugli.
"With Flying Colors" is supported in part by grants from Carson City, the Nevada Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Music Performance Trust Fund, as well as by private donations and memberships. The requested donation at the door supports the band's ongoing work — the monthly concerts, the educational workshops, and the annual festival.
For those who attend, the evening promises a rare kind of alchemy: the precision of a seventeen-piece band, the warmth of a seasoned vocalist, and the vulnerability of poets sharing their work, all in a room small enough that every note and every word lands with intention. It is a reminder that in a city known for its political history and its casino floors, there is also a thriving community of artists and musicians who have spent decades building something meaningful. On September 8, they will gather under the name "With Flying Colors" — and, if the past is any guide, they will deliver exactly that.