jump to navigation

David Benoit at My Father’s Place: A Tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas December 7, 2024

Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Broadway, Christmas, Comedy, DVD, Education, Football, History, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, smooth jazz, Theatre, Travel, TV, VHS, Weather.
2 comments

3/25/25 NOTE: Scroll down for an update to this post via an email from Steve Stoliar.

Wednesday evening, thanks to the generosity of my fellow WCWP/LIU Post alumnus Bobby Guthenberg, I was at My Father’s Place at the Roslyn Hotel to see David Benoit‘s annual tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas.

It was the first time I’d seen a live show outside of Smooth Jazz for Scholars since before COVID. That last pre-COVID show was Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber Fusion at The Iridium in December 2019. Wednesday also marked the first time I’d seen David and his trio since June 2019, also at My Father’s Place, three months after I saw The Rippingtons there.

Bobby G., longtime friend of My Father’s Place promoter Michael “Eppy” Epstein, first invited me to David’s show one morning in late August. I didn’t hesitate in accepting the invitation. We would meet at WCWP’s Abrams Communications Center by 5:45 PM and drive to Roslyn from there.

Since it was Christmastime, I anticipated David’s set would be similar to the one from his 2008 concert at IMAC (Inter-Media Art Center) in Huntington. (Little did I know that would be the last show I’d ever see there as the venue closed in June 2009, eventually replaced by The Paramount.)

My parents drove me up to LIU Post at 5:00 and we arrived in the parking lot adjacent to WCWP (and Hillwood Commons) within 20 minutes. In contrast to the flurry of activity during Homecoming Weekend, the Abrams Communications Center was as dark as the night sky, with most of the light coming from studio 1 and 3 where live shows were in progress. Thomas, the Wednesday host of The Rock Show, invited me in before retreating to Hillwood for dinner. I paced quietly in the lobby until Bobby G. arrived shortly after 5:45.

Bobby and I conversed on the entire drive to My Father’s Place, listening to David Benoit’s Fuzzy Logic (2002) CD along the way.

It was about 6PM when parked in the Roslyn Hotel lot. We walked up the stairs to the hotel lobby and down the stairs to the My Father’s Place section. (MFP was originally its own venue before relocating to the hotel.) Eppy Epstein was seated outside the entrance and Bobby introduced us. Then, we confirmed our ticketed reservation with the attendant in the entryway and were ushered to a front row center table.

My conversation with Bobby continued as 8PM approached. (He and Billy Joel were classmates at Hicksville High School!) We both ordered separate dinners, each choosing a seltzer with lime as our soft drink, drinking water in the meantime. None of the entrees interested me, so I ordered fried calamari and a “side” of mac and cheese. Our waitress told me the side dish, with shell pasta, was as big as an entree, meaning I only needed to order one bowl. It was all quite good.

I checked the stage for a set list so I’d know what I was in for. I found one on the stage floor by the drum kit. I didn’t think to write the list to my stenographer pad until the show had begun and the waitress took our dessert orders. I chose chocolate lava cake, which was a bit rich for me, even with the vanilla ice cream mixed in, but still good.

Okay, the preamble is over. Let’s talk about the show itself!

As you see, there was a fourth member of the band: vocalist Courtney Fortune.

David Benoit was on a Yamaha piano:

New York City native Roberto Vally played bass:

Merrick native Dan Schnelle was on drums:

And the aforementioned Courtney Fortune on vocals:

The front stage featured replicas of Schroeder‘s toy piano and the sapling Charlie Brown chose over fully-grown trees in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Hmm. What’s with the electrical wiring? You’ll soon find out.

Before more photos, let’s look at…

THE SET LIST

  1. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
  2. Believe
  3. Medley: My Favorite Things/The Christmas Waltz
  4. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
  5. Originals medley: Drive Time/Café Rio/Kei’s Song
  6. Schroeder/The Doctor is In
  7. Vince Guaraldi medley: Great Pumpkin Waltz/Thanksgiving Theme/You’re in Love, Charlie Brown/Christmas is Coming/Skating/What Child is This?/O Tannenbaum
  8. Christmas Time is Here
  9. Just Like Me
  10. Linus and Lucy
  11. (encore) Cabin Fever

Set List Background Info
Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas compositions (except where noted) in the set were “Christmas is Coming,” “Skating,” “What Child is This?” (only on the soundtrack album; arrangement of traditional song), “O Tannenbaum” (arrangement of traditional song), “Linus and Lucy,” and “Christmas Time is Here.” That last song was heard instrumentally throughout A Charlie Brown Christmas, but a separate version added lyrics by Lee Mendelson, the special’s producer and co-writer (with Peanuts creator Charles M. “Sparky” Schulz). David first covered “Linus and Lucy” on This Side Up (1985), which led to an updated arrangement for “The Great Inventors” episode of This is America, Charlie Brown. David scored that entire episode, and many Peanuts TV specials (plus some Garfield specials) through 2006. The specials that stand out in my mind are:

3/25/25 UPDATE: Steve Stoliar emailed me this evening to clear things up about his involvement in You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown.

It was much more of a challenge than mere improvisation. Here – whether you want it or not – is the complete story:  I had a friend who worked at Bill Melendez Prods. in a variety of capacities. She called me up one day and said, “Can you help us? We produced this Super Bowl show that Sparky wrote and there are football games with no dialogue that just go on and on and they’re repetitious and confusing.”

She gave me a VHS of the rough-cut and I sat on my living room floor starting, pausing, rewinding my VHS player and trying to time (without a stopwatch) how long each football sequence ran. Then I scribbled down some suggested narration, making use of a lot of alliterations and metaphors, such as you get from color commentators on sporting events.  After that, I read it and tried to edit the copy so it fit snugly in the blank spaces. Then I went to Melendez Prods. in Hollywood and we recorded it – with Bill M. directing me – and me doing a sort of Vin Scully-inspired classic sportscaster voice.

