SJFS 2023 Night 2 recap May 18, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Anime, City Pop, Comedy, Health, Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.
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Continued from night 1 recap

Saturday, April 29, concluded with the second night of Jay Rowe‘s 20th anniversary edition of Smooth Jazz for Scholars, benefiting the Milford Public Schools music department. As usual, I have a long preamble listing how my day went before the show itself.

Upon waking up in my second floor Hampton Inn hotel room that faced the parking lot, I went through the rest of the photos from Friday night and removed the blurry ones. Following a workout (and shower), I headed down to the common area with my laptop for breakfast and mingling as I began editing. I didn’t edit as much as I talked with fellow jazz fans that went to the first night. They were fascinated with what I do and what my interests are, including my newfound Japanophilia and fascination with music and pop culture. (Read about my first week as a city pop fan.) In addition to meeting up with Mark and Phyllis Abrams, Estella and her friend Norma were eating breakfast at a table behind me. I always set up on the elevated center table because it has outlets for plugging in devices. Then, I met Owen Lomax who showed me his photos and videos from other shows he’s attended. After that, Mark and Phyllis’s friends Rob and Mel came down. Rob was most fascinated with me and we spoke a long time. He was even nice enough to get ice from the second floor machine so I could chill hot water. I’d poured it from a container before noticing there weren’t any hot cocoa packets to mix in. As noon approached and the common area quieted down, I decided to head back to my second floor room.

I bought three 50/50 raffle tickets for $10 on way into the Veterans Memorial Auditorium at Parsons Complex Friday night, inadvertently knocking my keys out of my coat’s right pocket when reaching for the wallet. I didn’t know what happened until Saturday afternoon before a trip to ShopRite. I thought I might have left the keys at CVS when checking out my stenographer pad and sleep mask purchase. However, when I stopped there on the way to ShopRite, an employee working Friday night said she didn’t see keys left in the checkout area. After ShopRite, my parents dropped me back at the hotel, and went to Home Depot to duplicate the house and office keys. That left the auditorium as the only place I could have lost them. I’d find out come evening.

In my room, I sat at my laptop and ate homemade trail mix that I did remember to bring (lightly salted peanuts and almonds, and raisins) as I watched the rest of an Adventures of the Gummi Bears episode on Disney+. I was halfway through an English dubbed episode of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear on CrunchyRoll when I’d finished the trail mix. Then, back to editing while listening to Casiopea and part two of the Hollywood and Levine podcast interview with author/screenwriter Nicholas Meyer.

My editing process for Canon EOS R7 photos in Adobe Photoshop Elements (again, I also have regular Photoshop) is cropping out excess and tweaking brightness, contrast, color, and/or levels. Somewhere along the way, I apply a dust and scratches filter to tamp down the grain. If I have to sharpen a photo, I use despeckle before dust and scratches. (Read about my initial experience with the R7.)

I cut myself off from editing at 3:45, having only reached photo 120 out of 294 taken during the show.

My parents and I opted to drive up Boston Post Road (U.S. 1) for dinner at Olive Garden in Orange. It was rainy and windy most of the weekend, and that’s what we encountered Saturday afternoon and evening. I planned on wearing my LIU Post polo during SJFS night two (to complement the WCWP polo on Friday), but an accidental stain while eating meant I’d have to change into a spare long-sleeve polo I brought when I got back to the hotel.

On the way back, we stopped at Cumberland Farms so I could get a pint of ice cream (not just bars this time) and Dad could refuel the Ford Explorer. I watched more Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear and finished eating the ice cream right before my girlfriend Kelly arrived from Wallingford. Then, off to Parsons Complex. It was still raining heavily, so Kelly dropped me off by the auditorium side entrance to limit the rainfall on my gear.

Inside, I asked around about my lost keys, and was eventually referred to the light and sound engineer. He handed them to me before I finished asking! Thank goodness! At least I have spare keys now.

I set up my equipment in the same left-center portion of the orchestra pit, took $10 out of wallet, and went back to the lobby to buy another three 50/50 raffle tickets. Before and after retrieving the wallet from my right coat pocket, I made certain that the keys were still in there. Now that it’s warmer, I do that with my right pants pocket.

