At the risk of criminal redundancy, my spectator sports are jazz and baseball. My active sports are tennis and drums. My skill level for either of my active sports does not rise above the level of “not bad for someone your age.” Though some take that as a compliment, I find it to be a dig to my skills and an unnecessary reminder of my age. The old one-two!
But, it is October which means that my time with my spectator sports is at its annual highest level of interest and activity. In baseball, we are down to four teams vying to be World Champions. The games have been very good thus far. In jazz, we are programming hundreds of musicians for the ’25 Cruises and entering into contracts for hundreds of musicians for the ’26 Cruises. Lots of fun doing both.
In each pursuit, I find that I am reminiscing about stars that I cherished in both baseball and jazz during my lifetime. It seems as if there are fewer stars today than in the past.
I suggested this issue to Eric Nadel, my college fraternity brother and the Hall of Fame Announcer for the reigning World Champion Texas Rangers. He agreed that the number of “stars” per team is much lower than in the past, but he offered a brilliant explanation. During the golden era of baseball that I was remembering, there were far fewer teams, so perhaps the number of “stars” today is the same as before, only they are spread out over more teams.
His other suggestion was that I was remembering some very good veteran ballplayers as being a lot better than they were. That critique had a little of the “not bad for someone your age” tone. Since Eric and I are the same age, I gave him a pass on that one.
Back to jazz. After all, The Weekender purports to be Your Saturday Morning Jazz Fix Since 2016. Presenting the iconic musicians in every jazz genre has been a hallmark of our cruise programs. These are the heroes. The folks who blazed the trail and set the standard for younger players.
In the world of “smooth jazz,” we presented David Sanborn, Al Jarreau, George Duke, Joe Sample, Earl Klugh, George Benson, Ramsey Lewis and more. Not all our heroes have passed, but between retirement, disability and death, the number of icons from our cruises have diminished greatly.
Since the world of “straight ahead” jazz is of older vintage, the list of bygone superstars from our sailings is much longer: Jeff Clayton, Keter Betts, Phil Woods, Carl Fontana, Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove, Eddie Higgins, Freddy Cole, James Moody, Joey DeFrancesco for example. Each will be remembered for their extraordinary contributions. Eric’s comment about my remembering some very good veteran ballplayers as being a lot better than they were may apply here as well. But guess what, it is our list.
Our upcoming sailings do include a great number of iconic players. At the great risk of those named being offended as to being included on a list that may require “age” as a filter, The Jazz Cruise is presenting Charles McPherson and Houston Person.
The Smooth Jazz Cruise is “all in” with our super band, The Summit, which features Patti Austin, Bob James, Lee Ritenour and Dave Weckl. Sanborn was to have been a part of this group and, of course, Marcus Miller will be the leader.
Botti at Sea ’25 features David Foster and Journey of Jazz ’25 is proud to include both Chucho Valdes and Ron Carter in the lineup.
Great care has been taken to include many “stars” on each of the ’26 Cruises. We will be announcing The Jazz Cruise ’26 lineup in late November and we hope that you will agree that our star power lineup is as good or better than ever!
Though clearly at the lower end of the age scale for “stars,” The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.1 & ’26.2 headliner Kenny G certainly qualifies as a “star.” Not sure how to classify bands in this examination, but The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.3’s presentation of both WAR and Tower of Power certainly qualifies.
Nostalgia is a potent influence. It can soften or harden memories, images and estimations of people. Depending upon the strength of the lens used, it can completely distort reality even if done so innocently.
Years ago, I could name the starting infields of all National League Baseball Teams as well as the full lineup of the annual Playboy Jazz Poll which started in 1957. The Hank Aaron-led Milwaukee Braves won the World Series that year, beating the Mickey Mantle-led New York Yankees 4 – 3. I was 7 years old. I can name the starting lineups of both teams.
The other day I watched the Detroit Tigers lose to the Cleveland Guardians in the deciding game of the American League Division Series. I recognized only three players. Did not know what the Guardians logo meant (though much better than Chief Wahoo!). And, if pressed, would have confused the American League Division Series with the American League Championship Series (Guardians v. Yankees).
In jazz, when the GRAMMY® Awards were first presented in 1958, there were only two categories where “Jazz” was a part of the title:
• Best Jazz Performance, Individual: Ella Fitzgerald for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook
• Best Jazz Performance, Group: Count Basie for Basie
The first jazz GRAMMY®s went to Ella and the Count. Who would have thought?
Given the influence of jazz at that time, categories other than jazz were won by what we would call “jazz” musicians.
• Best Performance By A Dance Band: “Basie” by Count Basie
• Best Performance By A Vocal Group Or Chorus: “That Old Black Magic” by Keely Smith and Louis Prima
Today there are numerous “Jazz Categories” at the GRAMMY®s:
- Best Jazz Instrumental Album
- Best Jazz Vocal Album
- Best Jazz Performance
- Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group
- Best Original Jazz Composition
- Best Jazz Fusion Performance
- Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
- Best Latin Jazz Album
- Best Alternative Jazz Album
This is one instance where “today” is a lot better than “then.” I guess that you can add advances in medicine, spaghetti becoming pasta and Velcro as other examples of just how far we have come as a society.