It’s fairly miraculous that it worked out. “Variety” actually reviewed it and pointed out the sports narration as a high spot. Unfortunately, my pleasure in having met the challenge was greatly impacted by my late wife and me having been literally thrown out of our apartment by the Northridge Earthquake, which hit between the time I recorded the narration and when the show aired.

I was later rewarded with a lovely production cel (and original background) from one of the birdie football games, inscribed, “For Steve – In friendship – Bill Melendez” in black Sharpie. Sadly, even though it wasn’t in direct sunlight, the inscription faded.  But – like Big Julie in “Guys ‘n’ Dolls” talking about the blank dice – “I remembers where da spots previously were.”

It remains the only Charlie Brown special that has any sort of shared writing credit.

End of story – except to thank you for the compliment on my Groucho impression!

Thank you, Steve, for correcting the record, and allowing me to post what you wrote. I don’t know where I got in my head that he improvised the dialogue. I must have misinterpreted the Facebook comment he left a few years ago when I said that I’d watched my digitizing of the VHS tape. On that note, Steve wrote in a follow-up reply…

Oh – also – that particular show was produced as a tie-in with Shell Oil and the VHS tape was either a giveaway or for sale at a low, low price at Shell Stations when you filled up your tank. So even though it aired on TV, I suspect it’s missing from DVD release because of the initial deal with Shell. Not sure. I also did voices for Melendez (what a great guy) on “Snoopy’s Reunion” and “It’s The Girl In The Red Truck, Charlie Brown.”

I’m inclined to agree with Steve about the Shell tie-in keeping You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown off DVD and other modern home media releases. It’s the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown is another special that has yet to go beyond VHS, but Snoopy’s Reunion has a dedicated DVD.

Thanks again to Steve Stoliar. Now, back to what I wrote in December.

Speaking of David’s originals, “Kei’s Song” is from Freedom at Midnight (1987), “Cabin Fever” (the encore) was on Waiting for Spring (1989), “Drive Time” originated on The Best of David Benoit: 1987-1995 (one of two new tracks), and “Café Rio” is from Full Circle (2006). “Drive Time” and “Café Rio” get the big band treatment on David’s latest album, Timeless, recorded in the UK with Spice Fusion Big Band.

David composed “Just Like Me” for 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas (2005), with Lee Mendelson lyrics that honor the feel of “Christmas Time is Here.” Vanessa Williams sang on the original, and David recorded a solo piano version at Steinway Hall in 2017, one of 17 tracks from his The Steinway Sessions…session that were saved for It’s a David Benoit Christmas! (2020).

“Great Pumpkin Waltz,” “You’re in Love, Charlie Brown,” and “Thanksgiving Theme” were Vince Guaraldi compositions for It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, You’re in Love, Charlie Brown (yes, more redundancy), and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

“Believe” was a Josh Groban song for the film The Polar Express, which served as the title track to David’s 2015 trio album that featured Jane Monheit and The All-American Boys Chorus.

“Schroeder” (set to Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”) and “The Doctor is In” were from the Broadway musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

That brings us back to the photos. For that You’re a Good Man medley, David portrayed Schroeder and Courtney channeled Lucy.

David even sang!
Roberto disputed David’s claim of poor tennis skills.

I’m not ashamed to admit “Just Like Me” drove me to happy tears. It’s such a pretty song.

So, that’s what the wiring was for! Magnificent.

When Courtney wasn’t on stage, the trio of David, Roberto, and Dan played instrumentally.

The finale: “Linus and Lucy”:

David’s Jerry Lee Lewis motif
The last note
The quartet gathered for a bow
An audience member presented David with a Charlie Brown doll.

For the encore, a man at a front row table held up his LP copy of Waiting for Spring (I have it on CD) and requested a track from there. David chose “Cabin Fever,” one of my favorites.

It featured a drum solo by Dan Schnelle.
The last note of the set
Sharpie in hand, the man got his copy of Waiting for Spring signed by David.

I only got to meet and greet half the band. Roberto and Dan were deep in separate conversations and I didn’t want to rudely interrupt.

However, I did get to catch up with David, who signed my copy of Timeless:

I then introduced David to Bobby Guthenberg (who took the above photo). Bobby bought a copy of Timeless, and David signed that.

Bobby G. and I weren’t the only WCWP alumni at My Father’s Place that night. Voice actor David Kaplan was there, too. It was great to see him. He was talking to vocalist Courtney Fortune, who I then spoke to. I complimented Courtney’s performance and told her how moving her rendition of “Just Like Me” was. Then, Bobby took a photo of us:

My one regret is not getting a photo with My Father’s Place promoter Eppy Epstein before Bobby and I exited The Roslyn. Upon exiting, I noticed it was snowing!

Before meeting and greeting, Bobby offered to drive me back to Wantagh so my parents wouldn’t have to drive back up to WCWP for me. I accepted and called my mom to let her know. Bobby cautiously drove home in the rain/snow mix, once again conversing the entire way while finishing up his Fuzzy Logic CD. He switched to Timeless while waiting at a red light on Jerusalem Avenue.

Bobby dropped me off at the curb at about 10:30. I wished him good night and thanked him yet again for treating me to a memorable night at My Father’s Place. (He messaged me on Facebook upon his safe return home to Bayside.) I may return to MFP some time in 2025 if Eppy can book drummer Billy Cobham. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Thank you again to David Benoit, Roberto Vally, Dan Schnelle, and Courtney Fortune. You were all wonderful.

2023 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony, tour of renovated Abrams Communications Center June 6, 2024

Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Baseball, Basketball, Comedy, Education, History, Internet, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Politics, Radio, Rock, Sports, Technology, TV, Video.
add a comment

Other Hall of Fame ceremony recaps: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2022

7/17 UPDATE: A formatting error with this blog post unbeknownst to me until this morning has been resolved.

On Saturday, June 1, 2024, the WCWP Hall of Fame’s 2023 class was inducted in a ceremony at LIU Post‘s Alumni Hall.

