The end of Manor East June 16, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Media, News, Personal, Travel, TV, Video.add a comment
A piece of my early teens – and my sister’s, as well – is no more. Thursday, without warning, Manor East in Massapequa closed down (WABC-TV, WNYW-TV, CBSNewYork.com, Bellmore Patch). The catering hall at the corner of Jerusalem Avenue and North Broadway was home to my Bar Mitzvah reception in November 1994 and my sister’s Bat Mitzvah reception in September 1996 (two months after her birthday). (Our services were at the now-defunct Union Reform Temple in northwest Freeport.)
I pass by it whenever I take the n55 NICE Bus to Sunrise Mall or on the way to Lumara Salon for my monthly haircut. I can’t imagine what will take its place.
I feel terrible for those that paid for parties and receptions at Manor East and are left scrambling to find alternate locations.
Here is home video that I shot outside Manor East in February 1995 before going in for my friend Rob’s Bar Mitzvah, three months after mine:
(Sorry about the poor camerawork.)
Walking through Grand Central Terminal June 8, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
In the late morning and early afternoon of Friday, April 26, I made the long journey from my home in Wantagh to Milford, Connecticut for the this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars concert (night 1, night 2). After walking from Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal, I took the following pictures while waiting for my Metro-North train to Milford:
The next step was buying a round-trip ticket. Then, I bought a couple of snacks at Rite Aid and made my way to my train’s track.
From here, it was on to Milford.
When I headed home on Sunday, I opted not to walk from GCT to Penn. Instead, I took the 7 train to Woodside-61st Street and waited for a Babylon-bound LIRR train. I had been on enough trains on that branch that I assumed Woodside was a regular stop. But it wasn’t this time. I had to board a Ronkonkoma train and change at Jamaica. The Babylon train at Jamaica arrived on the same track as the Ronkonkoma train. There was a short delay in Baldwin, but I eventually made it back to Wantagh and wound down at home.
Expanding my collection May 16, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Travel.add a comment
The mental seed for expanding my music collection was planted at the first night of this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars benefit concert. One of the guest musicians that night was wind instrumentalist Nelson Rangell. He played one song from one of his albums and two covers not on any of his albums. The first of the two covers was a Return to Forever song called “Spain.” Nelson’s cover featured guitarist Marc Antoine, who was the first guest introduced that night. “Spain” was Marc’s fourth song in a row and followed Nelson’s contribution to his cover of “Mas Que Nada” by Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66.
Return to Forever (or RTF) is one of a few bands Chick Corea has led in his long career. I don’t have any of his solo albums, but I did have all but one by the Elektric Band (plus one Elektric Band II album).
That Friday night at the Parsons Complex, I was unaware “Spain” was an RTF cover. But the refrain sounded familiar and typical of Chick. The following morning in my hotel room, I did a Google search for spain jazz song. The top result was this Wikipedia entry. So, I listened to a little bit of the song in Spotify. The mental seed that was planted the night before was starting to grow.
At home a few days later, I looked into the rest of Return to Forever’s works. Bypassing their eponymous debut album, I liked what I heard on half of Light as a Feather (where “Spain” originated), but I haven’t listened to Flora Purim’s vocal contributions to the other half. I liked all of Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, Where Have I Known You Before, No Mystery, and Romantic Warrior. But I didn’t like Musicmagic because it was all vocals. So, after a week of deliberation, and purchasing saxophonist Andy Snitzer’s The Rhythm, I bought Light as a Feather as an MP3 download and the four albums that followed it (Hymn, Where Have I, etc.) on CD. Some songs on those albums were good, but the rest were great, especially if they featured various synthesizers.
I will eventually buy Return to Forever’s recent live album, The Mothership Returns. The latest incarnation of RTF, after several hiatuses, features 75% of the band during most of its 1970s run (Chick, bass player Stanley Clarke, and drummer Lenny White) plus violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and guitarist Frank Gambale.
