Jennie Mayer

Jennie Mayer is a Seattle-based rhythm guitarist. She studied Jazz Manouche with Ryan Hoffman at Jazz Night School in 2016-2018 and has sought private lessons, homestays, and jazz camps in Portland, Boston, Montreal, Italy, and the Netherlands, where she had the opportunity to work with world-class musicians. 

She is a co-founder of the all-female Lulu Swing Band (https://luluswingband.com/) which specializes in 1930s hot club swing as well as French chansons and Latin rhythms. She also performs often with Whidbey-based ensemble Cafe Impromptu led by bassist Kristi O'Donnell. These two ensembles highlight the contributions of women (also female BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ musicians) in swing music. She has also performed with other Django Reinhardt-inspired groups, including Ranger and the Rearrangers, Nuages, the Lone Fir Hot Club, and the Hot Club of Port Townsend.

Jennie has performed in many venues in Seattle, including the Smith Tower, Virginia V, Hotel Sorrento, Cornish College, and the NW Folklife Festival. She plays regularly with the Lulu Swing Band biweekly at S/T Hooligans in Ballard. In 2023, Jennie performed with the Lone Fir Hot Club as the supporting band for Duved Dunayevsky on the mainstage for DjangoFest Northwest in Langley, WA. In 2024, Lulu Swing Band was invited to play at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse for the annual Django Reinhardt Birthday Celebration in Berkeley, California, where they shared the ticket with the Hot Club of San Francisco and opened for Pasquale Grasso.

Jennie also performs regularly with the 15-piece big band Cascade Swing Orchestra led by Andrew Fox. She also leads her own swing band, the Jumpin’ Jennies, who perform regularly at Swing It Seattle and other dance venues in the Pacific Northwest.

Jennie attributes the success of her musical career as a rhythm guitarist and bandleader to her beginnings at Jazz Night School and the tremendous support offered by Erik, Ryan, and the staff. When she is not playing music, she teaches chemistry at Bellevue College, where she has been employed since 2005.