This time, there were three inductees (listed in order of introduction):

  • Joel Feltman, 1974
  • Phil Lebowitz, 1974
  • Mike Maimone, 1981

(In full disclosure, I once again served on the Hall of Fame Committee.)

I was under no stress coming into Saturday’s ceremony. I owe that to a lack of weekly radio shows to record in advance and my hiatus from Twitch streaming (I return this Sunday).

WCWP station manager Pete Bellotti contacted me three weeks beforehand to confirm if I would be shooting photos and video. For the first time since 2019, I would handle all of that, not supplementing the station’s video as for the 2020-21 and ’22 ceremonies. The only video I needed was of Phil Lebowitz’s prerecorded acceptance speech. (Joel Feltman and Mike Maimone would be present.)

I have three cameras capable of shooting 4K video at 60 FPS (frames per second): a Panasonic HC-X1500 camcorder, a GoPro HERO7 (with YOLOtek Juicebank for extra battery life), and a Canon EOS R7. The R7 replaced my Nikon D5500 as my exclusive photo camera. Needing the R7 for video meant going back to the D5500 for the first time since after Homecoming Weekend in 2022. (Click here to read about my early days with the R7.) For audio to sync with the video, I would use a TASCAM DR-05X audio recorder connected to the podium mixer via 3.5mm cable.

On the afternoon of Friday, May 31, students and alumni, myself included, were shocked by the news that Long Island University had dismissed Pete Bellotti as WCWP station manager. Fears were allayed by evening when Dan Cox, who otherwise would M.C. Saturday’s ceremony, came out of retirement to return as station manager.

Dan briefly addressed the situation in his opening remarks:

For those of you who may not know me, my name is Dan Cox, and I am the Director of Broadcasting at WCWP Radio. Unfortunately, that appointment came less than 24 hours ago. (applause) Unfortunately, the university parted ways with Pete [Bellotti]. Pete was one of my students. He is a good friend, and I wish him well. I think he did an outstanding job during a very difficult time over the last two years, with the renovation and everything that was happening. So, I won’t belabor that point. But I will say, for those of you in the room who probably stretch back as far as the 1960s through the 2000s, there’s never a dull moment at WCWP, is there? So, let’s not make this a dull moment by me talking too much. What I’d like to do right now is to bring up my good friend Jeff Kroll, who’s gonna induct our first inductee [Joel Feltman].

I’m choosing to save the journal portion (i.e. when I arrived, further technical details) for the end of this post before video of the ceremony and renovated station tour.

As Dan said, 2015 inductee Jeff Kroll presented Joel Feltman for induction:

Joel’s acceptance speech, with Jeff present to his right (out of view), dovetailed somewhat into discussion of the next inductee.

But first, Joel and Jeff posed for a photo:

The second inductee, also presented by Jeff Kroll, was Phil Lebowitz, Joel Feltman’s fellow 1974 alumnus.

Phil could not make the ceremony, but he did record an acceptance speech from his home in Surprise, Arizona.

After the video was shown, Jeff Kroll showed off his WCWP press card and shared how Phil’s “gift of gab” allowed the two of them access to a Philadelphia 76ers home game against the Milwaukee Bucks. (They were in Philly to cover a C.W. Post Pioneers football road game against Drexel University.)

Jeff then posed with Phil’s plaque:

Before the third inductee, Dan Cox acknowledged the informal ribbon cutting earlier in the week for the renovated Abrams Communications Center, attended by Marjorie Abrams Hyman and fellow descendants of Benjamin Abrams.

Then, Dan introduced Tim Ernandes to present Mike Maimone.

Tim was a laugh riot, chock full of impressions and stories of from his and Mike’s days working on WCWP comedy series Post Serial, a pun on the university’s Post Cereal roots.

Tim stayed at the podium for repartee during Mike’s acceptance speech.

A photo with the plaque:

After closing remarks from Dan Cox, the 2023 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony was complete. There was a bit of business to tend to before we all made the trek to the Abrams Communications Center.

First, a photo of inductees Joel Feltman and Mike Maimone with presenters Jeff Kroll and Tim Ernandes:

Joel alone with his plaque
Mike alone with his plaque
2023 inductee Joel Feltman flanked by the Krolls, Jeff (2015 inductee) and Pat (2018 inductee)
Tim Ernandes, Dan Reagan, Mike Maimone

It was Dan who said in his 2022 induction speech (in ’23) that Mike deserved a spot in the Hall of Fame, and he rightfully earned that spot this year.

A candid shot before departing:

Joel Feltman and his wife Michelle offered to drive me down to the Abrams Communications Center. Cars were the only feasible option since Hillwood Commons was itself closed for renovations. If I were to walk from Alumni Hall, I’d have to go around Hillwood.

We parked in the lot, I took out my equipment, and put it all down in the lobby. I shot continuous video (except for a part I couldn’t record) and a dozen photos inside and out. You’ll see the video later, but here are the photos:

Andrew Scarpaci and Tim Ernandes
Mics in studio 3
Studio 3 console and phone

The highlight of the tour was an impromptu speech from (and discussion with) station manager Dan Cox in studio 3:

I took a selfie when not video recording so I could extract the GPS coordinates for use in the D5500 photos. The R7 geotags photos automatically if paired with the CameraConnect app. I got the GPS for Alumni Hall from last year’s photos, but needed coordinates for the station.

Before I left for home, Dan took a photo of me with Mike Maimone.

Two Hall of Fame Mikes

Now, the journal portion:

My dad Bill dropped me off at Alumni Hall at around 12:30, if not 12:40. (Surprisingly, I don’t remember the exact time.) Last Sunday, I bought an Amazon Basics 60″ tripod for use with the R7 in addition to the tripods I already had for the GoPro and HC-X1500. As you’ll see in the video at the end of this post, I had to tweak the R7’s color balance, along with brightness and contrast. The HC-X1500 video quality is untouched. The GoPro footage didn’t make the final video as the best shots came from the other two sources. Working from my knowledge of Twitch overlays, I made special overlays for the video:

The main work was done in Photoshop. Then, I copied and pasted into blank transparent background files in Photoshop Elements and cropped out most of the black. What looks white here is really transparent. Watch the video to see what I did.