While I was waiting for the four RTF CDs to arrive, I remembered that I had a Chick Corea Akoustic Band album – the CD, at least – for six years and never ripped it to my computer. The CD arrived by accident in a jewel case that had artwork for the Elektric Band’s Beneath the Mask album. I eventually got that album’s CD, but never listened to the eponymous Chick Corea Akoustic Band CD. That changed last Thursday. I liked the jazz standard covers in the first three-fifths of the CD, but loved Chick’s originals that rounded it out. The Akoustic Band was the Elektric Band without saxophonist Eric Marienthal and the aforementioned Frank Gambale. That left Chick on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Dave Weckl on drums. The four Chick originals were “Morning Sprite,” “T.B.C. (Terminal Baggage Claim),” “Circles” (a nod to Chick’s Circle band?), and a new arrangement of “Spain.” The one I got hooked on was “T.B.C.” because it reminded me of walking through airport terminals, particularly at Tampa International Airport. And since the album came out in 1989, I harkened back to plane rides I took to Tampa that year, and the joy of seeing my grandparents, who lived 45 minutes away in Crystal Beach, greet me in the terminal and walk with me and my immediate family to baggage claim. “Many bags look alike,” the baggage claim announcement included. (The rest of it was something about claim checks.)
As the RTF CDs came in, I also found the GRP All-Star Big Band album that I had been sitting on for just as long as the Akoustic Band album. That, too, featured a cover of “Spain.” And when my girlfriend shipped me Brian Simpson’s new album, Just What You Need, and Tom Borton’s 1992 album, The Lost World, I finally listened to the other album of Tom’s that I’ve had for eight years, Dancing with Tigers. I bought that one after learning excerpts from a few songs were used as Local Forecast music on The Weather Channel in the early ’90s.
As if all of this music wasn’t enough, I decided to give the later albums of Miles Davis a try. I’ve had downloads of “Tutu” (from the album Tutu) and his cover of “Human Nature” (from You’re Under Arrest) for years, but finally decided to buy Tutu and Amandla. The latter was Miles’ last album completed in his lifetime. (He died during the production of Doo-Bop.) Eventually, I’ll get Aura, You’re Under Arrest, Decoy, Star People, and maybe The Man with the Horn.
In three short weeks, that seed for expanding my music collection has blossomed into an enormous music tree. One song at one concert led to the purchase of five albums, then discovering two albums I never put on my computer, then buying two more albums, then receiving two more albums from my girlfriend which led me to give an album I hadn’t listened to eons another shot. Thank you, Nelson Rangell, for planting the seed in my head by covering “Spain.”
Sandy retired May 15, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Media, News, Personal, Weather.add a comment
I missed this story last month, but the National Hurricane Center has retired the name Sandy from its list of Atlantic Basin tropical cyclone names. Beginning in 2018, and every six years thereafter until the next retirement, the “S” storm will be named “Sara.” Here are the first two paragraphs of NOAA’s article about the name retirement:
Sandy has been retired from the official list of Atlantic Basin tropical cyclone names by the World Meteorological Organization’s hurricane committee because of the extreme impacts it caused from Jamaica and Cuba to the Mid-Atlantic United States in October 2012.
Storm names are reused every six years for both the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins. If a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of the name would be insensitive or confusing, the WMO hurricane committee, which includes personnel from NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, may retire the name. Sandy is the 77th name to be retired from the Atlantic list since 1954. The name will be replaced with “Sara” beginning in 2018.
…
I think I speak for everyone affected by Sandy when I say “good riddance.”
You can read about my Sandy experience here. I was lucky. All I experienced was nine days without power. It was nothing like the horror that waterfront residents experienced, and many are still recovering from.
SJFS 2013 Night 2 recap April 29, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.10 comments
Other SJFS recaps: 2008, 2008 meet-and-greet, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Night 1
If at first you succeed, try to duplicate the success the following night. That was the task for the second night of Jay Rowe‘s eleventh annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars concert.
Kevin McCabe was the first to speak to the audience just before 8PM:
As you can see behind Kevin, before Jay and the house band came out, the show began with a performance by the Foran High School Jazz Band, under the direction of Jessica Shearer. Their song featured a solo by Jay. Pictures of what was visible can be seen later in this post.
The house band was made up of Jay on keyboards:
Jerry Brooks on bass:
Trever Somerville on drums:
Steve Scales on percussion:
The show took place on Steve’s birthday.
