Smooth Jazz for Scholars 2026 dates/lineup December 18, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, smooth jazz, Travel.add a comment
On December 5, Jay Rowe announced the lineups and dates for the 23rd anniversary of Smooth Jazz for Scholars. This annual two-night benefit in Jay’s hometown of Milford, Connecticut, benefits the Milford Public Schools music department. Each night opens with a performance by one of the schools’ jazz ensembles, followed by Jay and the headliners. There will be five headliners on Friday, May 1, and four on Saturday, May 2. Doors to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium open at 7PM, and the shows begin at 8PM.
Here was Jay’s Facebook announcement:
This will be the sixth year in a row for Marion Meadows. Timmy Maia is headlining for the third consecutive year. Althea René is making her second appearance, twice in three years. Alex Bugnon, Steve Cole, and Steve Oliver also return for the second time in three years. Alex and Jessy J are appearing for fourth time overall, Steve Cole for the fifth time. It’s Brian Simpson and Steve Oliver’s third time overall. Chieli Minucci is as much of a Smooth Jazz for Scholars mainstay as Marion and Timmy, appearing too many times to count. It will be a treat to see all of them.
Repeating the information in Jay’s announcement:
Friday, May 1
Marion Meadows
Brian Simpson
Jessy J
Steve Oliver
Timmy Maia
Saturday, May 2
Alex Bugnon
Chieli Minucci
Althea René
Steve Cole
Location:
Veterans Memorial Auditorium in the Parsons Government Center
70 W. River St.
Milford, CT 06460
Tickets: $55 for one night, $95 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.
Venmo: John-Rowe-43
PayPal: funhouse63@aol.com
Zelle: 203-415-8878
Otherwise, send your check to:
Jay Rowe
P.O. Box 3723
Milford, CT 06460
I’ll end this promotional post with recaps of last year’s first night and second night.
My photos from day 1 of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black September 29, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Food, Golf, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Photography, Politics, Sports, Travel, TV, Weather.add a comment
Six years ago, I said this at the end of my 2019 PGA Championship recap:
Bethpage Black’s next big event will be the 2024 Ryder Cup. [All Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups were pushed back a year due to COVID-19.] The last thing I’d like to hear that Sunday, whether in person or on TV, is the “Olé” song, indicating Europe won again.
Not only did I hear that song endlessly in person on Friday, September 26, but it was sung as Europe defeated the U.S. 15 points to 13. The U.S. teams lost too many foursome and four-ball matches Friday and Saturday to make a complete comeback Sunday. (10/2 UPDATE: Europe clinched when Shane Lowry, who you’ll see front and center in a few photos, halved his singles match with Russell Henley with a birdie at the 18th hole. That gave a Europe a 14-11 lead over the U.S., rendering all other matches inconsequential.)
Even though my dad Bill and I were deferential to visiting European fans and respectful of Team Europe golfers, vice captains, and captain Luke Donald, the loss still hurts. So, this won’t be an in-depth recap, at least not verbally, and I won’t link to any media articles. The extensive gallery below will speak a thousand words per photo. That includes photos of players, caddies, vice captains, and captains of both teams. (St. John’s University alumnus Keegan Bradley was Team U.S.A. captain.)
First, the backstory.
The 2025 Ryder Cup was held at Bethpage Black Course within Bethpage State Park. Despite the name, the park is in Old Bethpage, not regular Bethpage, and uses a Farmingdale ZIP Code. Portions of the park cross out of Nassau County and into Suffolk.
Having played the Black many years ago, my dad can attest it is the most difficult of the four color-coded courses – Red, Green, and Blue are the others. That makes it perfect for major golf championships. Bethpage Black previously hosted the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Open and the aforementioned 2019 PGA Championship. It also hosted The Barclays, a now-defunct first leg of the FedExCup playoffs, in 2012 and 2016.
The four men’s golf majors are won by individuals. This Ryder Cup was the first time Bethpage Black hosted a team championship with bragging rights on the line for one country – the United States – or one continent – Europe.
Perhaps it was foreshadowing when my dad purchased Friday tickets shortly after Rory McIlroy won The Masters on the evening of April 13. Either way, we were going. Good thing, too, because I’d purchased a hat and short-sleeve polo from the Ryder Cup online shop in March. I proudly wore those at Bethpage Black, per these selfies with and without my dad:
We were prepared for enhanced security checkpoints due to President Trump’s presence. However, we were nowhere near him and only passed one checkpoint at the entrance without needing to empty our pockets. I brought along a portable phone battery charger that I’d bought on Amazon in advance of our trip, and it really came in handy. Three charging sessions – two on-site, one on the shuttle bus ride back to Jones Beach State Park – ensured I wouldn’t miss much photographically.
To that end, let’s get two other key photos out of the way before I let the rest of them speak a thousand words each.
Fans cheered and chanted “U.S.A.!” as Air Force One flew by on its approach to nearby Republic Airport. President Trump sat in a designated area in the grandstands by the 1st tee for the start of afternoon four-ball matches. The U.S. only got 1 1/2 points from the four matches, winning one match 6&5 and tying another. The score through Friday: Europe 5 1/2, U.S. 2 1/2.
(This parenthetical was written Sunday at 11:53 AM. The fighter jets just made one last Bethpage Black flyby, whizzing over my house seconds later.)
Food and non-alcoholic drinks were free! Dad and I ate lunch before going to the 2nd fairway and then I had dessert before we waited between the 15th green and 16th tee. I washed down each meal (cheeseburger, two two-packs of Grandma’s chewy chocolate chip cookies) with a can of Bubly cherry seltzer sparkling water, otherwise having two bottles of Aquafina pure water.
I bought one thing from The Ryder Cup Shop on the way back to the Jones Beach general parking shuttle bus: a screenprint pin flag. I’ve gotten one for each major event at Bethpage Black and hung it on my wall. Even in defeat, I’m keeping it up.
I said my dad and I were deferential to any European fans we encountered and were respectful of Team Europe. (My dad’s friend Mike even worked as an attendant in Team Europe’s locker room.) If only every fan was the same. The arrogant harangues by some U.S. fans, not all of them drunk, made me wince. Team member Sepp Straka moved from Vienna, Austria, to Valdosta, Georgia, when he was 14, played for the University of Georgia, and talks like a native southerner. Didn’t matter to those fans. I feel the harangues played a karmic role in Team Europe’s win. I’ll keep what/whom I feel also played a karmic role to myself. Inside the ropes, however, Team Europe was just better. Full stop. (“Period” is a U.S. thing.)
Side note: Other Europeans who are U.S. college golf alumni include Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg (“O-berg”) (Texas Tech University) and Jon Rahm of Spain (Arizona State University). I won’t fault any fans who gave Jon flack for defecting from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. My mind blocked out any criticism toward fellow LIV defector Bryson DeChambeau of the U.S. (University of Texas), but he probably got it, too. Honestly, I’m detached enough to be a LIV Golf agnostic, even with the matter of who funds it. To date, I’ve only seen parts of two tournaments, including highlights of one in Miami.
Okay, enough digressions. Now, the rest of the photos.
Bethpage Black’s next major is a women’s major: The 2028 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
The men’s PGA Championship returns in 2033.
The next Ryder Cup will the centennial, in 2027, at Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland. (I’m sure you saw the promotional tent.)
And the next major here on Long Island will be the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. My dad and I already have third round tickets. I should have better stamina than in ’18 and not want to leave after 2 1/2 hours.
It’s been a long 18 days, what with Homecoming Weekend at LIU Post (and WCWP), the Ryder Cup, and all the post-production (no pun intended). Now, I can decompress until the next big event on my social calendar.
