Our Take: To Be Known For Something Other Than Being You!

On Sunday mornings, Paula and I drink coffee and watch Sunday Today with Willie Geist. Besides liking him as a host, the show is a nice mix of news, entertainment and whimsy. The hour goes by quickly and requires two large cups of coffee for each of us.

One of the recurring elements of the show is an interview with an entertainment star. Recently, this segment featured Henry Winkler. As you might guess, the focus of the interview was his struggle with how to live life as “The Fonz.” Winkler’s true bio and life goals are 180 degrees from that of Arthur Fonzarelli, yet the first image you have when you hear the name “Henry Winkler” is a leather coat and someone saying, “Sit On It.” Despite his success and apparent happiness, I found myself feeling sorry for him given his inability to be known as anyone but “The Fonz.”

The entertainment world is chock full of examples of that same phenomenon. Can you really look at Jason Alexander as anyone but “George Costanza?” Jimmie Walker as “J.J.?” George Reeves as “Superman?” You get the point.

Interestingly, this same phenomenon is evident among some of our jazz stars. I recall George Benson’s first performance on The Smooth Jazz Cruise. Being so excited to have George on our ship, I decided to watch his first show from the middle of the theatre fully immersed among the guests. Not only did I want to see and hear George perform, but I wanted to feel the excitement of the fans. That we were paying an arm and a leg for the show may have had something to do with my lust for the full experience.

George sang hit after hit, but his show also included some very cool guitar solos. I remember listening to the two guys next to me extolling the virtue of George’s guitar skills. “Man, can he play guitar!” exclaimed one of them with a clear tone of surprise. The other’s response was more to the point. “I had no idea that he could play guitar like that,” was his contribution to this surreal moment. I let it go the first time, but when their astonishment reappeared a bit later, I could not hold back.

“The man is an NEA Jazz Master Guitarist. He played with Jack McDuff and Miles Davis for God’s sake.” My words were more startling than informative. I am not sure they got the point at all, particularly the next day when the two of them shared their concern that I was upset with them. I assured them that I was not upset with them, but I was upset with a world that defined George Benson without talking about his jazz guitar chops.

There are other jazz guys in this pickle. The great Bob James is almost always introduced as the man who wrote the theme for the television show Taxi. Heck, I have done that in earlier Our Takes! Why would I think that outing Bob for that song would resonate with our fans or would somehow add to his reputation? The truth is that it should not hurt, but it should not be the identifying product of his life.

Years ago, the legendary Johnny Mandel was on our ship, and we were discussing legacies. He made me promise to count the number of words in his obituary before the writer identified him as the composer of “Suicide is Painless”, the theme from M.A.S.H. “Johnny Mandel, composer of the theme from M.A.S.H., died yesterday…” was the beginning of the first article I read after he died.

I have not had this discussion with Ann Hampton Callaway. I wonder if she believes that her composition of the theme from The Nanny will be the lead story when her time comes… which will be at least 50 years from now! I cannot recall reading any biography of hers that does not call that out in the first or second paragraph.

Bringing this inquiry home, what will be the first few sentences of your obituary? Granted, this is not the most upbeat of subjects I have chosen over the years, but it might be one of the more significant. I urge you to take a moment and challenge yourself to jot down how you think you will be remembered. Then write down how you would like to be remembered. Step back, take a breath, and then compare the two writings. How large is the gap between the likely remembrance and what you hope it might be?

For those, like me, who see a huge difference, hopefully, there is still time to bring those likely eulogies closer together. George Benson was one of the most talented jazz guitarists of all time. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

By Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of The Jazz Cruise, The Smooth Jazz Cruise, Chris Botti at Sea and The McDonald & LaBelle Cruise. Feel free to express your views or pose questions to him at [email protected].

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The Jazz Cruise Artists at Vic’s Las Vegas

In February earlier this year, Chris Lowden (son of our friends Paul and Sue Lowden) opened Vic’s Las Vegas, a new 8,560-square-foot jazz club and Italian restaurant named for the city’s iconic neon cowboy.

Located adjacent to the Smith Center in Symphony Park, Vic’s presents jazz every night, with a house band featuring players from the Las Vegas Academy’s acclaimed jazz studies program, headed by Pat Bowen.

The club brings in national headliners several nights a month, including several favorites of The Jazz Cruise. Ken Peplowski appeared there last week and this weekend Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman are doing a show they call “Autum Serenade: Songs of Fall.” Jeff Hamilton brings his trio to Vic’s December 8-9, the Brazilian singer Patty Ascher appears November 30-December 1 and Benny Benack III performs on December 28. 

If you find yourself in Vegas, as people often do, stop by. 

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Billy Hart Receives Living Legacy Jazz Award

Congratulations to Billy Hart, who recently received the 2023 Living Legacy Jazz Award Presented by PECO during a special celebration at the Kimmel Cultural Campus in Philadelphia, PA.

A program of Mid Atlantic Arts, the Living Legacy Jazz Award honors living jazz master artists residing in the mid-Atlantic region who have kept the spirit and tradition of this evolving art form alive, maintaining the vitality of jazz for future generations through advocacy, mentorship, and the transmission of artistic skill and cultural knowledge. 

Billy, an NEA Jazz Master and headliner on The Jazz Cruise ’24, received a plaque and a $10,000 honoraria. Following the Award ceremony, the drummer sat in with Khary Abdul-Shaheed on drums, Dylan Band on sax, Alex Claffy on bass, and George Colligan on keyboards for a surprise mini-performance. 

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Mug Shots of the Week

Each guest on the 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].

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The ’25 Cruise Programs

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