While I’d spoken to my photography mates Katherine Gilraine and Ron Hancox on Friday, I didn’t get to meet the fourth photographer, Andrew James, until Saturday before the show. I’ve made so many friends since my first time at Smooth Jazz for Scholars in 2007 (with my first recap in ’08), including Paul, one of the ushers. I saw Lisa Arpin again, along with fellow Jay Rowe Tito Tuesdays livestream alumni Judy Raphael and Robin Morin Stewart.

8:00 arrived, as it always does, and Kevin McCabe walked to a stage mic for his introduction.

For the first time since 2019, a night of SJFS opened with a performance by Milford Public Schools music students: the Foran High School Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Jessica Turner:

Ms. Turner did not cite song titles, but the first song featured alto and tenor sax solos.

The second was led by a baritone sax solo:

I didn’t take photos during the third song, which had tenor sax and trumpet solos.

Jay Rowe came out afterward to compliment the ensemble and their director, Ms. Turner:

Then, they left the stage…

…and the house band made their way out. Kevin returned to introduce them and Jay Rowe welcomed the audience:

It was Jay leading the way on keyboards…

…with Andy Abel on guitar:

Dave Anderson on bass:

Trever Somerville on drums:

…and the great Steve Scales with percussion:

Headlining on Saturday night were the lively JJ Sansaverino:

The energetic Paul Taylor:

The sweet and saxy Kim Waters:

…and saxophonista Jessy J:

Lots of Js on the stage this night.

Coincidentally, Friday night, I heard a song by similarly-spelled pop singer Jessie J while shopping in Cumberland Farms.

(Updated with videos on 5/31)

SET LIST
1. East Coast West Coast (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Red, Hot & Smooth (2006)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Andy Abel (guitar)

2. Midnight Dance (Jay Rowe) (yes, both nights)
Single
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)

3. Ride With Me (JJ Sansaverino)
Originally heard on: Soul Energy (2022)
Featured musician: JJ Sansaverino (guitar)

4. Set It Off (JJ Sansaverino)
Originally heard on: Cocktails & Jazz (2021)
Featured musician: JJ Sansaverino (guitar)

5. And Now This (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: And Now This (2021)
Featured musician: Paul Taylor (alto sax)

6. Pleasure Seeker (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: Pleasure Seeker (1997)
Featured musicians: Paul Taylor (soprano sax)

7. In the House (Kim Waters)
Originally heard on: From the Heart (2001)
Featured musician: Kim Waters (alto sax)

8. Love Don’t Live Here Anymore (Kim Waters; Rose Royce cover)
Originally heard on: Love Stories (2010)
Featured musician: Kim Waters (alto sax)

9. Tequila Moon (Jessy J)
Originally heard on: Tequila Moon (2008)
Featured musicians: Jessy J (tenor sax), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

10. Tropical Rain/Hot Sauce (Jessy J)
Originally heard on: True Love (2009)/Hot Sauce (2011)
Featured musicians: Jessy J (tenor sax), Andy Abel (guitar)

11. Waterfall (Kim Waters)
Originally heard on: Someone to Love You (2002)
Featured musicians: Kim Waters (alto sax), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

12. Europa (JJ Sansaverino; Santana cover)
Featured musician: JJ Sansaverino (guitar)

13. Blue (Jessy J)
Originally heard on: Blue (2022)
Featured musicians: Jessy J (tenor sax), Andy Abel (guitar)

14. Exotica
Originally heard on: On the Horn (1995)
Featured musician: Paul Taylor (soprano sax)

15 (Finale). Ladies’ Choice (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: Ladies’ Choice (2007)
Featured musicians: Everyone, plus women from the audience!

