OUR TAKE: Back to (Music) School

Many schools will reopen this Monday, August 19. Seeing schools open before Labor Day is a shock to my system as, at every level of my education, the day after Labor Day was “Back to School” day. Back then, you started your summer activities or job in mid-June and continued until mid-August. From there, you prepared for the start of classes and began your fall regimen. 

Being educated was the program for my first 25 years. The next 25 years were spent practicing law and operating a business. For the past 25 years, I have been producing music events at Jazz Cruises. Can you guess which quarter century has been the most fun? Yet, as the new school year begins for young folks, I find myself thinking about my education and wondering what it would have been like to attend one of the great music schools in the country. Such musing is clearly hypothetical, as I lacked the single most important quality necessary for a musical education…talent!

The U.S. is blessed with many amazing music conservatories and schools. They vary in size, objectives and experiences. The common thread is that admission is highly competitive and selective and those who attend are serious students with aspirations to be professional musicians. And, unlike the author of this note, they are supremely talented.

Though rankings are subjective to a fault, Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music and Berklee College of Music are more generally considered to be the top four music schools in the country. Juilliard and Manhattan are in New York, Curtis is in Philadelphia and Berklee is in Boston. Though many more of the top music schools are in the East, the largest music school in the country is Indiana University, USC has a much heralded department and The Frost School of Music is part of the University of Miami.

Juilliard and Curtis are famous for producing the top classical musicians in the country and filling the principal chairs in almost every major American symphony. Jazz has benefited from these topflight schools over the years, as well. Manhattan is well known for its jazz department and can claim Harry Connick, Jr., Herbie Hancock, Hugh Masakela and Herbie Mann, and Berklee, Indiana and The Frost School of Music have impacted our cruises directly.   

Famously, Berklee is named after Lee Berk, the son of the founder and an educator himself. Lee was one of the most significant influences in the development of Jazz Cruises providing me with guidance and advice up until his untimely recent death. Berklee was the first American conservatory to include jazz in its curriculum. Among its alumni are Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Branford Marsalis, esperanza spalding, Roy Hargrove, Bob James, Mindi Abair and Jazz Cruises’ Music Director Eric Marienthal. My daughter would not speak to me if I did not include John Mayer in this list.

Indiana University gave us Chris Botti and Jeff Hamilton and The Frost School is guided by Dean Shelly Berg and can proudly claim Taylor Eigsti and Emmet Cohen among its luminaries. In no way is this list exhaustive or even close. So many of our musicians are either products of great music schools, now teaching at the schools or both.

Perhaps not as well known is the fact that the teaching at these schools includes learning about the business of music. Having been around top musicians for 25 years, many of them are astute in terms of contracting and publishing. The stereotype of the absent-minded musical genius can be found as well. That is why there are agents and managers. Of the hundreds of agents and managers I have met over the years, most are dedicated to their clients and provide necessary assistance with their careers. In the interest of my future in this business, I will not define “most” or describe those who are not included in that group.

I joke about agents and managers all the time. I know that they are simply doing their job, but “their job” includes making my life difficult and complicated. Most issues that arise are resolved in a fair and professional manner, however. The sand box is not large enough to pitch too many fits. A good, clean fight about what to pay someone or how many sets they are to play is actually fun.

Years ago, when my mother, Anita Berry, was still working on the cruises, she asked me what we were paying “So and So” for the cruise. I gave her the amount and she proceeded to march out of my office only to return with a five year old contract for the same musician at half the fee I was paying. When I confronted her that her fee was five years old, she shot back…“She hasn’t gotten any better!” That was my music education which began when I was 50!

Not exactly Juilliard or Berklee. Just a whole lot of common sense, a bit of blarney, and an undying love of the music and the people who perform and support the genre. The Alumni List of the School of Anita is not long, nor illustrious, but if you call our office, sail on our ships or read our materials, you are likely to meet the honor students whom she schooled. 

With her pride and joy, The Jazz Cruise, celebrating its 25^th Anniversary soon, her success as a teacher is firmly established. Did you hear the bell? Time for recess.

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

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The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26 is Here!

