SJFS 2024 Night 1 recap May 2, 2024

Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Health, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Livestream, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Rap, smooth jazz, Travel, Video.
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Read about night 2 here.

Friday, April 19, was the first of two nights of the 2024 Smooth Jazz for Scholars, hosted by keyboardist Jay Rowe in his hometown of Milford, Connecticut. It was the 21st anniversary, but 20th overall (postponed by COVID in 2020 and ’21). Each year, this two-night event (one night prior to 2012) benefits the Milford Public Schools music department. And as with most years, each night opens with a performance by student musicians under the direction of their music teacher. The “smooth jazz” part comes from the four to five headliners each night. I’ll name Friday’s four headliners after my preamble. (Scroll down to Kevin McCabe’s first photo if you don’t want to read it.)

A lot has changed in my life since last year (night 1, night 2). A chance browse of Twitch on the evening of May 9 sent me down another rabbit hole: the wonderful world of music streamers. As if my horizons hadn’t been broadened enough by Japanese city pop, idol music, and anime thanks to the likes of Caitlin Myers, I was now exposed to female vocalists from the United States, Canada, and even the UK (England, Ireland). Most have written and performed original songs, but others just do covers. Those covers exposed me to the likes of Maisie Peters, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift. Over the last few months, I have become a Swiftie, and after buying her CDs, a savant that can name what album a given song appeared on. It’s weird looking in iTunes and seeing Taylor, Cerian (“kerry ann”), Katie Seto, and Steph La Rochelle juxtaposed with all my instrumentals. (I’ve been on a McCoy Tyner kick in recent months.)

On November 3, I joined the ranks of Twitch streamers, primarily playing video games, but occasionally breaking for media production. At first, that involved recording what part of what became the penultimate Instrumental Invasion show and then recording the finale. That was it until all of last week when I edited most of the photos from both nights of the 20th Smooth Jazz for Scholars, all while listening to video game music soundtracks. (I didn’t want to risk copyright strikes for playing music by the SJFS headliners.) Even though I’m not a music streamer, I raid out to (end by sending my audience to) music streams more often than any other category. My road as a streamer and a stream viewer has not been flawless. I’ve had my share of self-inflicted bumps and costly errors, which I won’t get into. On the whole, however, I’m satisfied with the path I’ve taken.

Unlike last year, I wasn’t the least bit anxious about the workload at the Parsons Complex Veterans Memorial Auditorium. I only feared having a meltdown while in Milford as I’d had at prior events like last year’s New York Comic Con (which I’ll never go to again) or various parties where I was out of my comfort zone. Miraculously, there were no meltdowns. I was in my comfort zone all throughout. Nothing broke me. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I spent parts of Thursday and Friday morning packing up for my journey to Milford. I would be staying at the Hampton Inn on Plains Road, I-95 exit 36. My parents Lisa and Bill would stay until Saturday morning, return to Long Island for the Freeport Fire Department installation dinner, and drive back to Connecticut to pick me up by Sunday afternoon. (SPOILER: They wouldn’t have to come back for me. Read about that in the Saturday recap.)

We left our house in Dad’s Ford Explorer at 1:02 PM Friday. Despite pockets of traffic on the Northern State Parkway, Lakeville Road, and the Throgs Neck Expressway (I-295), we reached the Hampton Inn parking lot at 3:19, only two hours and 17 minutes later. SiriusXM’s Watercolors smooth jazz channel was on the car stereo, but I watched Twitch streams on my phone with earbuds. I started with Gillian Hayek‘s fishing game stream, then moved on to Natalie Paige‘s last stream before moving to Connecticut (can’t say where) from the Seattle, Washington, area. The stream coincided with my six-month renewal, and I chose Norah Jones‘s sinister-sounding “Miriam” for Natalie to cover.

At check-in, I had my dad request rooms facing the parking lot rather than I-95. I was in room 144, near the south entrance accessible by key card. Once my laptop was unpacked and I’d paid for two days of guest Wi-Fi, I returned to Natalie Paige’s stream and put on Ellie Fier‘s stream after 4:00. Ellie is the reason I became a Swiftie in the first place. Friday was a big day for Taylor Swift fans: release day for the latest album, The Tortured Poets Department. I’d already bought Taylor’s prior albums on CD earlier in the month and would be sure to rip the tracks from my TTPD CD (The Manuscript Edition) once I got home. (Yes, there’s The Anthology. I accessed those additional 14 tracks via YouTube Music.) As noted in my photo editing Twitch streams, I wouldn’t listen to all 31 tracks until the following Tuesday, finishing on the treadmill three mornings later. My only exposure to any track prior to then was Ellie’s rendition of “So High School,” track 22 on The Anthology.

At 5:30, like last year, my parents and I drove a short distance to Pasquale Pizza for a pasta dinner, preceded by garlic knots. When I was finished, I left my parents and walked back to Hampton Inn, stopping at Cumberland Farms along the way to buy two low-calorie pints of Mars candy flavored ice cream to eat in my room. One was Twix Cookie Dough and the other was Snickers. By this time, I paired Natalie’s stream with Katie O’Flaherty. I watched until shortly before 7:00, at which I packed my equipment to bring to the auditorium.

The Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens was in my backpack with a stenographer pad (the same one I bought at the Milford CVS a year ago) and battery charger with spare battery attached. I kept the Panasonic HC-X1500 with VW-HU1 and Rode VideoMic GO II in a travel bag along with a spare battery, but that wasn’t all. I decided to bring my GoPro HERO7 with YOLOtek Juicebank attached for wide cutaway shots when repositioning the HC-X1500. That meant I brought a second tripod, by Targus (I forget the model number), aside from the Magnus VT-300 for the camcorder.