The R7 video experiment yielded mixed results. I got a lot to work with, but I had to stop recording 55 minutes in to change batteries. After eight minutes on the new battery, the camera stopped recording due to overheating. Once it cooled down, I resumed, only for the SD card in slot 1 to reach capacity. I had to manually change to slot 2 for the last six minutes. Clearly, another camcorder is the only way to go in the future. From Saturday afternoon through Tuesday night, I considered my options: another Panasonic HC-X1500 without VW-HU1 and Rode VideoMic GO II attached or, staying in the Canon family, the Canon VIXIA HF G70. It’s cheaper than the HC-X1500, but goes no higher than 30 FPS in 4K. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make, springing for an open box eBay listing on Tuesday night. So, if secondary camera cutaways look cinematic at future events (i.e. Homecoming Weekend), you’ll know why. (6/14 UPDATE: I was dissatisfied with the G70 and am selling it. I’ll just get another HC-X1500 after it sells.)

One last thing: the podium audio was blown out, and I did my best to fix that in Adobe Audition, along with using the click/pop eliminator where necessary.

So, then, here is the finished ceremony/station tour video. Enjoy.

Congratulations to Joel Feltman, Phil Lebowitz, and Mike Maimone. We reconvene in 2025 to induct the 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame class.

Special thanks to 2014 inductee Ted David for curating the photos and for advice on further edits.


Instrumental Invasion, 11/1/23 November 2, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Rock, smooth jazz, TV, Video.
add a comment

There is a major announcement at the end of this post.

The November 1 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded on September 23 (first two segments) and 24 (last four). Pickups were recorded on the 30th.

The playlist was created September 6, and annotated with three other shows between the 13th and 18th. The talk break script was drafted on the 20th.

David Benoit‘s cover of “Then the Morning Comes” by Smash Mouth was originally played April 14, 2021. I played it in tribute to their late lead vocalist Steve Harwell.

My talk-up for “Junior” by Euge Groove – “you can call it Junior!” – was a nod to the late Bill Saluga‘s Raymond J. Johnson Jr. character. An example performance:

Click here to download this week’s scoped aircheck or listen below:

Automation still cut off the beginnings and ends, so I resorted to using segment files in the above aircheck. Next week and beyond, segments will be bookended by WCWP jingle bumpers.

Before air, I made the following announcement on Facebook:

Before tonight’s show airs, I would like to announce that I am ending my run of Instrumental Invasion after show 186. If the FM stream is working by 9:00, show 178 will be airing. That means I will have eight shows left to air. Two are ready to be recorded and the last four have yet to be worked on. I have taken this show as far as it can go and am burned out.

Instrumental Invasion has been my longest-running production and my best work creatively. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share it with the world and will carry on with the name each October during Homecoming Weekend.

Instrumental Invasion, 8/9/23: Show 175! Same Name Song Trios August 10, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.
add a comment

The August 9 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the 175th Wednesday night show. It was recorded from July 4 to 6.

The playlist was created on June 6, before the prior two shows. Again, I lost track of when I made annotations, but I drafted the talk break script on June 29.

The theme, same name song trios, was a step up from song pairs in show 150, a reflection of my current three-song set format.

Let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way now:

I recorded one segment ahead of random daytime fireworks on the 4th of July. At the office on the 5th, I recorded top-of-segment talk breaks for all but the top of hour 2. That was followed by the second talk breaks for the other two hour 1 segments as I mixed them. From there, I opted to pump out the remaining talk breaks before leaving for home. Naturally, I struggled and drove myself mad, but I completed them. I didn’t think I’d have any trouble editing those talk breaks and mixing them into segments, which means I did have trouble.

While I made up a 66-second surplus from the first segment, the first two segments of hour 2 left me with 76 seconds! I only made up three in the last segment. Since this was a themed show, I couldn’t throw in a short song to make up the time. So, I had to painstakingly re-record talk breaks in all six segments at a slower pace. I padded transitions between three songs further by adding bumpers. Mind you, any talk breaks with 175th show references required a pass for the evergreen version (scheduled to air September 27). (10/12 UPDATE: It was delayed to October 11.) I had to have both versions in a segment’s multitrack session so I could save the milestone mix, then swap out and save the evergreen mix. Three hours and a headache later, I succeeded in breaking even at 1:49:00. It cost me my morning exercise routine, but I gained a Young Frankenstein reference when talking about Tom Scott following his father Nathan‘s compositional “footsteps, footsteps.”

Retreads:

One more show and my hiatus begins. It couldn’t come at a better time. (That’s how I felt on July 6.)

10/12 UPDATE: Here are the evergreen talk break variations heard last night:

Instrumental Invasion, 5/31/23 June 1, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, Baseball, City Pop, Comedy, Dogs, Film, Health, Horse Racing, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Religion, Sports, Thoroughbred, TV, Video, Western, World Music.
add a comment

The May 31 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the fifth in a row with talk breaks recorded in one day, and third in a row/fourth out of five recorded in one day. That day was April 10, 19 days after last week’s show was recorded. I got a cold a few days after that recording (March 25) and used the time to work on playlists for this show and the next two. Pickups were recorded on April 13, April 16, and May 5.

The playlist was created March 19, 22, and 26, then tweaked on April 1 to add a track from Keiko Matsui‘s Euphoria album released the day before. Annotations were written from April 3 to 5, and the talk break script was drafted April 8.

I played the lead single from Keiko’s album, “Steps on the Globe,” which prompted me to play a clip from “Moosylvania Saved,” the final Rocky and Bullwinkle story arc where the punchline was “spots on the globe.” This exchange between Fearless Leader (Bill Scott) and Boris Badenov (Paul Frees) occurred in episode one of four:

“That’s what my uncle came down with: spots on the globe.”