Thank you for reading all the way to the end, and thank you to my dad for another great experience together at a New York area golf tournament.
2025 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming Weekend September 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Education, Football, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Radio, Rock, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Weather.add a comment
NOTE: Two of the alumni hosts, Alana and Tom, do not use their last names on the air. So, I have omitted their last names from this post.
This year, Homecoming Weekend on WCWP (simulcast on WXBA) and at LIU Post was the earliest it’s ever been: September 12 to 14. The date was made public during the WCWP-FM 60th anniversary broadcast on March 16. (Read about that celebratory weekend here.) Homecoming Weekend coordinator Ted David assembled quite the lineup, which began with me at noon (well, noon-ish) on Friday, September 12, and ended at midnight on the 14th/15th as Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh closed Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel with “Red Hot and Cooking” by Garth Hewitt.
The centerpiece of the weekend was the LIU Sharks football team‘s Homecoming game (and home opener) against the Sacred Heart Pioneers. (That was the LIU Post team name before the Post and Brooklyn athletic programs merged and moved from NCAA Division II to Division I.)
Once again, as unofficial station historian, I documented as much as I could of the entire weekend – on campus Friday and Saturday, and from home on Sunday.
I airchecked off the FM web stream on PCs in my bedroom and guest room via Audacity, where I would export as individual files, and then edit in Adobe Audition. Unfortunately, my internet betrayed me on Saturday. I recorded nearly nine hours of silence. I’m grateful to WCWP station manager Dan Cox for filling the gaps with his official airchecks and to Bernie Bernard via her show files.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
I arrived at the Abrams Communications Center at 11:30 AM. While Project Independence and You (one week shy of its 14th anniversary) finished up in studio 3, I prepped for my live Instrumental Invasion. It was the first time I led off Homecoming Weekend since 2017.
I made a separate recap of that show here, but I’ll at least share Pat Kroll’s photo of me during one of my sets…
…and the aircheck video (with an edited open):
Pat and Jeff Kroll had the next show at 2PM. Since their show and Strictly Jazz at 4PM would be rerun from 2AM to 7AM, Jeff had to be prompt, fading out my last song with 1:40 remaining.
Herb Alpert fans that we are, we both began our shows with Tijuana Brass tracks. My lead was “Spanish Flea” while Jeff used “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (covered on S.R.O.) as the intro bed.
Jeff ran the board during his show and Strictly Jazz. 
Neil Marks joined in the second hour to preview the LIU Sharks’ Homecoming football game against the Sacred Heart Pioneers. 
Neil Marks 
Neil Marks and Pat Kroll
Out in the lobby, Neil Marks talked to Strictly Jazz hosts John LiBretto and Hank Neimark about his long trip to LIU Post earlier Friday.
Hank had the honor of signing on WCWP-FM on March 16, 1965.
The Krolls with fellow alumni (and fiancés) Sami Jo Negron and Pete Sacoulas:
A partial video of Jeff and Pat’s show:
…and a full scoped aircheck:
John LiBretto and Hank Neimark hosted Strictly Jazz, the third show of the weekend, Friday at 4PM.
John LiBretto 
Hank Neimark 
Despite the title, Strictly Jazz deviated to pop in hour 2 by playing “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. Pat Kroll returned to read the song’s quirky lyrics. 
Jeff Kroll had additional “Wooly Bully” tidbits.
A partial video of Strictly Jazz:
…and the full scoped aircheck:
From jazz to rock, John Zoni was next at 7PM:
We went from rock to dance just after 9PM with Jay Mirabile and a special edition of The DFK Show.
If you’re wondering, I took a rideshare home around 6:30 PM.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
We jump ahead to 7AM and a prerecorded show hosted by John Commins:
David Friedland was live in studio 2 at 9AM, leading into the Sharks’ Homecoming game:
After editing what I’d airchecked so far, my mom drove me up to LIU Post half an hour later than Friday. We had to clear a security checkpoint before reaching the parking lot by WCWP. I unpacked and walked toward Shark Stadium (no naming rights this year) for photos around and above the field.
The bulk of my Shark Stadium photos were taken on the roof where Travis Demers, Neil Marks, and Jeff Kroll called the LIU Sharks Homecoming football game. Pat Kroll was the coordinating producer.
It was the 2nd quarter when I reached the roof. Travis Demers handled play-by-play for the middle quarters with Jeff Kroll leading the first and last. 
Travis Demers’s field view 
Remote equipment 
Pat Kroll’s notes 
You can’t call a sporting event without spotter charts. 
Just for fun, I took a short video on my iPhone that I later synced to the relevant portion of Dan Cox’s game aircheck:
Travis and my fellow alumni were impressed when I posted that video to the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group.
Before we return to WCWP, let’s look at photos on the field, sidelines, and bleachers.
I made it back to WCWP just before halftime where co-hosts John Zoni and Jeannie Moon narrated highlights and analyzed the first half. At the board was Andrew Scarpaci.
John Zoni 
Jeannie Moon 
Highlights, lowlights, and other elements were run in Zetta by Andrew, as seen at halftime.
The studio portion of the halftime report:
You saw how Zetta looked at halftime. This image after the game tells a different, but predictable story:
For the second year in a row, the Sharks squandered a lead. They gave up 17 unanswered points to the SHU Pioneers, losing 24-21 on a field goal as time expired.
In spite of another down ending, it was another exciting game for Jeff Kroll, Neil Marks, and Travis Demers to call on Long Island’s 88.1 FM.
I kept my camcorders and tripods in studio 3 to cover John Zoni and Jeannie Moon’s portion of the postgame show.
This YouTube video compiles the studio 3 halftime and postgame reports:
I’ll spare you the details of what happened in the Sharks’ next game.
On a happier note, programming moved back to studio 2 after the Sharks postgame show. At 3:30 PM, Homecoming Weekend coordinator Ted David hosted the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee announcement special.
Ted getting in touch with Bernie Bernard to call in and announce the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame inductees
The lucky quartet of 2025 inductees was Cande Roth, Ellyn Solis-Maurer, Tony Traguardo, and Chris Maffei.
(Full disclosure: This was my fourth year on the Hall of Fame Committee.)
Below is the announcement, featuring a cameo from me, here:
…and listen here (without the video’s cutaways):
Bernie Bernard’s prerecorded show ran at 4PM:
As Bernie’s show ran in automation, I joined my fellow alumni outside for the Homecoming barbecue. We’ll use this time for a photographic interlude.
First, Ted’s selfie with me:
Bobby Guthenberg (Bobby G.), Neil Marks, Lew Scharfberg 
Neil Marks, Laurie White, Jeannie Moon, Lew Scharfberg 
Ted David, Rich Lacourciere, new HOF inductee Tony Traguardo, John Zoni, John Mullen, Frank Iemitti, WCWP station manager Dan Cox 
Mike Chimeri, Rich Lacourciere, Tony Traguardo, John Zoni, John Mullen, Frank Iemitti, Dan Cox 
Mike Chimeri and Travis Demers 
Mike Chimeri and Alana 
Mike Chimeri and John Zoni 
Alana next to the WCWP-FM 60th anniversary banner
Live programming returned to studio 2 at 6PM with Bobby G. and Mike Riccio. The dynamic duo counted down most of the 50 songs in the “First Annual WCWP Beatle Spectacular Hit-List.” Published in December 1969, the list represented the most popular Beatles songs as voted by WCWP listeners.
Bobby G. 
Mike Riccio 
With candid photos of Bobby G. and Mike Riccio out of the way, I had them pose for this photo. 
