About Special Blend Blues Jazz Rock
Our Story
Special Blend Blues Jazz Rock, was created in 2022. The brainchild of Carmen and Larry Janneck. The idea came to Carmen after the COVID pandemic. The music community in Denver was struggling as most venues were barely open, and not hiring many musicians.
Larry and Carmen hired North High School Jazz Ensemble, lead by John Jonas, to play at former Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen's retirement party, and fell in love with the young players. This Jazz Ensemble merged with the original band, consisting of Larry, Dean, Ed, and Dave, to create the first iteration of Special Blend Intergenerational Band. This created a way for artists to perform after COVID, as a project of multigenerational love and healing through music.
Special Blend was able to use a classroom at North High School every Saturday In the fall of 2022, as John Jonas opened it up to all musicians who wanted to create this new jazz blues band. The first Saturday, 15-20 students showed up.
The number grew from there.
Special Blend's first big break was 2023 with Denver Municipal Band.
Paul Melroy, the director at the time, was looking for a way to diversify and get young people involved in music. He asked Special Blend to open up for them in 7 parks.
In 2023, Carmen met with Dazzle and they decided to have Special Blend play the Kids matinee once a month, from 2023-2026. The last show was May of 2026 as Special Blend launched their newest iteration, Special Blend Blues Jazz Rock.
This group is available for private gigs, venues of all sizes and your local music venue. Special Blend can play as an 8 piece band with brass, as a 6 piece band, or as a quartet! We have several events scheduled for the Special Blend Quartet through the end of the year, and will begin booking for the big band in January 2027.
Special Blend Blues Jazz Rock Members
Larry Janneck
Mark Doc Brown
Mark Messenger
Robert DeMarrias
Aaron Miller
Justice Jackson
Jonathan Stone Jr
Lynda Hamm
Randy Hamm
Ted Franklin
Carmen Messina Janneck
Sea Artist Productions, LLC
Manager | Promoter
720-219-3401
Denver Metropolitan Area, CO, USA
Larry, Robert, Justice, Aaron, Jonathan
Mark, Justice, Robert, Larry, Doug, Mark "Doc"
Upcoming Events
Northside Pride- Come hear Special Blend Quartet, featuring former members of the North High School Jazz Ensemble! The quartet features Robert DeMarrias, Justice Jackson, Aaron Miller, and Jonathan Stone, Jr.
The Bar at Plaza 38, 3550 W. 38th Ave., #98, Denver, CO
9-26-26 7-10 pm
The Bar at Plaza 38, 3550 W. 38th Ave., #98, Denver, CO
10-17-26 7-10 pm
The Bar at Plaza 38, 3550 W. 38th Ave., #98, Denver, CO
12-19-26 7-10 pm