That talk break also had references to a pair of Mel Brooks films, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. The second segment’s second talk break referred to Ghostbusters and Steve Somers. The Schmoozer homage came when I said “The Square were schmoozing S-P-O-R-T-S,” Steve’s catchphrase at the start of some shows or hours of those shows.

There were three retreads this week:

Click here to download this week’s scoped aircheck or listen below:

See you at the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony this Saturday.

Instrumental Invasion, 5/24/23 May 25, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Astronomy, Audio, City Pop, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology, TV, Video, World Music.
add a comment

The May 24 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the fourth show in a row with the talk breaks recorded in one day, and second in a row/third out of four to be recorded and mixed in one day. The recording/mixing date was March 22. Pickups were recorded on the night of the 22nd and mid-afternoon on the 24th.

The playlist was created March 18 with annotations on the 20th and the talk break script draft on the 21st.

The scoped aircheck before further details:

After immersing myself in Casiopea music for the first few weeks as a city pop aficionado and Japanophile (my post about the first eight days), I introduced The Square/T-Square into my musical diet. The jumping-off place was “Texas Kid” from their third album, Make Me a Star, thanks to a March 10 post in the Japanese city pop and fusion collectors Facebook group I belong to. The member commented on his post with a link to “Texas Kid” on T-Square’s YouTube topic channel:

The Make Me a Star cover model reminds me of someone I knew in high school.

I listened several times from March 10 to 17 before delving into the T-Square topic channel’s full catalog. As I type this paragraph on the morning March 23, I am up to New-S (1991). (I also have to contend with construction work and chatter in my neighbors’ backyard.) And as I type this before publication on May 25, I skipped from B.C. A.D. to FLY! FLY! FLY! and WISH.

My first impression of “Texas Kid” was that it sounded like an homage to The Crusaders. So, I made the first segment with them and The Square in mind. The song I ultimately chose, “Honky Tonk Struttin’,” tied in with the feel of “Texas Kid.” I extended the Texas theme into the second segment by including “An Evening in Dallas” by Joe McBride and “Houston” by David Benoit (told you he’d be back). All that was preceded by a nod to “The Eyes of Texas.”

“Houston” was recycled from last August 17, nine months and one week ago. It gave me an opportunity (during the talk break afterward) to work in a funny text-to-speech dub from the following Technology Connections video (at the 19:48 mark):

Here is the dub on its own:

The joke about not telling a wizard to “make me a star” lest he zap you to the Milky Way was a nod to a scene in episode 68b of Garfield and Friends:

ORSON (narrating for Booker and Sheldon): The wizard Bo ran a little restaurant at the edge of the forest where he made magic and sandwiches. Occasionally, he got his two skills confused.

(Bo, in wizard garb, stands behind the counter, wiping a glass. Roy walks in and takes a seat.)

ROY: Hiya, Bo. Make me a sandwich.

BO: Okay. You’re a sandwich, man. (Bo transforms Roy into a sandwich.) Oh, like, sorry, dude. I’ll, uh, change you back.

(Roy returns to normal, but with his face covered in mayonnaise. Wade, as The Ugly Duckling, walks in with a bag over his face.)

WADE: Wizard, you must help me. I… (He notices Roy.) Uh, why do you have mayonnaise all over you?

ROY (exasperated): Don’t ask.

U.S. Acres in “The Ugly Duckling” (originally aired October 19, 1991) – written/voice directed by Mark Evanier
Gregg Berger as Orson Pig, Thom Huge (“HUE-ghee”) as Roy Rooster, Frank Welker as Bo Sheep, Howard Morris as Wade Duck

This show also marked the first week with tracks from Les Sabler‘s Flying High CD – thank you, Dave Love (speaking of Joe McBride) – and the debut of world music duo Strunz & Farah via their Syncretic Strings album.

I went 75 seconds over, thanks to a lengthy talk break in the first segment and another 21 in the fourth segment, but with short talk breaks here and omitted tidbits there, I broke even by the last segment. (My “even” is 1:49:00.)

Recording and mixing a full show in one day is as exhausting as running a marathon. Flubs were plentiful and mouth clicks were everywhere. Adobe Audition‘s declicker only goes so far. On the plus side, I finally realized the need to orient the microphone at my second location vertically to match the sound at home.

Second location mic:

It’s unplugged because I was through recording.

Home mic with Kaotica Eyeball attached:

Back next week with more music.

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.
add a comment

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 friend 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.

The ensemble received much applause.

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:

“Side to side!”
The audience obliged.

Kim Waters was solely on alto sax:

End of “Waterfall”…

…and Jessy J played tenor sax:

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

The best I could get of Jay’s pirouette/glide

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:

  • End of “Set It Off”

Jessy J and Jay:

  • Dancing along (no pun intended) to Jay’s “Tequila Moon” solo

Jessy and Andy during his “Blue” solo:

Wide shots:

End of “Pleasure Seeker”
Andy Abel’s “In the House” solo…
End of “Hot Sauce”…
“Thank you so much! That’s ‘Hot Sauce.’ Mwah.”
“Jessy J! She’ll be right back!”
Jay’s “Waterfall” solo
End of “Exotica”
End of “Europa”…
“JJ Sansaverino!”
“Thank you!“

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):

The winner was Chris.
It was Chris’s 46th wedding anniversary! Yes, that is why she’s cheering.

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:

Big finish!
That’s it!
Headliner bow…
The headliners and ladies exited as Jay and the house band wrapped up…
The true end…
Jay’s sign-off

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.

Me and Chuck Loeb (1955-2017) after the first night of the 2014 Smooth Jazz for Scholars

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:

I tried the website and it no longer works.

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:

Me and Jessy J after her set at The Iridium (2/9/12); Jay Rowe played keyboards that night

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:

Steve was in the background of that 2014 photo with Chuck Loeb.