I took this selfie early in the second of two talk breaks.
You can watch those first three talk breaks here:
…and here is the full scoped aircheck:
Incidentally, this is my scan of a copy of the First Annual WCWP Beatle Spectacular Hit-List:
Vincent Randazzo and a host of others were on hand for a special edition of The Alternative Jukebox at 9PM:
Vince’s show was three hours, but half the time was spent chatting with current and recently-graduated staff. It was quite informative. (Shoutout to Post-Party Depression.)
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
The prerecorded Instrumental Invasion ran at midnight. Click here for a full recap, then come back for the rest of this recap.
I will again share the aircheck scope, though:
9/23 UPDATE: And why not include a 65x speed montage of the two Twitch streams that served as recording sessions?
All other info is in the show recap. If you’re returning from that post, welcome back.
Tom was up bright and early at 6AM for the Homecoming Weekend edition of The Dad Rock Show:
Jay LaPrise followed at 8AM with a playlist featuring songs by artists he saw live in concert:
Alana’s The Rockin’ Sunday Show normally airs at noon, but aired in its original 10AM slot on Homecoming Weekend.
Jumping ahead to 1PM, Ted David and Jeff Kroll co-hosted The Joe Show, a remembrance of the late Joseph P. “Joe” Honerkamp.
Joe was a fixture at WCWP for over 50 years, and had a long professional career which included radio stints at WYNY and WHN, and TV production on the weekend Today show.
Among those to reflect on the life and times of Joseph P. were his widow Kathy Honerkamp and their daughters Melanie and Diana. Kathy and Melanie are seen here in studio 2. Diana spoke by phone.
Bruce Leonard and Joel Feltman were also among those to call in.
The scoped aircheck (there were a few songs played) can be heard here:
Ted David shifted to the board at 2PM, playing a wide variety of music over the next hours:
Billy the Kid (Billy Houst) and Joey C. (Joe Conte) had the last two-hour show at 4PM: Masters of Metal.
The penultimate show of Homecoming Weekend began at 6PM: The Ladies of Prison Break Radio, Jamie Mazzo and Sara Dorchak.
And putting a bow on the weekend, my children, was Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh and Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel. Check it out.
Post-production, no pun intended, began as Homecoming Weekend was in progress on September 13 and concluded on the evening of the 21st with publication of this post and the Instrumental Invasion posts.
Thank you very much for reading all the way to the end. It bears repeating: documenting events like this is a labor of love. The next time I step on the campus of LIU Post will be March 25, 2026, for a twice-in-a-lifetime experience thanks to Bobby Guthenberg. My mom and I will get to see Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and Other Delights again for their Tilles Center set. (Read about their April 1 Jazz at the Lincoln Center show here.)
This post is not only dedicated to the memory of Joe Honerkamp, but also Jett Lightning. Jett (Julio) fell ill in the days leading up to Homecoming Weekend and passed away on the morning of September 13. He will be sorely missed at WCWP. I’ll leave you with a photo of Jett taken last year…
…and a scope of his 2022 Homecoming Weekend show featuring Jay Elzweig, who is also no longer with us.
Instrumental Invasion, 9/14/25, 12AM (Homecoming Weekend) September 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Computer, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Livestream, Media, Music, Personal, Pop, Radio, smooth jazz, Technology, Video Games.add a comment
Other posts: 9/12 12PM live show recap, comprehensive Homecoming Weekend recap
The prerecorded edition of Instrumental Invasion for WCWP‘s alumni-run Homecoming Weekend programming block aired at midnight on Sunday, September 14. Unlike last year, this show was only two hours.
Let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way before I detail how the show came to be.
I said in the live show recap that I knew well in advance I’d have that and the prerecord.
The playlist was created July 29 and 30 with two hours in mind. That duration was confirmed to me on August 5. There wasn’t much poaching from older playlists, meaning less copying and pasting of annotations. The annotations were drafted July 30 and August 1 and 4. The first draft of the script was written August 5 and 6. I wanted to get as much pre-production out of the way before Long Island Retro Gaming Expo.
Little did I know the consequences of referencing Casiopea‘s fifth era with a new keyboardist, Jun Abe, and tying Brian Simpson‘s “Wonderland” to Taylor Swift‘s namesake from 1989 D.L.X. On August 12, Taylor announced a new album, The Life of a Showgirl, in an episode of New Heights, a podcast hosted by the Kelce brothers, Travis (her boyfriend) and Jason. Then, a few days later, I found out T-Square released an album called Turn the Page! and that Casiopea was about to release True Blue. That led to script revisions on August 15 and 17. Then, August 20, the playlist, annotations, and script were all tweaked to accommodate song replacements.
I planned on recording one hour per day – August 28 and 29 – during livestreams on my Twitch channel, just as I had done for last year’s prerecord and the final regular Instrumental Invasion. To save time during the streams, I prepared the Adobe Audition multitrack sessions for each hour on August 25. That’s when I realized I’d made a timing error for both hours! I was four minutes over in hour 1 and two minutes under in hour 2. So, I had to make further tweaks to the playlist, annotations, and script with different songs to make up for the oversights.
But I still wasn’t finished! I mistakenly thought one minute and 55 seconds was enough time to assign talk breaks. Unfortunately, most talk breaks were overly wordy. When I reached hour 1’s last talk break, I noticed I was well over. Drastic cuts had to be made to the talk breaks. The plan worked.
To avoid the same problem with hour 2, I cut back on that hour’s talk breaks before the August 29 Twitch stream, and worked in a congratulations to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce on their engagement (earlier that week). It still wasn’t enough! Not only did I have to make further cuts; I also had to fade songs out early or have them start underneath a liner and the end of the last talk break. I recorded that last talk break first, knowing it would be the longest of the hour. Somehow, my cutbacks worked again, and each hour – or 59:59 – flowed smoothly. Unless you’ve read this post or watched my Twitch streams, you’d never know all the work that went into this show.
Here are screenshots of each hour’s multitrack session:
Only one pickup was necessary, recorded on the morning of August 30. For any talk break preceded by a liner that only acknowledged WCWP, I started with “and WXBA,” to reflect the merger and subsequent rebranding. I neglected to do that coming out of David Benoit‘s liner. David hosts a jazz show on another 88.1 FM, K-Jazz (KKJZ) at Cal State Long Beach. So, the pickup was for one more “and WXBA,” and to rerecord the first few sentences of the talk break to maintain its total run time.
On the Twitch side, I broadcast my streams with a program called OBS Studio. Once per day, there was a brief server disconnection. Friday’s outage happened while recording the fourth talk break of hour 2 (the last recorded that day). Rather than stop until OBS reconnected, I soldiered on. It made for this funny outtake:
And I did.
Read about my elaborate Twitch setup here.
Below is what the two recording session streams looked like at 65x speed, set to “Sweat It Off” by Casiopea:
Now that you know the story of this show, get back to the main recap, picking up with The Dad Rock Show hosted live at 6AM by Tom.
Instrumental Invasion, 9/12/25, 12PM (Homecoming Weekend) (Live!) September 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, smooth jazz, Sports, Travel, Video.add a comment
Other posts: 9/14 12AM prerecorded show recap, comprehensive Homecoming Weekend recap
The live edition of Instrumental Invasion kicked off the 2025 edition of WCWP‘s alumni-run Homecoming Weekend programming block aired at 12PM Friday. (More like 12:03, but I dwell on that enough in the aircheck below.) Whereas last year’s live show was immediately followed by Strictly Jazz, Jeff and Pat Kroll bridged the gap to 4PM with their 2PM show. This was my introduction to new station branding, thanks to a merger with WXBA in Brentwood: “Long Island’s 88.1 FM, WCWP Brookville and WXBA Brentwood, LIU Public Radio.”
