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Smooth Jazz for Scholars 2025 dates/lineup January 28, 2025

Posted by Mike C. in Personal, smooth jazz, Travel.
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4/19 UPDATE: Marion Meadows has been added to the Saturday lineup. The post has been revised accordingly.

Pardon the delayed promotion once again, but the 21st annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars is fast approaching. Jay Rowe made the official announcement in a December 4 Facebook post. Held two nights a year since 2013, Smooth Jazz for Scholars takes place in Jay’s hometown of Milford, Connecticut, and benefits the Milford Public Schools‘ music department.

Here is that official announcement:

Saturday, May 3, now includes Marion Meadows! Watch the promotional video below.

Timmy Maia is headlining for the second year in a row, it’s the fifth year in a row for Marion Meadows (2018-19, 2022-25), with Peter White, Nelson Rangell, Jeff Kashiwa, and Jackiem Joyner also making return appearances. This is Jackiem’s second time, having debuted on the second night in 2015, but I was back on Long Island to cover that year’s WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony.

Vocalist Lindsey Webster and the duo of Four80East finally make their debuts, five years after their intended debut appearances were canceled by COVID.

Repeating the information in Jay’s original announcement, my addendum, and the promotional video:

Friday, May 2
Peter White
Jackiem Joyner
Nelson Rangell
Timmy Maia

Saturday, May 3
Lindsey Webster
Jeff Kashiwa
Four80East
Marion Meadows
Jay Rowe

Location:
Veterans Memorial Auditorium in the Parsons Government Center
70 W. River St.
Milford, CT 06460

Tickets: $50 for one night, $85 for both nights

General admission tickets can be bought through Eventbrite.

Reserved seating must be ordered by sending funds to Jay via apps or a check.

PayPal: funhouse63@aol.com
Venmo: John-Rowe-43
Cashapp: $Jayrowe

Otherwise, send your check to:
Jay Rowe
P.O. Box 3723
Milford, CT 06460

**PLEASE SPECIFY WHICH NIGHT FOR SINGLE NIGHT PURCHASES.** (per Jay’s website)

I’ll end this promotional post with recaps of last year’s first night and second night.

5/15 UPDATE: Recaps are now up for this year’s first night and second night.

January 19 snow, January 20 aftermath January 23, 2025

Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz Fusion, Music, Personal, Photography, smooth jazz, Weather.
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After glancing blows from snowstorms in the first four weeks of winter, Long Island finally got a storm that left more than two inches of snow on the ground.

As day turned to night on Sunday, January 19, air temperatures fell from the upper 30s Fahrenheit to below freezing, turning rain to snow. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for Long Island, calling for 3 to 5 inches of snow with the potential for up to 6 inches in stronger bands. (Points north and west were under a winter storm warning.) Thankfully, according to my 12-inch ruler , only 3.4 inches of snow accumulated on my front lawn, and only about an inch on the pavement. Official totals can be found here. The NWS practice of reporting by whole number and tenth decimal point is why converted from fractions (3 7/16″) to decimals (3.4375″) and rounded off to the nearest tenth (3.4″).

Below is a photographic timeline from start to finish on January 19, or at least up to the point where I went to bed.

  • 1:58 PM
  • 3:13 PM
  • 5:03 PM
  • 7:15 PM
  • 9:10 PM
  • 10:13 PM
  • 10:56 PM

At 9:04 AM on Monday, January 20, with the sun shining and no clouds in the sky, I took photos of the snow-covered driveway, front yard, and backyard.

At 10AM, I bundled up, put on my snow boots, and went out the front door to begin shoveling. I also had in earbuds to listen to Tom Schuman’s I Am Schuman album on my phone, which I stored in my coat’s inner breast pocket. Within 57 minutes and 28 seconds, according to my watch, I had cleared my mom’s car (with a brush), the left side of the house up to the oil tank cap, the front porch steps, the entire driveway, the curb, and the sidewalk up to the property lines. I had prepped to listen to Kirk Whalum’s Epic Cool album (a Christmas present), but barely finished the first track – “Bah-De-Yah!” – by the time I put the shovel against the wall and went back in the house.

While it has remained quite cold in the aftermath of Sunday’s snowstorm, no snow is in the 7-day forecast as of publication on Thursday, January 23. However, I am mentally prepared for more snowstorms this winter, and with more snow than we’ve seen in four years.

Until the next storm, I’ll leave you with a post-shoveling photographic timeline:

  • 11:04 AM
  • 1:56 PM (It may have been cold, but the sun still did its job.)