…and for eight of the songs, Rohn Lawrence on guitar:
SET LIST
1. Martinis and Bikinis (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: “Live at Daniel Street,” 2011
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
2. Side Tracked (Jeff Golub)
Originally heard on: “The Three Kings,” 2011
Featured musicians: Jeff Golub (electric guitar), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
Unfortunately, Jeff went blind a few years ago. But he hasn’t let that stop him from performing. He still sounds great. His courage and perseverance are admirable.
3. Freddie’s Midnight Dream (Jeff Golub)
Originally heard on: “The Three Kings,” 2011
Featured musicians: Jeff Golub (electric guitar), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
4. Can’t Stop Now (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: “Can’t Stop Now,” 2012
Featured musicians: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
5. Wild Thing (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: “Whisper,” 2013
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Vincent Ingala (tenor sax), Chieli Minucci (electric guitar), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
6. Black Pearl (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: “Whisper,” 2013
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Chieli Minucci (acoustic guitar)
7. Dreams (Chieli Minucci)
Originally heard on: “It’s Gonna Be Good,” 1998
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (electric guitar), Vincent Ingala (soprano sax)
8. Crazy Eights (Chieli Minucci & Special EFX)
Originally heard on: “Genesis,” 2013 (to be released on May 21)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (electric guitar), Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)
9. If I Could Fly (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: “Can’t Stop Now,” 2012
Featured musicians: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
10. It Is What It Is (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: “North End Soul,” 2010
Featured musicians: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
11. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (The Allman Brothers Band cover)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (electric guitar), Jeff Golub (electric guitar)
12. Suede (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: “Player’s Club,” 2004
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)
13. Katy’s Groove (Jay Rowe)
Featured musicians: Foran High School Advanced Vocal Ensemble, under the direction of Theresa Voss
14 (Finale). Cold Duck Time (Jeff Golub; Eddie Harris cover)
Originally heard on: “Do It Again,” 2002
Featured musicians: Everyone
Various shots of Jay Rowe:
Jerry Brooks:
Trever Somerville:
Steve Scales:
Rohn Lawrence:
Vincent Ingala:
Jeff Golub:
Chieli Minucci:
Marion Meadows:
Just like in 2011, Marion began “Suede” by playing his way through the audience:
Vincent and Rohn:
Chieli and Vincent:
Marion and Chieli:
Marion, Vincent, and Chieli:
Chieli and Jeff:
Foran High School Jazz Band:
Foran High School Advanced Vocal Ensemble:
The Finale – “Cold Duck Time”:
The second night of Smooth Jazz for Scholars was now complete.
Jay: “We’ll see you all next year!”
I hope you enjoyed this pictorial journey through both nights of Smooth Jazz for Scholars. Until next year, so long.
SJFS 2013 Night 1 recap April 29, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.10 comments
Other SJFS recaps: 2008, 2008 meet-and-greet, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Night 2
This weekend, I made my annual pilgrimage to Milford, Connecticut, for Jay Rowe‘s eleventh annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars concert. For the first time in SJFS history, there were two nights of music to enjoy. This is a recap of Night 1.
Kevin McCabe had some opening remarks:
…and so did Jay Rowe:
Jay played his keyboards:
His house band was rounded by Jerry Brooks on bass:
Trever Somerville on drums:
…and Steve Scales on percussion:
The structure of this recap is different from previous SJFS recaps. Instead of combining the set list with pictures from the corresponding songs, I’ll list the set list first. Here it is:
SET LIST
1. Martinis and Bikinis (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: “Live at Daniel Street,” 2011
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Marc Antoine (acoustic guitar)
2. Sunland (Marc Antoine)
Originally heard on: “Madrid,” 1998
Featured musicians: Marc Antoine (acoustic guitar)
3. Mas Que Nada (Marc Antoine; Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 cover)
Originally heard on: “Cruisin’,” 2001
Featured musicians: Marc Antoine (acoustic guitar), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
4. Spain (Return to Forever [Chick Corea] cover)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (flute), Marc Antoine (acoustic guitar)
5. Turning Night Into Day (Nelson Rangell)
Originally heard on: “Turning Night Into Day,” 1997
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
6. Did You Know? (Nick Colionne)
Originally heard on: “Just Come On In,” 2003
Featured musicians: Nick Colionne (electric guitar), Vincent Ingala (electric guitar)
You read right. Vincent isn’t limited to one instrument. And if you’ve read the liner notes for some of Nick’s albums, neither is he.