Before I get into how this Instrumental Invasion show was made and share photos taken during the show, let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way…
…along with video synced to the scope.
You’ll notice I edited the opening talk break and that it lacks video. I was so ashamed of what happened behind the scenes before playing “InsInvShowOpen” in Zetta that I deleted the raw video file six days after exporting it from the SD card. The important thing is I passed the figurative trial by fire and will know what to do next time. I’ll also try my hardest to follow the advice I forgot in the moment: don’t acknowledge (or dwell on) a mistake. Carry on like nothing happened and handle any issues off-mic.
The playlist for the live Instrumental Invasion was created July 28. This year, I knew would have a second prerecorded show and started working on that playlist the next day. The live playlist was tweaked on August 1 and 17. Annotations were drafted on July 30; August 1, 2, 4, 5, and 17; and once more on September 10. For the sake of spontaneity, I do not make scripts for live shows. I read the annotations cold after each set and otherwise ad-libbed.
Again, the live theme was a 60-year musical journey, coincidentally tying in with WCWP-FM’s 60th anniversary. The August 17 playlist tweak was for the 2025 portion. I found about T-Square‘s new Turn the Page! album (post-announcement Reddit thread), and replaced a different 2025 song (I won’t name the artist) with “Front Runner.”
All programming not involving the LIU Sharks’ Homecoming football game against the Sacred Heart Pioneers emanated from studio 2 at the Abrams Communications Center. Sharks football pre- and postgame shows, and the halftime report, were based in studio 3.
Here are photos I took in studio 2 during hour 2:
My playlist and annotation pages 
Zetta, which I quickly acclimated to
Thanks to Pat Kroll for this photo of me at the board:
Read about this year’s prerecorded two-hour Instrumental Invasion here.
2025 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo recap: conclusion and pickups August 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Education, Magazine, Media, Personal, Photography, TV, Video, Video Games.add a comment
If you haven’t seen them yet, read part one here and part two here.
CONCLUSION
With Leonard Herman’s panel complete, I said my goodbyes. On my way outside to wait for my Lyft ride home, I noticed a vendor that had a copy of David Crane‘s Pitfall! for the Atari 2600. Then, as you’ll see in the pickups section, I did something I’d never done in all my years attending Long Island Retro Gaming Expo at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale.
This was the last photo I took before packing up my Canon EOS R7 (with RF-S 18-150mm lens and Speedlite 430EX II attached):
PICKUPS
As I walked around the vendor marketplace Sunday, I noticed this replica Pan Am plane in the window of the museum gift shop. Finally, after seven years, moments before going home, I stepped inside to buy that plane (seen here on Amazon).
The clerk told me his grandfather flew that model plane as a pilot for Pan Am.
My LI Retro program and badge, front and back:
Two vendor cards (only one side of the first):
Guest merchandise:
Pat Contri’s Twitch emote stickers, including one for Sue Simmons, and that Gaming Historian sticker I earned for getting Pat’s first NES trivia question right 
Old School Gamer Magazine, Issue 46 front… 
…and back
Video games:
1 for Nintendo 64 (on Saturday):
- Superman: The New Superman Adventures (a.k.a. Superman 64)
1 for Sega Genesis (on Saturday):
1 for Super Famicom (on Sunday):
- Super Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Country outside Japan)
5 for Super Nintendo (1 Saturday, 4 Sunday):
- Bill Laimbeer’s Combat Basketball
- The Lost Vikings
- Super Off Road
- Super Off Road: The Baja
- Wing Commander
5 for Atari VCS/2600 (4 Saturday, 1 Sunday):
- Combat
- Donkey Kong (programmed by Garry Kitchen)
- Ghostbusters (programmed by Dan Kitchen)
- E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
- Pitfall! (“Conceived and designed by David Crane for use with the Atari Video Computer System.”)
And by coincidence, I got a whopping 14 NES games for its 40th anniversary (6 Saturday, 8 Sunday):
- Bases Loaded II: The Second Season
- Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II (Yes, that’s Fabio on the cover)
- Jack Nicklaus’ Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf
- Mad Max
- MagMax
- Metal Gear
- Monster Party
- Ms. Pac-Man (Tengen) (I bought the licensed Namco release in 2023)
- Pac-Man (Tengen, Licensed) (I’ve had the unlicensed version since I was a kid)
- Pac-Man (Namco)
- P.O.W.: Prisoners of War
- Shadowgate
- Volleyball
- Whomp ‘Em
Whomp ‘Em was my most expensive game of the weekend, going for $60. Counting the fried ravioli (and Sprite) I ordered from a food truck Sunday afternoon, I only went $30 over my $370 cash budget. (I bought the Pan Am plane with my credit card.)
Volleyball is my latest NES Black Box game pickup. There were 30 Black Box games released, 17 at launch, then 10, and 3 more. Alphabetically, Volleyball was the 30th. I have 20 of the 30: 11 of the first 17, 6 of the next 10, and all of the last 3.
THE END
Thank you, as always, for taking this photographic journey through Long Island Retro Gaming Expo. I seem to say this all the time, but working on recap blog posts is truly a labor of love. So much work goes into them: editing the photos, choosing which ones to watermark for inclusion in these posts, making lower resolution equivalents for the blog and other social media, uploading the photos into each blog post draft, rearranging the photos in certain galleries, writing, link aggregation, coming up with SEO summaries (I forgot to make one for this post), publication, and social media promotion.
Like with Smooth Jazz for Scholars, I initially streamed the photo editing process on my Twitch channel (after showing all my pickups). I finished the “job” off-stream after Friday afternoon. I sacrificed many hours, and either truncated my treadmill runs (42 minutes instead of 70) or didn’t run at all. It was for the art. I hope you, the reader, are satisfied with the end results.
See you again next year.
2025 Long Island Retro Gaming expo recap: touring the expo August 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Computer, History, Internet, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, TV, VHS, Video, Video Games, Weather, Wrestling.add a comment
If you haven’t viewed part one yet, click here. Skip ahead to part three here.
Settle in for a comprehensive photographic tour of as much as I could see at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale during the 10th annual Long Island Retro Gaming Expo.
FIRST FLOOR
Vendor Marketplace:
The marketplace as seen from the second floor:
Sponsors:
Ticket prices:
Hangar Arcade:
NES Indie Game Exhibit:
VGNYsoft Physical Indie Games:
Homebrew/Indie Showcase:
PokéLab:
PCs:
(NOTE: This gallery is a mix of photos from PC Freeplay, PC Museum, and regional exclusive computers that were part of the Retro Gaming Museum exhibit.)
Console Freeplay:
Art Gallery:
Gaming hardware displays:
40 Years of the Nintendo Entertainment System:
“Thank you to this year’s museum donors!”
Vintage ad for the Batman Forever video game:
An episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!:
NES Challenges outside the Main Theatre (at least on the middle two):
SECOND FLOOR
LIU Sharks Game Showcase:
This was another table I was too shy to approach. I really should have, being an alumnus of LIU Post and WCWP. It is fitting, though, that in a year where Benjamin Abrams was inducted into the WCWP Hall of Fame, the LIU Sharks Game Showcase table included a TV/DVD player made by Emerson.
Retroware games:
Time Crisis on a modern TV!
Console History Exhibit:
The Arcade Age Exhibit
Other second floor attractions:
THIRD FLOOR
The Floor of Oddities:
And a bonus from the Cradle of Aviation Museum’s Pan Am exhibit:
The Boeing 707: A Fast Story:
That’s the end of the tour. All that remains is part three of my recap with a conclusion and pickups photos.