Uncle! As I shared earlier, nostalgia is a potent influence. Thank you for joining me on my walk down memory lane. I apologize for being an old fuss bucket, but, occasionally, I long for the earlier days. It is out of my system now. Time for 2024 and beyond.
One more thing. Can we talk about how the designated hitter ruined baseball and why the synthesizer has no place in jazz?
By Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of The Jazz Cruise, The Smooth Jazz Cruise, Chris Botti at Sea, Christian McBride’s World at Sea and Journey of Jazz. Feel free to express your views or pose questions to him at [email protected].
Reminder – 10.22.24 Webinar for Guests on The Jazz Cruise ’25
Just as the sight of a robin is one of the first signs of Spring, the scheduling of a booked guest webinar is one of the first signs that a sailing is coming soon! Sign up now for the 10.22.24 Guest Webinar for The Jazz Cruise ’25. The webinar will take place at 4 PM ET on that date and will be conducted by the staff of Jazz Cruises.
During the webinar, we will walk through what steps need to be taken from now through embarkation day (1.28.25), share some programming highlights, discuss theme nights and more. Questions of a general nature will be answered in real time and individual issues will be recorded and addressed by our staff immediately after the event.
Why do we present webinars for booked guests? Simple – we want you to enjoy every minute of your cruise and by providing information and suggestions in advance, guests can complete necessary sign ups and plan their cruise time more effectively.
Plus, we love talking to our guests. Sign up and we will be “seeing” you in a few days.
Boney James’ Slow Burn
Boney James, co-host of The Smooth Jazz Cruise, has just released Slow Burn, his 19th studio album. Among Boney’s collaborators on the recording are Marcus Miller, Rick Braun, Cory Henry and October London. “When I mentioned the phrase ‘slow burn’ to people as a possible title, they said, ‘That also refers to your whole career in a way,’” Boney said. “This is my nineteenth record and I feel like I’m just hitting my stride. It’s always been my goal to be one of those guys that would just keep doing it at a high level, and to have that connection with the audience.”
Aaron Parks’ Little Big III
Pianist Aaron Parks, who has sailed on several Jazz Cruises programs, has released his third studio album with his band Little Big, aptly titled Little Big III. The group features guitarist Greg Tuohey, bassist David Ginyard Jr., and drummer Jongkuk Kim. Released on Blue Note Records, the album was co-produced by Aaron and label president Don Was. The pianist says that crafting the album was an exercise in “letting the band itself start to show me what it sounded like, rather than me trying to control it all the time. There’s something about this record that feels like it captures the energy of the band in a more raw and honest way.”
Jazz Cruises’ Programs
The Jazz Cruise ’25 is FULLY RESERVED! The Jazz Cruise ’26 to be Announced Soon!
The Jazz Cruise ’25 is fully reserved. Rooms will become available due to cancellations and vacancies are filled directly from the Waitlist. If you wish to sail on The Jazz Cruise ’25, we urge you to JOIN WAITLIST now. Stay tuned for details about The Jazz Cruise ’26 – to be announced in November!
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ‘26.1 & ‘26.2 – Reserve Your Stateroom Today!
Both sailings for 2025 are fully reserved and the Waitlist has more than 4,000 entrants. We are now focused on reservations for The Smooth Jazz Cruise ‘26.1 & ‘26.2 sailings. Open Booking began on October 17, meaning anyone may reserve any available stateroom.
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ‘26.3 Announcement is Here! The First SJC West-Coast Sailing!
The third sailing of The Smooth Jazz Cruise in ’26 has been announced! For the first time, The Smooth Jazz Cruise will sail from Vancouver and Victoria to San Francisco and Los Angeles with incredible excursions available. Open Booking begins on November 7th, but you can sign up for a Pre-Sail Reservation today!
Botti at Sea ’25 – Every Night is a Night on the Town
Botti at Sea ’25 is more than 98% reserved. Only a limited number of Inside Staterooms remain available, so Act NOW to reserve one.
Journey of Jazz ’25 – Jazz Life at Sea & On Land
Reserve Now – Excursions Available to Book Now!
Jazz Cruises’ West Coast program, Journey of Jazz, hosted by Marcus Miller & Gregory Porter,
is in Open Booking. Though not sailing for 12 months, the cruise is nearly 70% reserved.
Land-based excursions are now available to book! Check out Jazz Cruises’ curated trips to Wine Country, Special Shows and more HERE.
Mug Shots of the Week
Washington
Florida
Guests on the ’24 jazz cruises received The Weekender mug, which we hope you will use with your Saturday morning coffee while you read the latest edition. Please share a picture of yourself & your mug with us so that we can include it for the 100,000+ folks who receive The Weekender each Saturday.
Tag us @thejazzcruise, @bottiatsea, @thesmoothjazzcruise, #jazzcruises and #theweekender. Email your photo to [email protected].