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

…and a selfie with Mia:

The camera only focused on her, but that’s okay.

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.

SJFS 2023 Night 1 recap May 18, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Audio, Comedy, Health, Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology, Travel, TV, Video.
add a comment

Friday, April 28, was the first of two nights for the 20th anniversary edition of Smooth Jazz for Scholars, hosted by keyboardist Jay Rowe in his hometown of Milford, Connecticut. The event, held on two nights since 2013, benefits the Milford Public Schools music department. It was the 19th SJFS overall (canceled by COVID in 2020 and ’21), my 15th overall, and 14th that I’ve seen it its entirety. (I only saw the first night in 2015 with that year’s WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony held the following afternoon back on Long Island.)

In the days and hours leading up to the Milford trip, I grew overwhelmed by the impending workload (photos and videos). I struggled to pack everything the afternoon of the 28th, having spent two hours editing most photos from the WCWP station dinner (for student and alumni staff) on the 26th. I didn’t want to go, but felt obligated to go because I didn’t want to back out of the commitment I’d made to Jay. I convinced myself this would be the last year. (SPOILER: It won’t be.)

I finally left house with my parents just before 2:00. We encountered traffic delays on I-95 in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Waze directed us through winding side streets in Westport. We were eventually directed back to I-95 in Bridgeport with little volume the rest of the way to Exit 36 in Milford (in New Haven County, if you’re wondering). Not knowing which would be the official hotel, we booked rooms at Hampton Inn a month or two earlier. Our rooms were on the second floor, facing opposite ends of the building. I chose the room facing the parking lot so I-95 traffic wouldn’t keep me awake.

After settling into our rooms, we went for dinner at Pasquale Pizza a short drive from the hotel. Since we were close to the hotel, I walked back after finishing my pasta. On the way, I passed a Gas & Go station:

That made me think of the Gasigo sequence in the “Heroboy” episode of Freakazoid! In the sequence, singing attendants delayed Freakazoid’s (Paul Rugg) attempt to reach the villain Gutierrez (Ricardo Montalban). They had to finish the jingle in Freak’s car. Watch:

The episode ended with the Gasigo attendants driving Gutierrez mad as they reprised their jingle:

Ed Asner was the voice of Sergeant Mike Cosgrove.

South of Gas & Go was another gas station/convenience store: Cumberland Farms. I stopped in there to buy ice cream bars for dessert back in my room.

My friend Kelly drove down from Wallingford for the show and met me at my room door around 6:30. We hung out for a little while, then drove to the Parsons Complex. I had her stop at CVS on the way so I could buy a small notebook or pad for writing out the set list and side notes. I forgot to pack a notebook and my sleep mask. I got a cheap gray mask and stenographer pad (close enough), then went on to Parsons. We arrived close to 7:30, after the soundcheck, so the doors were open.

Before entering the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, I decided to take a chance on the 50/50 raffle. I took out my wallet from my coat’s right pocket and bought three tickets for $10. Little did I know I inadvertently knocked out my keys, and wouldn’t realize what happened until the next day. More on that in the Saturday post.

I got plenty of reassurance from Katherine Gilraine and Ron Hancox, my fellow photographers in the orchestra pit, along with friends like Jay Dobbins, Phyllis Abrams, and Robin Morin Stewart. I love what I do and I love the music. I shouldn’t put so much pressure on myself. I need to be present, enjoy myself, trust the process, and take my time. I don’t work for a media outlet. There is no deadline.

With newfound confidence, I set up my equipment on the center-left portion of the orchestra pit below the stage. Production manager Kevin McCabe came on stage around 8:10 to welcome the audience and thank the sponsors:

Then, he introduced Jay Rowe, who read his statement in the program that marked Smooth Jazz for Scholars’ 20th anniversary:

Here is that message:

20 years of Smooth Jazz for Scholars!! I certainly did not think I would reach this milestone when I had the idea to start this event 20 years ago. Doing these shows helped me to become a better musician and play with some of my favorite musicians and people!! In some cases, I was playing alongside my musical heroes like Jeff Lorber, Alex Bugnon, David Benoit, Marc Antoine and Peter White, while watching newer artists like Vincent Ingala and Eric Darius become superstars and amazing entertainers. There have been losses along the way such as the passing of Jeff Golub, Chuck Loeb, Nick Colionne [fan page] and Rohn [“Ron”] Lawrence. These guys are missed terribly in our musical community and will never be forgotten. I have learned much about how important music is in people’s lives and have examined my own relationship with music. I still love playing and I am grateful that musical dreams can still come true in advancing middle age!! I truly hope that the youth of Milford, Connecticut – the town I grew up in and still love to live in – can experience the joy I have when playing music in whatever they pursue when they grow up. I also hope they can have the wonderful friendships that I have had through playing music. Thanks so much to Ken Navarro, Marion Meadows, Chieli Minucci [“key-ellie min-oo-chee”] and Nelson Rangell for being there for me at the very first Smooth Jazz for Scholars show that we played back in 2003 at Foran High School. It is very fitting to me that these artists perform for the first night of our 20th anniversary weekend. It has been a pleasure working with all of the artists who have played at Smooth Jazz for Scholars over the years at various festivals, clubs and events all over the world. Thanks to all of the fans of smooth jazz who have supported this show for all these years. You have been the reason to keep this going to support music education in our public schools inspiring the next generation of artists and music teachers!! Thanks to our sponsors: Barrett Outdoor Communications; Milford Bank; Dr. Anna Cutaia, Superintendent for Milford Public Schools; Amy Perras, Instructional Supervisor for Music, Art and Library Media; Kathy Bonetti, Communications Coordinator for Milford Public Schools; my mom Mia DiStasi; my wife Deborah Rowe; Kevin McCabe; WRTC; Mike Stacy at WRCH; Gregg Roche, former host of The Sunday Smooth Jazz Brunch on WRCH; Steve Butler, my favorite booking agent; everyone in this ad book (program), all of the wonderful fans of smooth jazz and the great artists performing at this year’s shows. Enjoy this year’s shows and stay tuned for next year when Smooth Jazz for Scholars becomes an adult at 21!!