7. Rainy Night in Georgia (Nick Colionne; Brook Benton cover)
Originally heard on: “It’s My Turn,” 1994; “Keepin’ It Cool,” 2006
Featured musicians: Nick Colionne (vocals/electric guitar), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
8. Pusherman (Alex Bugnon; Curtis Mayfield cover)
Originally heard on: Upcoming album
Featured musicians: Alex Bugnon (keyboard), Jay Rowe (keyboards), Nick Colionne (electric guitar), Vincent Ingala (electric guitar)
9. A House is Not a Home (Alex Bugnon; notably covered by Luther Vandross)
Originally heard on: Upcoming album
Featured musicians: Alex Bugnon (keyboard), Vincent Ingala (electric guitar)
10. Poinciana (notably covered by Ahmad Jamal)/107 Degrees in the Shade (Alex Bugnon)
“107 Degrees…” originally heard on: “107 Degrees in the Shade,” 1991
Musicians: Alex Bugnon (keyboard), Jay Rowe (keyboards)
11. The Connection (Nick Colionne)
Originally heard on: “Feel the Heat,” 2011
Featured musicians: Nick Colionne (electric guitar), Vincent Ingala (electric guitar)
12. How Insensitive (Insensatez) (Antonio Carlos Jobim cover)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (whistling/piccolo), Marc Antoine (acoustic guitar)
13. Harlem On My Mind (Alex Bugnon)
Originally heard on: “Tales from the Bright Side,” 1995
Featured musicians: Alex Bugnon (keyboard), Nelson Rangell (flute), Vincent Ingala
14. On the Strip (Marc Antoine)
Originally heard on: “Cruisin’,” 2001
Featured musicians: Test (instrument), Test (instrument)
15 (Finale). Cantaloupe Island (Herbie Hancock cover)/(James Brown-style jam)
Featured musicians: Everyone
In the finale, some musicians switched to different instruments. Vincent went from electric guitar to tenor sax; Marc Antoine tried out Vincent’s guitar, Steve’s drums, and one of Jay’s synthesizers.
With the set list out of the way, let’s get to the pictures.
We begin with various shots of Jay Rowe:
Trever Somerville:
Steve Scales:
Nelson Rangell helped out during Marc Antoine’s “How Insensitive” solo. Seconds before I took this, he struck the chimes:
Marc Antoine:
Nelson Rangell:
Alto sax:
Flute:
Piccolo:
Whistling:
Whistling like that deserved a bow:
Vincent Ingala on electric guitar:
Nick Colionne:
Hearing from the audience:
“Rainy Night in Georgia”:
Alex Bugnon:
Nelson and Marc’s “Mas Que Nada” call and response:
Jay and Alex’s dual medley:
Nick and Vincent’s “The Connection” duet:
The finale:
“Can I count it off?! (slow staccato): Can I count it off?!”
Nick in the audience:
Back on stage:
With that, the first night of the eleventh annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars was complete.
The fun resumed the following night. Click here to see.
2013 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony April 20, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Interviews, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, TV, Video.1 comment so far
Previous Hall of Fame Ceremonies: 2012
The second annual WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony featured the inductions of Maura “Bernie” Bernard, Steve Radoff, Harry Lowenthal, and Bill Mozer. Like the inaugural ceremony last year, this year’s ceremony was held at the Tilles Center Atrium. Unlike last year, the sun was shining brightly outside.