JJ Sansaverino leads off the headliner photo galleries:

Next, Paul Taylor on alto sax:

Paul on soprano sax:

Kim Waters was solely on alto sax:

…and Jessy J played tenor sax:

Photo galleries of the house band start with Jay Rowe during his intense “Waterfall” solo:

Andy Abel’s “East Coast West Coast” solo:

Regrettably, I only took two more photos of Dave Anderson:

Here are nine of Trever Somerville:

…and the 11 best of Steve Scales:

Medium shots, starting with Kim, Dave and Jay:

JJ and Jay:

Jessy J and Jay:

Jessy and Andy during his “Blue” solo:

Wide shots:

Between “Europa” and “Blue,” the raffle winners were announced from a bag held by Kevin McCabe. Jessy gave Jay the winning 50/50 raffle ticket (I lost again):

That brings us to the finale: “Ladies’ Choice.” Paul Taylor’s custom for live performances of this song is to invite ten ladies to dance on stage. As you’ll see, Kelly was one of the ten! Feeling ambitious, I started walking to the stage, but turned back before reaching the rope on the left end of the orchestra pit. Now, the photos:

I packed my equipment and headed for the lobby, putting it all on a table in the corner. Then, I began meeting and greeting, catching up with Kim Waters first:

If I knew he was pointing at me, I’d have pointed back, like I’ve done in other photos.

Kim paid tribute to Chuck Loeb after playing “In the House,” a song they wrote and played on. They produced and recorded many albums together in the 1990s and 2000s. I told Kim I hadn’t seen him play live since he and Chuck did the first night of SJFS in 2014.

I said I still have the business card Chuck gave me for his online guitar school, which I scanned for posterity at home Sunday evening:

To Kim’s right at the meet-and-greet table was Paul Taylor:

Then, Jessy J:

Jessy thanked me for my positive review of Blue when it was released last April, and we also reflected on the loss of Dancing with the Stars judge Len Goodman the week before. Jessy is in Ray Chew Live, the DWTS house band, and she was highly complimentary of Len. I had thought he retired as judge because of his cancer diagnosis, but Jessy said that came after. Len and his tens will live on in our hearts.

Coincidentally, the shirt I wore instead of the LIU Post polo is the same one I wore the first time I saw Jessy live at The Iridium in Feburary 2012:

Last but not least, JJ Sansaverino:

JJ was very happy to see me, admitting he’s enjoyed my Facebook posts and was grateful that I’ve played his music on Instrumental Invasion. I hadn’t seen JJ since he played guitar at saxophonist Steve Cole‘s Houndstooth Pub show in November 2011.

Turning the tables, Jessy took a photo of me and my good friend Steve Lewis, another yearly SJFS volunteer:

I took a photo of Kim with Jay Rowe’s mother, Mia DiStasi:

…and a selfie with Mia:

Kelly and I gathered my equipment and we said goodbye to our friends in the lobby. A lighter rain awaited us outside Parsons on our walk to the parking lot. When we got back to the hotel, I gave Kelly a good night kiss and took the elevator back to my room, bantering with the desk clerk until the doors opened.

In my room, like the night before, I moved photos and videos to my laptop (while watching a Twitch stream), imported the RAW photos into Lightroom, exported them as JPGs, deleted the RAWs, edited the meet-and-greet shots for posting to Facebook, and edited another 15 from Friday’s set. Then, sleep…for another few hours. Back to the laptop to curate my roll. I was left with 70 more photos than Friday. I edited a little, then met Diane and Richard in the common area. They, too, were at both nights of Smooth Jazz for Scholars and we agreed to meet for breakfast Sunday morning. I had my laptop with me, but never opened it. I just talked to them, and Paul Taylor (it was his birthday!) once he came down for breakfast. After a little more editing in my room, I packed up and checked out with my parents.

The ride home took two hours. It was an average time, though longer than I’m used to on Sundays. I spent the entire ride watching YouTube videos, including an episode of the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in which a four-day champion won $30,000 in one day!

I put off further editing until Monday (May 1). The rest of Sunday (April 30) was for unwinding after a long weekend. I vowed to take my time editing the photos and working on this recap.

Editing was completed May 7, immediately followed by watermarking all photos. On May 9 and 10, I picked the best of the best from each night, which was still a lot, then saved lower resolution versions in Photoshop Elements. May 10 is also when I started drafting the written portions of these blog posts, which I incorporated into posts on the 12th and 13th, and fleshed out on the 15th and 16th.

Thank you for reading one or both of my 20th anniversary Smooth Jazz for Scholars blog posts. I will be back next year! See you around.