Jay Rowe, 2023 Smooth Jazz for Scholars program

As Jay said, all four headliners from the first show in 2003 were present on the first night 20 years later!

Chieli Minucci:

Ken Navarro:

Marion Meadows:

…and Nelson Rangell:

Jay’s house band had percussion by Steve Scales:

Trever Somerville on drums:

Dave Anderson on bass:

Andy Abel on guitar:

And directing it all, Jay Rowe on keyboards:

(Updated with videos on 5/31. The soundcheck was part of the original post.)

SET LIST
1. Every Woman Every Man (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Smooth Ride (2016) (earlier version of this post incorrectly credited song to Groove Reflections)
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)

2. Midnight Dance (Jay Rowe)
Single
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)

3. Ballerina (Special EFX)
Originally heard on: Just Like Magic (1990)
Featured musician: Chieli Minucci (electric guitar)

4. George Can’t Dance (Special EFX)
Originally heard on: Catwalk (1994)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (electric guitar), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)

5. Gratitude (Nelson Rangell)
New and unrecorded (10/5/23 UPDATE: It has since been recorded and will debut as a single tomorrow.)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (alto sax), Chieli Minucci (acoustic guitar)

6. Smokin’ Joe (Nelson Rangell)
New and unrecorded; tribute to Joe Sample
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (alto sax), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

7. Smooth Sensation (Ken Navarro)
Originally heard on: Smooth Sensation (1997)
Featured musician: Ken Navarro (acoustic guitar)

8. When We Dance (Ken Navarro)
Originally heard on: Into the Light (2020)
Featured musician: Ken Navarro (acoustic guitar)

9. The Lift (Marion Meadows) (started in audience)
Originally heard on: Body Rhythm (1995)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)

10. My Cherie Amour (Marion Meadows; Stevie Wonder cover)
Originally heard on: Body Rhythm (1995)
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

11. Daybreak (Special EFX)
Originally heard on: Global Village (1992)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (acoustic/electric guitars), Jay Rowe (keyboards), Dave Anderson (bass)

12. Sonora (Nelson Rangell; Hampton Hawes cover)
Originally heard on: Destiny (1995); My American Songbook, Vol. 1 (2005)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (whistling/piccolo), Ken Navarro (acoustic guitar)

13. In the Sky Today (Ken Navarro)
Originally heard on: All the Way (2003)
Featured musicians: Ken Navarro (acoustic guitar), Nelson Rangell (alto sax), Steve Scales (percussion), Trever Somerville (drums)

14. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Special EFX; The Allman Brothers Band cover)
Originally heard on: Twenty Twenty 2 (2022)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (electric guitar), Ken Navarro (electric guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

Ken posted video of the soundcheck:

15. Marcosinho (Marion Meadows; Dave Valentin cover)
Originally heard on: Whisper (2013)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)

16. Romantica (Marion Meadows) (ended in audience)
Originally heard on: Player’s Club (2004)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)

17 (Finale). What You Won’t Do for Love (Bobby Caldwell cover, tribute to the recently departed singer)
Featured musicians: Everyone, Carla Z (vocals)
Marion was part of Bobby’s live band.

This part of the post is dedicated to photo galleries of the headliners. We start with Chieli Minucci on electric guitar:

Chieli on acoustic guitar:

Ken Navarro on acoustic guitar:

Ken on electric guitar for “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”:

Ken interacting with the band on “In the Sky Today”:

“Steve Scales on percussion!”

Marion Meadows starting in the audience for “The Lift”:

Nydia Hancox shooting video in the foreground as Marion plays to good friend Dolly Moye

On stage:

Ending “Romantica” in the audience:

Nelson Rangell on alto sax:

Whistling on “Sonora”:

Whistling gave way to piccolo…

…and whistling while holding the piccolo:

End of “Sonora”

Now, the house band, beginning with percussionist Steve Scales:

Drummer Trever Somerville:

Bassist Dave Anderson:

Strumming!

Andy Abel on acoustic guitar:

…and otherwise on electric:

Finally, Jay Rowe on keyboards (all but the first are from his “My Cherie Amour”):

On to medium and wide shots, beginning with Chieli and Nelson:

Chieli and Ken on “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”:

A standing ovation!

Ken and Nelson:

Nelson and Jay:

Marion and Jay:

Last in this section, Steve and Trever:

Why not give audience and photographer shots their own section?

  • Andrew James, Ron and Nydia Hancox
  • Estella Taylor-Greene, Dolly Moye, Nydia Hancox, Jay Dobbins, Norma Rohadfox
  • Another photo of the fab five in my camera’s sports mode. Jay Dobbins spotted me again.

When it came time for the raffles (between “…Elizabeth Reed” and “Marcosinho”), I forgot to only check my tickets for the 50/50 portion. I was needlessly exasperated when my numbers didn’t match what Jay Rowe called.

I was rightfully dismayed when I actually lost the 50/50, but at least my $10 went to a great cause. The winner was Steve, who graciously donated back $200 of his winnings.

The finale, “What You Won’t Do for Love,” featured vocals by Carla Z:

The end of the finale
Jay thanked the musicians and audience
The bow…

As I was packing up my camcorder – Panasonic HC-X1500 with VW-HU1 and Rode VideoMic GO II – and tripod – Magnus VT-300, Lisa Arpin approached me to say hello. We had met during Jay Rowe’s Tito Tuesdays livestreams on Facebook during the early months of COVID. Afterward, I put the speedlight on my camera – a Canon EOS R7 – for flash meet-and-greet photos. (I was close enough to the stage that the RF-S 18-150mm lens was all I needed.) Unfortunately, the flash and low ISO (100) darkened the background and washed out the foreground. So, I turned off the speedlight and had photos taken at the settings I used during the show: 1/100 second shutter speed and ISO 2500. Later in Adobe Photoshop Elements, I’d bump up the brightness and contrast. (I have regular Photoshop, but mostly use it for upscaling, PDF automation, and graphic design.)