The Hall of Fame plaques:
Scott Perschke captured a conversation between Bill Mozer, Harry Lowenthal, and Harry’s son James:
Hank Neimark (who inducted Steve Radoff and Harry Lowenthal) and Pete Bellotti:
Pete and Bill Mozer:
Pete and Steve Radoff:
Pete and Bernie Bernard:
Pete and Harry Lowenthal:
The ceremony began with WCWP station manager Dan Cox introducing an opening video:
Jay Mirabile was the Master of the Ceremony:
Bill Mozer’s induction of Bernie Bernard came in the form of an interview:
A captive audience:
Next, Tracy Burgess conducted an interview with Bruce Leonard…
…and handed the mic to Jeff Kroll who read a statement from Joel Feltman:
Hank Neimark inducted Steve Radoff:
Steve’s speech:
Next, Hank inducted Harry Lowenthal:
Harry’s speech:
Dan Cox returned to induct Bill Mozer…
…but he wasn’t the only one.
Ted David pre-recorded an induction speech from Florida:
Then came a slideshow set to “You’ve Got a Friend” by James Taylor:
It was finally time to bring Bill to the podium:
It was an emotional speech.
There was one more special video message for Bill…
…from Fred Gaudelli:
There was still one more announcement to make…
…and that was made by Pete Bellotti:
The unveiling of the Hall of Fame plaque with the induction years and inductees listed on it:
“Let’s hear it for the 2013 WCWP Hall of Fame Class!”
Later at WCWP, Dan gave a tour of the newly renovated Studio 1:
It was quite a day! Congratulations to Bernie, Steve, Harry, and Bill: the WCWP Hall of Fame Class of 2013.
Five years! April 15, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Personal, Technology.add a comment
Five years ago today, I took one giant leap into the blogosphere and launched The Mike Chimeri Blog. The blog was created as a replacement for the original MikeChimeri.com’s “News from Mike” page where I wrote about the latest events in my life. The problem with that was I would erase previous entries, which were in an occasionally updated text box on that webpage. (That site was created with WYSIWYG software.) Luckily, I cut and paste most of those entries to a Word document.
I kept the original MikeChimeri.com up for four years until I finally made the logical decision to recreate pages at the blog and transfer the MikeChimeri.com domain to it. And so it was on May 14, 2012, 11 months ago yesterday, that The Mike Chimeri Blog became MikeChimeri.com!
Busy Saturdays (and one Friday) ahead April 13, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology, Travel, Video.add a comment
I have a busy pair of Saturdays (and one Friday) beginning next week.
Next Saturday, I’ll be at the second annual WCWP Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. As I noted in mid-October, this year’s inductees are Steve Radoff, Harry Lowenthal, Bill Mozer, and Maura “Bernie” Bernard. Like last year, the ceremony will take place at the Tilles Center Atrium. But unlike last year, it will take place in the afternoon rather than the evening.
The following Friday and Saturday, I’ll be up in Milford, Connecticut, for both nights of keyboardist Jay Rowe’s annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars benefit concert. In the Friday show, for the first time since 2008, Jay won’t be the only keyboardist performing. Alex Bugnon is one of the guests scheduled to perform, along with saxophonist Nelson Rangell, and guitarists Marc Antoine and Nick Colionne. Saturday’s lineup consists of guitarists Jeff Golub and Chieli Minucci, and saxophonists Marion Meadows and Vincent Ingala. This will be the first time I’ve seen Jeff since he unfortunately lost his sight.
At both events, I’ll have the same video and audio equipment as last year, but I’ll be using a new digital camera. After getting the Nikon D3100 last May, I lucked into swapping it for a new D5100 earlier this week.
You know the drill: After each event, I’ll post a photo recap here at MikeChimeri.com. Crafting posts will be easier now that WordPress lets you post all the pictures at once.
Until then, so long.
Last snow of the season March 27, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
I will assume that the wet snow that mixed with rain on Monday night was the last snow of the season (that carried into spring). Since there was no accumulation, I didn’t take pictures.
But I did have the camera out a week ago for a pair of minor wet snow events.
March 18:
I wasn’t expecting much snow to accumulate, but as the evening progressed, there was a decent amount on the ground.
This was taken at 6:57 PM:
7:19 PM:
8:11 PM:
9:06 PM:
By this time, the National Weather Service hastily issued a winter weather advisory until midnight when the wet snow changed to rain.
By morning, most of the snowfall had been rained away.
March 21: A mid-afternoon wet snow shower left a small coating.
I took these six pictures around 5PM before going out to dinner:
Now, it’s time to make the transition from shoveling snow to sweeping pollen.