2025 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo: introduction, guests, staff, fellow attendees, panels August 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Aviation, Books, Computer, Education, History, Internet, Magazine, Media, Personal, Photography, Podcast, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Video Games.add a comment
Feel free to skip ahead to part two (touring the expo) or part three (conclusion and pickups).
INTRODUCTION
2025 marked the 10th anniversary Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, held annually (except during COVID) in the Cradle of Aviation Museum, on the right end of Museum Row in Uniondale*. For the 10th anniversary, LI Retro celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System‘s New York area launch, introduced to the world in places such as Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream.
*I had no idea that LI Retro’s first year was the same year that East Garden City (a.k.a. Nassau Hub) was absorbed into Uniondale and is no longer a census-designated place. Keep that in mind when you read my earlier recaps.
I have attended seven of LI Retro’s nine years. I started small in 2017, only spending two hours there on Sunday afternoon. I was there the entire weekend in 2018 and ’19, and have used my weekend pass on two of the three days since 2022. By 2023, I had to spread my recaps out into three parts because I took so many pictures, mostly of the exhibits (as seen in 2024). That’s what I’m doing again this year.
Tickets went on sale in February and guests were announced in July. Some of those guests will be chronicled below.
You’ll be happy to know there weren’t any mishaps this year. None of my equipment was wrecked and no cups of coffee were spilled.
ARRIVING AT THE MUSEUM
My mom pulled into the Cradle of Aviation Museum parking lot at 9:38 AM on Saturday.
I exited the car with badge QR code printout in hand. I had the lanyard for my badge wrapped around my neck, along with my Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens and Speedlite 430EX II attached. (I only used the latter on for flash photos, and never during panels.)
Inside, I was ushered to the box office where my QR code was scanned and I was handed my weekend badge. I attached to my lanyard and made my way to the first of four panels I had in mind. We’ll see photos from those later in this post.
The LI Retro staff is great and I’m honored to know them. Sunday morning, I met up with staff member Ryan Shapiro and he took this selfie of us:
Thank you, as always, Ryan.
PHOTOS WITH GUESTS AND CANDID PHOTOS OF THEIR TABLES
John Lester (Gamester81)
John is among the first on YouTube with a channel devoted to video games and collecting. Beyond that, he started Game On Expo in Phoenix, Arizona, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in April. He is the co-owner of CollectorVision Games and developed their Sydney Hunter series. Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is the first in that series available on modern consoles.
I got a photo with John after his The Evolution of Retro Collecting panel.
Check out his LI Retro vlog:
Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson
Pat and Ian have been a fixture at Long Island Retro Gaming Expo since 2019, and I never miss their panel, recorded live for their Completely Unnecessary Podcast (a.k.a. CU Podcast). Like John Lester, Pat Contri’s YouTube journey began in 2008 with his Pat the NES Punk series, a fictionalized take on his life as a video game fan and collector. Pat’s YouTube channel also includes Flea Market Madness (sometimes featuring Frank, a fellow New Jersey transplant in San Diego), The Video Game Years retrospective, the aforementioned CU Podcast in video form, and the Not So Common Podcast with Alex Faciane.
Alongside the many Charlie Brown/Peanuts Christmas TV specials, it’s an annual tradition of mine to watch Pat the NES Punk Christmas episodes every December. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but the first two are the most sentimental. Incidentally, I can’t look at R.O.B., the original face of the NES, without hearing the Punch-Out!! opponent “voice.”
A big component of this year’s LI Retro was print media’s role in video game preservation. Pat’s Ultimate Nintendo series does its part. I have been a loyal reader since the Guide to the NES Library, which I bought from Pat (along with Pat the NES Punk DVD sets) in 2019. I helped fund Guide to the SNES Library later that year and last year, the latest book (as seen behind Ian, me, and Pat): Guide to the N64 Library. Pat, Ian, and an all-star lineup of reviewers break down every release for Nintendo’s first three home consoles. I used the Ultimate Nintendo app after each day of LI Retro to add any NES pickups to my collection. (Buy Ultimate Nintendo books here.)
Thank you to Kristen for taking this photo:
I returned the favor by having Kristen pose with Pat and Ian:
Adam Koralik
Sunday afternoon, “Mike Camera” and Adam Koralik met a third time. (That’s my server name on his Discord.) Adam’s trusty Sega Pluto prototype was part of the Retro Gaming Museum exhibit and he was more than happy to discuss it with attendees and have them try out its few playable games.
And of course, I had to get a selfie:
More exhibit photos can be found in part two of this year’s recap.
Matthew Sussman
While I did not meet actor Matthew Sussman, the original English language voice of Meowth in the Pokémon anime, he was a big draw, as seen in this Saturday photo.
I learned from an attendee in line outside the museum Sunday morning that Matthew is a fellow photographer, also in the Canon ecosystem. His camera of choice is the EOS R6 Mark II.
Ryan Burger
Ryan is the publisher of Old School Gamer Magazine, a literal mom-and-pop operation, at least at conventions. On staff at LI Retro were his wife Becky (who took the photo below), and their daughters Paige (the manager) and Rachel.
Ryan graciously gifted me with Old School Gamer Magazine Issue 46, which I held in our Sunday morning photo. You’ll see it again among the pickups in part three. Ryan was part of the third Saturday panel I attended: The Role Print Media Plays in Video Game Preservation. One of Ryan’s fellow panelists was…
Leonard Herman
I remain grateful to The Immortal John Hancock for introducing me to Leonard Herman at their joint 2018 panel. It inspired me to buy Phoenix IV and many other books. I have become good friends with Lenny and his table manager Patrick Wong, and a fixture at any panel Lenny is part of. (If I got the title wrong, either of you can let me know and I’ll edit post haste.)
Lenny is putting the finishing touches on Phoenix 5, to be released in two volumes in 2026 via Jeremy Parish’s Press Run, a division of Limited Run Games. (Jeremy and two rotating Retronauts co-hosts rounded out Saturday’s print media panel.)
Lenny with Patrick Wong on Saturday:
Patrick took our photo on Sunday:
One of the books I bought two years ago was ABC to the VCS, and I think Lenny would be proud that I bought five Atari VCS/2600 games this year. I was inspired to do so because I sought out any games programmed by the quartet of…
Dan and Garry Kitchen, David Crane, John Van Ryzin
Regrettably, I was too shy to approach Dan, Garry, David, or John, but I bought Ghostbusters (designed by David, programmed for 2600 by Dan), Donkey Kong (programmed for 2600 by Garry), and Pitfall! (by David). I couldn’t find H.E.R.O., designed by John. And because of my shyness, I didn’t buy any of their new games made for the 2600.
The new games, by Audacity Games, included:
- Circus Convoy (by David Crane and Garry Kitchen)
- Casey’s Gold (by Dan Kitchen; in second photo above)
- Alien Abduction (by John Van Ryzin)
Dan and Garry Kitchen, and David Crane are seated from left to right. John Van Ryzin is standing in the right corner of the photo. 
I forget if Dan Kitchen or Ryan Burger was playing Casey’s Gold in this candid photo Sunday morning.
That takes care of the guest photos. Photos with fellow attendees are coming up after a look at the quartet of panels I saw.
PANELS
Saturday Panel 1, 10:30-11:30 AM
Panel Room 2 (now upstairs in The Sperry Classroom)
John Lester (Gamester81)
The Evolution of Retro Collecting: From Hobby to Industry
Saturday Panel 2, 12-1PM
Main Theatre
Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson
CU Podcast Live!