The first photo is of Jay Dobbins and Andy Abel:

Andy and “Jay Squared” (Dobbins came up with that):

I wanted to get in one photo, which Andy’s sister Janet gladly took (the next day was her birthday):

Once more from the auditorium, me with Jay Dobbins and Steve Scales:

Out in the lobby, I missed a chance to catch up with Chieli Minucci, but was part of a conversation with Marion Meadows and Katherine Gilraine about a documentary he was working on.

It took three attempts to get a photo with Jay Rowe, his wife Deborah, and Nelson Rangell (sorry to all three of you):

The last photo of the night, taken by Kelly, was me with Kristin and Ken Navarro:

Ken acknowledged Kristin during the show before “When We Dance.” It was very nice to catch up with them. Ken spotted me in the orchestra pit while playing “Smooth Sensation,” saying hi to me during a rest. After the show, he climbed off stage to chat with me. I talked about how I’d be debuting tracks from Love is Everywhere on May 17 (last night) at the end of the second Three-of-a-Kind Showcase edition of Instrumental Invasion. Ken liked the concept.

Kelly dropped me off at Hampton Inn around midnight. I wrote the following back in my room (in the vein of what I wrote earlier in this recap):

I had a lot of apprehension and performance anxiety ahead of tonight, the first night of the 20th anniversary Smooth Jazz of Scholars. The thought of taking hundreds of photos and having to edit them all scared me. And yet, I was at the Parsons Complex in Milford and had a great time. No way will I give up what I do. It’s too much fun in the moment. That’s what should matter. I have to remind myself to be present. I can’t look ahead in fear. I have to enjoy myself and snap away. I’m beloved by all that know me, and that was true tonight.

Mike Chimeri, Facebook post, 4/29/23, 1:22 AM

Watching part of a Twitch livestream got me through the late night/early morning hours as I transferred photos and videos from their SD cards. Then, since I shoot RAW now, I imported all the photos into Adobe Lightroom, then exported them as JPGs and deleted the RAW files.

Before retiring for the night/morning, I edited the meet-and-greet photos to include in my all-is-well Facebook post. I was able to get a few hours of sleep before my body decided I’d had enough.

Click here to read about Saturday morning and beyond.

Instrumental Invasion, 5/17/23: More Three-of-a-Kind Showcases! May 18, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, City Pop, Comedy, Game Shows, Internet, Jazz, Media, Personal, Radio, TV, Video.
add a comment

The May 17 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the sequel to February 8’s theme week, containing six more Three-of-a-Kind Showcases and more Bob Barker era Price is Right references (Fremantle’s Barker era YouTube channel). The show was recorded and mixed entirely on March 15, but I had to do pickups on the 16th.

The playlist was created on March 9 with annotations on the 11th. The talk break script was drafted up to the top of hour 2 on March 14 and completed between recording sessions on the 15th.

Let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way before all the background info:

The line “I wouldn’t think of it” while back-selling “Unthinkable” by Casiopea referred to a scene in Futurama episode 2ACV03, “A Head in the Polls.” Here is the relevant portion from the transcript:

Morbo: Morbo demands an answer to the following question: If you saw delicious candy in the hands of a small child, would you seize and consume it?

Johnson: Unthinkable.

Jackson: I wouldn’t think of it.

Morbo: What about you, Mr. Nixon? I remind you, you are under a truth-o-scope.

[The truth-o-scope hovers over Nixon’s head and he starts to sweat.]

Nixon: Uh, well, I, uh … the question is-is vague. You don’t say what kind of candy, whether anyone is watching or, uh…

[He clears his throat.]

At any rate, I certainly wouldn’t harm the child.

[The truth-o-scope beeps.]

Maurice LaMarche as Morbo, John DiMaggio as Jack Johnson and John Jackson (same voice for each), Billy West as Richard Nixon’s Head

Aside from that, there were many Bob Barkerisms in my talk breaks, such as the way I teased the next segment, and the “Sir John, who cometh from the flock…?” shtick with announcer Johnny Olson. Examples can be found at the start of these two videos:

I channeled Johnny and Rod Roddy with the “something for every room in the house!” bit leading into the Fourplay and Ken Navarro showcases. I was going to end the show with a Marc Antoine Three-of-a-Kind Showcase, but my signed copy of Ken’s Love is Everywhere CD arrived on March 9. Thus, an opportunity arose to end on a new recording.

This time, four songs were retreads (again, listed in order of appearance):

And The Price is Right music cues I used were (italics are not in the video title):

For the first time in the show’s Wednesday night history, I went more than a week – two weeks – without a David Benoit song. That’s still only seven weeks out of 163. He will definitely be back next week.

Audiobooking 8 March 24, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Audiobooks, Basketball, Comedy, Film, Game Shows, Golf, History, Media, Music, News, Personal, Podcast, Politics, Radio, Rock, Sports, Technology, Theatre, TV, Video Games.
add a comment

It’s time for the annual “audiobooking” post. Most are visible in the thumbnail, but here are all the audiobooks (with links) that I’ve listened to on Audible since post #7 last year:

That’s a total of 27 audiobooks (two co-written by O’Reilly, one wholly by Reilly), plus two returns. Everything from I’m a Still a 10-Year-Old Boy through Face the Music was purchased in October while Audible steeply discounted their catalog. Since then, I only use Audible credits on audiobooks over $14.95, the monthly membership fee. Of course, if I buy three credits for $35.88, then I’ll buy anything over $11.96.

Next year’s “audiobooking” post will be the ninth overall, but the tenth anniversary. Until then, happy listening.

5/26/24 UPDATE: I can no longer commit time to these “Audiobooking” blog posts. So, last year’s eighth post is the final post. Thank you for following my journey through audiobooks over the past decade.