For several years, Jazz Cruises has announced the next sailings of The Smooth Jazz Cruise just before Labor Day. With The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’25.1 & ’25.2 being fully reserved since February and there being a 4,000+ person Waitlist, continuing that tradition made sense. The details of The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.1 & ’26.2, the next sailings of this iconic event, were announced on Wednesday and, starting on Thursday, guests sailing on a ’25 Cruise could begin to rebook a stateroom for a ’26 Cruise and those not sailing on a ’25 Cruise could complete a Pre-Sale Reservation! 

In the first 24 hours, more than 600 Pre-Sale Reservations were completed and ’25 Guests were equally eager to rebook. With Pre-Sale Reservations being addressed in order of receipt (and past cruise history), the sooner you complete that process, the better your selection of staterooms will be.

’25 Guests have until September 15, 2024 to rebook their current stateroom on an exclusive basis.

Cruise Dates:
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.1   2.3.26 – 2.10.26
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.2   2.10.26 – 2.17.26
 

Ship:
Celebrity Summit

Lineup:

Hosts
Marcus Miller • Boney James

Special Guest
Kenny G
Starring
Brian Culbertson • Jonathan Butler • Candy Dulfer • Peter White • Mindi Abair • Vincent Ingala • Keiko Matsui • Marc Antoine • DW3

Cruise Director/Comic
Alonzo Bodden

Musical Director
Eric Marienthal

Featured Performers
Larry Braggs • Ms. Monet • Lin Rountree • Nicholas Cole • Patches Stewart • Marcus Anderson • Ivan Peroti • Marqueal Jordan 

Band Members
Randy Jacobs • Jay Williams • Nate Phillips • Arlington Jones • Collin Clauson • David Dyson • Richie Gajate Garcia • Carnell Harrell • Munyungo Jackson • Gerey Johnson • Lamar Jones • Chris Miskel • Kevin Turner • Omari Williams 

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Guests of Jazz Cruises: Important Dates to Remember

8.21.24:  Next Edition: Jazz Notes

8.23.24:  STL Jazz Fest – Jazz Cruises presents Gregory Porter/Alonzo Bodden/Eric Marienthal/Niki Haris at The Factory in St. Louis
Seats Available at $45/Person

8.24.24:  Pre-STL Jazz Fest “Wine & Jazz” Wine Tasting with Mindi Abair & Eric Guerra at The Gallery in St. Louis

8.24.24:  STL Jazz Fest – Jazz Cruises presents Brian Culbertson/Alonzo Bodden/Eric Marienthal/Mindi Abair at The Factory in St. Louis
Seats Available at $45/Person

8.30.24:  Jazz Cruises’ Office Closes at 2 PM ET for the holiday weekend

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Bill Charlap Trio’s And Then Again

After 27 years and nearly 20 albums, we can safely say that Bill Charlap is one of the great jazz piano players, and that his trio with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington is one of the great working jazz groups of our day. Those truths are evident on the Bill Charlap Trio’s new Blue Note release, And Then Again, recorded live at the hallowed jazz ground of the Village Vanguard in New York City. The album is a showcase for the locked-in accord and extrasensory communication shared among the three musicians, their fleet yet diamond-sharp decision-making, and the terra firma of the repertoire set against the improvised pluck of the arranging, and the many wonderful, unforgettable moments that ensue.

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Geoffrey Keezer’s Live at Birdland

On his first live album in 15 years, Live at Birdland, Geoffrey Keezer brings together a special rhythm section in John Patitucci and Clarence Penn. Over three nights, the trio performed six sets in the Birdland Theater. “I’ve always wanted to release a Live at Birdland record,” he explained. “So we had six chances to create something new each time.” 

In addition to two original compositions by Geoffrey, the album features three compositions from Chick Corea and three from Wayne Shorter (four on its digital release). “They are two of my musical heroes and kind of also human heroes,” said Geoffrey, who had the honor of recording with Chick earlier in his career and subbing in Wayne’s quartet for several dates in 2009. “I loved that both of them were youthful, almost childlike, in how they approached life. Even though they were doing incredible works of art and creating very complex music, they never took themselves too seriously. They always had a great sense of humor.” 

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Jazz Cruises’ ’25 Programs

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STL Jazz Fest is Next Week!

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Mug Shots

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].