The main topic for this edition of The CU Podcast was this video by Phil1Up Collects:
Next on the agenda, NES trivia:
I got the first question right: Which game was released for the NES licensed, unlicensed, and licensed again? I raised my hand and answered “Pac-Man.” I was right, and earned a sticker. As a supporter of The Gaming Historian (and yes, I read a quote in a video), I chose a GH Patreon supporter sticker to go with the one I have from my days as a supporter.
Alex and Daniel Greenberg in the audience:
Q&A:
As usual, I had a question: playing off the Gaming Historian sticker, I asked if Pat or Ian had been in touch with Norman Caruso since he announced last April that he was giving up pursuing the YouTube channel full time. Great news: Norm is still creating. He co-hosts An Old Timey Podcast with his wife Kristin.
Pat was surprised that we went the entire Q&A session without invoking the ill-fated vaporware known as the Intellivision Amico.
As of publication on August 21, the full episode is up, with the Phil1Up Collects video discussion heard starting at 1:15:30. NES trivia and the Q&A are not included. I will update with video clips when posted.
9/29 UPDATE: Sorry for the delay. There is one video and here it is:
Saturday Panel 3, 2:30-3:30 PM
Panel Room 2
The Role Print Media Plays in Video Game Preservation, moderated by Luis Aguasvivas (NPR, Debug Magazine, member of New York Videogame Critics Circle)
Panelists: Leonard Herman, Ryan Burger (Old School Gamer Magazine); Retronauts podcast host Jeremy Parish (Limited Run Games’ Press Run division, Video Works YouTube series and corresponding books [NES Works, SNES Works, Virtual Boy Works, SG-1000 Works]), rotating co-hosts Kevin Bunch (independent researcher, Atari Archive website and YouTube channel, author of Atari Archive Volume 1: 1977-78) and Brian Clark (translator, author of Gameplay Harmonies)
One other tidbit from this panel is Jeremy Parish lamenting that his early 2000s articles for now-defunct websites cannot be accessed because they weren’t archived.
I devoted most of my Sunday to photographing the exhibits and freeplay areas, buying any games I didn’t buy on Saturday, mingling further with guests, and actually playing freeplay games for the first time in years. (Oh, and I bought fried ravioli from a food truck; another first for me.)
So, the one panel I saw that day had to be Lenny’s.
Sunday Panel, 3-4PM
Panel Room 2
Leonard Herman
The History of the History of Videogames
9/29 UPDATE: Leonard posted video of his panel. (Of course, you see me front and center snapping away.)
PHOTOS WITH/OF FELLOW ATTENDEES
My friend Timothy (a.k.a. Sho):
Timothy and C.J. (I forget which vendor she was with):
Daniel Greenberg (Winterion Game Studios):
Daniel and his wife Alex:
Anthony and two of his friends:
I can’t say no to a photo op if someone asks, and I was more than happy to honor Anthony’s requests.
That is the end of post one. Head to part two for a tour of the marketplace and exhibits. Part three features a conclusion, and pickups photos.
I’ll leave you with photos taken before I left for home on Saturday and before I walked back into the museum on Sunday.
SJFS 2025 Night 2 recap May 15, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Education, Food, Health, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Livestream, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, smooth jazz, Technology, Travel, Wrestling.add a comment
Jay Rowe‘s 22nd annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars continued on Saturday, May 3, with five headliners, including Jay himself.
It bears repeating that Scholars benefits the Milford, Connecticut, Public Schools music department.
I edited 112 of Friday’s 304 photos on my laptop Saturday morning and afternoon. Some of that editing was during an impromptu livestream on my Twitch channel. A bandwidth test in OBS proved streaming was possible without dropped frames and major interference. At last, hotel premium Wi-Fi is strong enough to stream from your room, my room being at the Milford Hampton Inn on Plains Road. I streamed for an hour before raiding out, and would continue editing on and off stream in my first six days back home. Then, I picked 179 photos to use in the Friday recap, and 198 for this Saturday recap.
My parents and I ate dinner at Chili’s on Boston Post Road (U.S. 1), which is where we ate the first time I attended SJFS in 2007.
Again, we returned to the hotel for an hour before leaving at 7PM for Veterans Memorial Auditorium at the Parsons Complex with all my equipment.
Reiterating what I said in Friday’s post, my photographer fellowship down in the orchestra pit were Katherine Gilraine, Kenny Combs, Andrew James, and Ron Hancox.
My equipment was as follows:
- Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens, plus a Speedlite 430 EX II flash attachment (only used for photos of the audience)
- Dual Panasonic HC-X1500 camcorders
- “A” camcorder has a VW-HU1 and Rode VideoMic GO II attached, and is connected to a Magnus VT-300 tripod
- “B” camcorder was used for a static wide view and had nothing attached except for an Amazon Basics tripod
- EOS R7 has two 128GB SanDisk Extreme PRO UHS-I SDXC cards (I only ever need one of them) while the two HC-X1500 camcorders have one 256GB equivalent each
With hellos out of the way and 8:00 upon us, we shouted “good evening!” to Kevin McCabe:
Leading off on Saturday was the Joseph A. Foran High School Jazz Ensemble, directed by Jessica Turner. (I couldn’t catch the names of the songs, but the second was by Earth, Wind & Fire.)
Jay Rowe‘s opening remarks were in two parts. First, he complimented the Foran Jazz Ensemble for their EWF cover. Then, he came back out after the chairs were removed and Kevin McCabe introduced the house band and headliners.
To paraphrase the late HairClub founder Sy Sperling, Jay Rowe isn’t just a smooth jazz sideman; he’s also a fan. And he was even a headliner on Saturday!
The first of Jay’s fellow headliners was Lindsey Webster:
Lindsey’s collaborator Keith Slattery was on keyboards for her songs:
The remaining headliners were Jeff Kashiwa on tenor sax:
…and flute:
Marion Meadows on soprano sax:
…and two for one, Four80East. Rob DeBoer was on keyboards:
…with percussion by Tony Grace:
Jay’s house band was made up of Trever Somerville on drums:
Andy Abel on guitar:
…and Dave Anderson on bass:
SET LIST (updated with videos on 6/20/25)
1. That’s What I Know (Jay Rowe) (tribute to Rohn [“ron”] Lawrence; expression Rohn inherited from his father and used on his son)
2024 single
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)
If you don’t take out the garbage and mow the lawn, you’re not gonna borrow the car this weekend. That’s what I know.
-Jay Rowe, channeling Rohn Lawrence’s father
2. Every Woman, Every Man (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Smooth Ride (2016)
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)
3. Starlight Kisses (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Groove Reflections (2021)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Jeff Kashiwa (tenor sax)
4. Let It Ride (Jeff Kashiwa)
Originally heard on: Let It Ride (2012)
Featured musicians: Jeff Kashiwa (tenor sax); Four80East: Rob DeBoer (keyboards), Tony Grace (percussion)
5. Upa Neguinho (Keep Up Little One) (Jeff Kashiwa; cover of Edu e Bethânia song)
Originally heard on: Luminoso (2024)
Featured musicians: Jeff Kashiwa (tenor sax); Four80East: Rob DeBoer (keyboards), Tony Grace (percussion)
6. Noodle Soup (Four80East)
Originally heard on: En Route (2007); Barn Sessions, Volume 1 (2025)
Featured musicians: Four80East: Rob DeBoer (keyboards), Tony Grace (percussion); Jeff Kashiwa (flute)
7. Cinco Cinco Seis (Four80East)
Originally heard on: Four on the Floor (2018)
Featured musician: Four80East: Rob DeBoer (keyboards, with voice sample [“uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, cinco, seis”]), Tony Grace (percussion); Jeff Kashiwa (flute)
8. I’m OK (Lindsey Webster)
Originally heard on: Reasons (2022)
Featured musicians: Lindsey Webster (vocals), Keith Slattery (keyboards)
Keith played keyboards in place of Jay Rowe on Lindsey’s songs.