My parents dropped me off adjacent to the auditorium and I lugged my equipment in. It was all surprisingly lightweight. In the lobby, I stopped at the merchandise table where I bought a CD of Friday headliner Althea René‘s Live in Detroit from Michelle. Then, I proceeded to the orchestra pit, limboed under the rope on the right side, and set up in the center. Jay Rowe didn’t e-mail me the set lists for each night beforehand. So, I had to rely on what was said on stage. I only blanked on one song out of 15, but figured out what it was Saturday morning.

As 8:00 approached, I mingled with fellow photographers Katherine Gilraine, Keith McDonald, Ron Hancox, and Andrew James, and with fellow fans like Robin Morin Stewart, Judy Raphael, Mary Jane Manna, Rob and Mel Hoogenboom, and Mark and Phyllis Abrams.

At last, it was time for the house lights to dim and Kevin McCabe bid us “good evening” (and have us repeat it louder):

He introduced the John F. Kennedy Elementary School Select Grade 4 Chorus, under the direction of Theresa Voss.

I saw a stack of jackets on right side of orchestra pit when I arrived. They belonged to members of the chorus.

Kevin returned to thank sponsors and Milford officials:

(Marion Meadows would be one of Saturday’s headliners.)

Jay Rowe had opening remarks, then went into first track – “City Groove,” his latest single. (The full set list follows introductory photos.)

In order of appearance, Friday’s headliners were Vincent Ingala:

Steve Oliver:

Althea René:

…and Marcus Anderson:

Steve Scales was absent this year, but the rest of Jay’s house band was intact from last year.

Trever Somerville on drums:

Dave Anderson on bass:

Andy Abel on guitar (rhythm during Steve Oliver songs):

And directing at all, Jay Rowe on keyboards:

I forgot to put in my earplugs until the first song below. I took them out when the house lights went up after the finale.

SET LIST (Updated with videos on 5/22/24)
1. City Groove (Jay Rowe)
2023 single
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)

2. Rosemary’s Tune (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Live at Daniel Street (2011), Smooth Ride (2016)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)

3. Snap, Crackle, Pop (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: Personal Touch (2018)
Featured musician: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)

4. High Noon (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: Positive Energy (2002)
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocal sounds)

5. Skyway (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: A New Light (2023)
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocal sounds)

6. Pastel Leather (Althea René)
Originally heard on: Pastel Leather (2022)
Featured musician: Althea René (flute)

7. Life on Mars (Althea René) (Dexter Wansel cover)
Originally heard on: Flawsome (2019)
Featured musician: Althea René (flute, “flute talk” while playing through audience at midpoint)

8. Reverse (Marcus Anderson)
Originally heard on: Reverse (2022)
Featured musician: Marcus Anderson (alto sax)

9. Understanding (Marcus Anderson)
Originally heard on: Limited Edition (2017)
Featured musician: Marcus Anderson (alto sax)

10. Chips and Salsa (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: 3D (2004)
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocal sounds)

11. GoGo Bootz (Althea René)
Originally heard on: Pastel Leather (2022)
Featured musicians: Althea René (flute), Marcus Anderson (alto sax)

12. Care for You (Marcus Anderson)
Originally heard on: Reverse (2022)
Featured musician: Marcus Anderson (alto sax, rap interlude)

13. Personal Touch (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: Personal Touch (2018)
Featured musician: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)

14. On the Move (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: Fire & Desire (2021)
Featured musician: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)

15 (Finale). Miss You (The Rolling Stones cover)
Featured musicians: Everyone; Steve Oliver (vocals, vocal sounds)

Here are photo galleries of the headliners, starting with Vincent Ingala:

Steve Oliver:

Althea René:

Marcus Anderson:

Now, the house band, beginning with drummer Trever Somerville:

Bassist Dave Anderson’s “Life on Mars” solo:

Guitarist Andy Abel:

Finally, Jay Rowe on keyboards:

On to medium shots, starting with Vincent and Jay:

Vincent and Dave:

Vincent, Andy and Trever:

Marcus and Jay:

Althea and Marcus on “GoGo Bootz”:

Wide shots from the end of “Life on Mars”:

End of “Chips and Salsa”:

“GoGo Bootz”:

End of “Care for You”:

Audience dancing during “GoGo Bootz”:

After “Care for You,” Kevin McCabe presented the basket of 50/50 raffle tickets.

The finale, “Miss You“:

As I packed up, Phyllis Abrams showed me the rose she caught from Marcus Anderson, going so far as putting up to my nose. I said it smelled like fabric softener, but I meant carpet cleaner. Then, I introduced myself to photographer Kenny Combs, and said hello to Jay Dobbins, Janet Abel (Andy’s sister), and Dolly Moye. Dolly introduced me to her high school friend Rick. My friend Kelly Dacey was there and we spoke briefly in the auditorium, but more in the lobby during the meet and greet. Below are photos from the meet and greet.

Estella and Steve reprising the “Chips and Salsa” vocal sounds:

The next two photos are by Andrew James: me with the headliners – Steve, Marcus, Vincent, Althea:

Then, Jay Rowe joined in:

Dolly Moye let me have a pair of dancing sunglasses, as seen in this selfie, my last photo of the night:

At least that was the last photo taken that night on the EOS R7. Andrew wanted photos with the headliners and Jay, and Mark (a different Mark) wanted a photo with Marcus.

Kelly helped me bring the equipment to her, then we drove back to Hampton Inn where she dropped me off. She went to the after party, and I went back to my room to unload the photos and videos onto my laptop, and convert all the RAW files to JPGs in Adobe Lightroom. I had SashiBOOM and her dog Perry keeping me company on Twitch until that process was complete. Then, off to sleep.

Read about Saturday and beyond in the second recap.