9. I Got You (I Feel Good) (Lindsey Webster) (James Brown cover)
Featured musicians: Lindsey Webster (vocals), Keith Slattery (keyboards)
50/50 RAFFLE ($1,350 pot) (won by Denise)
10. The Lift (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: Body Rhythm (1995)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax) (started in audience)
11. South Beach (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: Body Rhythm (1995)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)
12. Romantica (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: Player’s Club (2004)
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax) (walked off stage at the end), Tony Grace (percussion)
13. 3-Day Weekend (Jeff Kashiwa)
Originally heard on: Simple Truth (2002)
Featured musicians: Jeff Kashiwa (tenor sax), Tony Grace (percussion)
14. The Walker (Four80East)
Originally heard on: Off Duty (2012)
Featured musicians: Four80East: Rob DeBoer (keyboards, with voice samples [“funking nasty,” “to the east side, to the west side”]), Tony Grace (percussion); Jeff Kashiwa (flute)
Included audience participation (right side shouted “to the east side,” left side shouted “to the west side”), “flute battle” between Rob’s synth flute and Jeff’s real flute
15. Over the Rainbow (Lindsey Webster) (sung by Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz)
Originally heard on: A Woman Like Me (2020)
Featured musicians: Lindsey Webster (vocals, with comedic pause before last note), Keith Slattery (keyboards)
Jay Rowe did not play on “The Walker” or “Over the Rainbow.”
Before the finale, Lindsey sang a snippet of the title track to her upcoming album.
16 (Finale). Ain’t Nobody (Lindsey Webster) (Rufus and Chaka Khan cover)
Featured musicians: Everyone; Lindsey Webster (vocals)
Photo galleries of each musician begin with Jay Rowe‘s “South Beach” solo:
“Jay Rowe, y’all!”
I appreciated the “Mas que nada” phrasing at the end, calling back to Lani Hall‘s Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 medley I saw during Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights on April 1.
Jeff Kashiwa on tenor sax:
Jeff on flute:
Marion Meadows started “The Lift” in the audience:
Marion on stage:
Marion’s exit at the end of “Romantica”:
Four80East:
Rob DeBoer:
Tony Grace:
Trever Somerville:
Andy Abel:
…and Dave Anderson:
Lindsey and Dave are in this first of my medium shots:
Marion, Trever and Dave:
Marion, Tony and Andy:
Tony and Trever’s “3-Day Weekend” duet (with Andy and Jeff in the middle):
Jeff and Rob’s “The Walker” flute battle:
Wide shots start with two from “Let It Ride“:
The end of “I Got You (I Feel Good)“:
“South Beach“:
Marion watching Jay’s solo 
“Romantica“:
“The Walker“:
The end of “Over the Rainbow“:
The audience has their turn now, seen first dancing to “Noodle Soup” (Dolly Moye and Jay Dobbins are to the right of Norma):
“The Walker”:
Rob’s instructions to the audience 
Their cue 
“To the east side!” 
“To the west side!”
The 50/50 raffle (won by Denise):
Another kiss for Jay and Deborah 
The winning number 
Denise received her prize
The finale: “Ain’t Nobody” (Rufus and Chaka Khan song):
The end:
“Thank you all! See you again real soon.”
-Jay Rowe
I’ll admit things got overwhelming in the lobby afterward. (It comes with being on the autism spectrum.) There was a large crowd meeting and greeting and I was too bashful to go ahead of anyone. When the wait seemed interminable, I sat down at an elevated round table and started to cry. A woman noticed me and asked if I was okay (of all things to ask after a show featuring “I’m OK”), and then Jay Rowe noticed me and brought Lindsey Webster over to sign my copy of Reasons. Marion Meadows soon followed. (A man named Sal told me afterward it was his idea to invite Marion to where I was seated.) Marion signed my copying of Just Doing Me. Then, as my tears subsided, Jay took our photo.
Simply writing that paragraph made me cry a little.
Jay then took a photo of me and Rob DeBoer with my signed copy of Barn Sessions, Volume 1:
And Michelle from the merchandise table took a photo of me and Jeff Kashiwa with my newly purchased and signed copy of Luminoso:
I said my goodbyes to everyone – including Mia DiStasi (Jay’s mom), Kevin McCabe, and Steve Lewis – and walked out to the parking lot for the ride back to Hampton Inn. Yet again, I unloaded the contents off all the SD cards to my laptop.
Unfortunately, the last 11 minutes of Saturday’s show are missing from my “A” camcorder. When reaching for the handle unit light switch after panning to the audience’s post-“Over the Rainbow” standing ovation, the middle of my thumb grazed the record button. Gotta remember to lock that next time. That’s why the freeze frame at the end of the finale is from the “B” camcorder. The on-board audio from that camcorder was disappointingly distant. So, I’m taking my Takstar SGC-598 out of retirement for use with the “B” going forward.
That was the only wrinkle to what was otherwise a great weekend, both at the Parsons Complex and Hampton Inn. I caught up with musicians and fellow fans that I hadn’t seen since last year or longer, and met others for the first time, including Joe Green, Rick Pascal, Bill McLaughlin, and Chip Paris.
I spent hours in the hotel lobby with my laptop, mingling while editing and eating breakfast.
Here I am on Saturday with Hap Carpenter:
And I got a selfie with Estella Taylor-Greene and Norma Rohadfox before we all checked out:
My parents and I left Hampton Inn at 10:35 AM on Sunday, May 4. The ride back to Wantagh was 20 minutes shorter than the ride from there on Friday! We were home by 12:08 PM.
Along the way, I took a photo of the current WWE headquarters off southbound I-95 in Stamford:
Thank you to everyone for a memorable weekend in Milford. See you all again next year!
I’ll conclude this post with a 100x speed montage of the nine photo editing livestreams on my Twitch channel, from May 3 in my hotel room to May 11 (Mother’s Day) at home. (WARNING: There will be flashing effects at times from going back and forth between apps.)
P.S. Wednesday was my 350th Twitch stream, and marked a return to video games, my channel’s main focus.
SJFS 2025 Night 1 recap May 15, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Education, Food, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, smooth jazz, Technology, TV, Video Games.add a comment
Friday, May 2, was the first of two nights of the 22nd annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars, hosted by keyboardist Jay Rowe in his hometown of Milford, Connecticut, benefiting the Milford Public Schools music department. (6/17 NOTE: This was the 22nd anniversary, but the 21st overall. In spite of that, I am following the branding and referring to this as the 22nd annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars.)
In recent posts, I’ve tried my best to cut back on the diary aspect of my recaps and focus on the events. So, I’ll continue that trend in this recap and the one for Saturday, May 3.
Like last year (recaps here and here), I had minimal anxiety leading up to showtime at 8PM. I began packing (and charging camcorder batteries) on Thursday, May 1, and was all set by early Friday afternoon. My parents and I left Wantagh for Milford at 12:23 PM and we reached the Hampton Inn parking lot in less than two hours (2:16).
In addition to my laptop, mirrorless camera, pair of camcorders, tripods, and all other accessories, I brought a Nintendo Switch and a third party dock (with HDMI cable). I played games on that in handheld mode to pass the time in the car, and then in docked mode in my hotel room TV after check-in. This is when I wasn’t on my laptop, of course.
Pasquale Pizza was again the place for dinner on Friday for me and my parents where we shared a meatball pizza pie.
We stopped back at Hampton Inn for an hour, and then it was off to Veterans Memorial Auditorium at the Parsons Complex. I was in the door around 7:15 PM and, after buying three 50/50 raffle tickets (SPOILER: I lost, and would lose with another set of 3 on Saturday), I got my event tickets (one per night) from Michelle at the will call/merchandise table.
Then, I made a beeline for the orchestra pit and began unpacking my equipment.
For photos, I use a Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens. This year, I added a Speedlite 430 EX II flash attachment for pictures of the audience. 1/100 shutter speed and ISO 2000 works for a well-lit stage, but extra illumination was necessary off stage. Only one of the two 128GB SanDisk Extreme PRO UHS-I SDXC cards inserted is required for the amount of photos I take.
Ever since WCWP Homecoming Weekend last September, I have used a pair of Panasonic HC-X1500 camcorders. The main (“A”) camcorder has a VW-HU1 and Rode VideoMic GO II attached, and is connected to a Magnus VT-300 tripod, perfect for all the panning and zooming required. The secondary (“B”) camcorder, intended for a static wide shot, had no attachments and an Amazon Basics tripod. Each camcorder has one 256GB SanDisk SD card (same model as for the camera).
I’m still using the 6×9 stenographer notebook I got at the Milford CVS two years ago to write down the set list, house band members, headliners, and any other necessary notes.
Joining me down in the orchestra pit were fellow photographers Katherine Gilraine, Kenny Combs, Andrew James, and Ron Hancox. It’s Kat’s birthday as I write this sentence on Tuesday, May 13, and it was Kat who sent me down the interchangeable lens camera path in 2012.
I also said hello to Jay Dobbins, Judy Raphael, Mark and Phyllis Abrams, Diane Roth and her partner Rich, and Hap Carpenter. Friday, May 2, was his birthday.
(Okay, that was still a long preamble, but not as long as last year.)
8:00 arrived and Kevin McCabe bid us “good evening”:
Warming us up were the Jonathan Law High School Jazz Ensemble, directed by David Pelaggi.
The first song had an alto sax lead: “Soul Chicken,” by Kris Berg, not to be confused with Kris Bergh from Herb Alpert’s new Tijuana Brass. 
The Jonathan Law ensemble’s second song was “Slow Dancing,” led by a flautist (and vocals from the horn section). 
Mr. Pelaggi: “Thank you so, so much. Thank you for having us tonight. Thank you, Jay, for putting this together and doing this every year for the Milford school systems; particularly, the music department. We appreciate it. You wouldn’t see so many of the instruments on stage without this event that happens every year. So, big shoutout to Jay. Thank you so much. We appreciate you having us.”
Once the stage crew removed the chairs and Kevin McCabe introduced the headliners and band, Jay Rowe came on stage with opening remarks.
Jay led the way on keyboards:
Friday’s headliners were Jackiem Joyner on alto sax:
Nelson Rangell on alto sax (plus flute, piccolo, and whistling, which you’ll see later):
Peter White on guitar:
…and Timmy Maia on vocals:
The house band had Trever Somerville on drums (and even vocals for one song):
Andy Abel on guitar:
…and Dave Anderson on bass:
SET LIST (updated with videos on 6/19/25)
1. There She Goes (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Groove Reflections (2021)
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)
2. Take Me There (Jackiem Joyner)
Originally heard on: Lil’ Man Soul (2009)
Featured musician: Jackiem Joyner (alto sax)
3. I’m Waiting for You (Jackiem Joyner)
Originally heard on: Lil’ Man Soul (2009)
Featured musician: Jackiem Joyner (alto sax)
4. Tidal Wave (Nelson Rangell)
Originally heard on: By Light (2019)
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
5. Gratitude (Nelson Rangell)
2023 single
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
6. Can We Talk (Jackiem Joyner) (Tevin Campbell cover)
Featured musician: Jackiem Joyner (alto sax)
7. Promenade (Peter White)
Originally heard on: Promenade (1993)
Featured musicians: Peter White (guitar), Jackiem Joyner (alto sax)
8. Catalonia (Peter White)
Originally heard on: Light of Day (2025)
Featured musicians: Peter White (guitar), Nelson Rangell (flute)
9. Mornin’ (Timmy Maia) (Al Jarreau cover)
Featured musicians: Timmy Maia (vocals), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
10. I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) (Timmy Maia) (Hall & Oates cover)
Featured musicians: Timmy Maia (vocals), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
11. Beautiful Seduction (Jackiem Joyner)
Originally heard on: Touch (2019)
Featured musicians: Jackiem Joyner (alto sax), Peter White (guitar)
12. Bueno Funk (Peter White)
Originally heard on: Glow (2001)
Featured musicians: Peter White (guitar), Jackiem Joyner (alto sax)
Included the James Bond sunglasses bit, audience participation for vocal scat and Bob Marley’s (The Wailers) “Get Up, Stand Up” chorus
13. Bright (Peter White) (tribute to Wayman Tisdale)
Originally heard on: Good Day (2009)
Featured musician: Peter White (guitar)
50/50 RAFFLE ($1,000 pot) (won by Carolyn)
14. Sonora (Nelson Rangell) (Hampton Hawes cover)
Originally heard on: Destiny (1995), My American Songbook, Vol. 1 (2005)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (vocal percussion intro, whistling, piccolo), Peter White (guitar)
15. What is Hip? (Timmy Maia) (Tower of Power cover)
Featured musician: Timmy Maia (vocals)
16. Tennessee Whiskey (Trever Somerville) (cover of Chris Stapleton interpretation of David Allan Coe song)
Featured musicians: Trever Somerville (vocals, drums), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
17 (Finale). Right Place, Wrong Time (Jay Rowe) (Dr. John cover)
Featured musicians: Everyone; Jay Rowe (vocals, keyboards)
This is the part with photo galleries of each musician, starting with Jay Rowe:
Nelson Rangell on alto sax:
I didn’t get any close-ups of Nelson on flute during “Catalonia,” so we’ll jump to “Sonora.”
Whistling:
Piccolo:
Whistling while holding piccolo:
The “Bueno Funk” James Bond bit:
That bit originated at an early 2000s live gig when saxophonist Richard Elliot dubbed Peter “the James Bond of smooth jazz.”
Trever Somerville:
Andy Abel:
…and Dave Anderson:
I’d take many more photos of Dave on Saturday, but less of Trever. Such is the nature of documenting live events.
On to medium shots, starting with Jackiem and Andy:
Jackiem and Peter:
Nelson and Peter:
Flute on “Catalonia“:
Whistling and piccolo on “Sonora”:
Timmy and Nelson:
Peter and Trever:
Now, wide shots, like this one from “Tidal Wave”:
“Bueno Funk”:
True to my word, I used the speedlight for audience photos. Here they are dancing to Timmy’s cover of “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)“:
Peter’s “Get Up, Stand Up” tangent during “Bueno Funk”:
The standing ovation after “Sonora”:
The 50/50 raffle (won by Carolyn):
Jay and Deborah Rowe kissed (after I said “do it again!”) 
The winning ticket 
Carolyn received her reward
“Tennessee Whiskey” (David Allan Coe song popularized by Chris Stapleton a la Etta James):
The finale was “Right Place, Wrong Time,” a Dr. John song, with vocals by John “Jay” Rowe!
The end:
Thanks to Andrew James for taking the meet-and-greet photos below. Here I am with Jackiem Joyner:
…and Peter White:
Peter signed my copy of Light of Day with seagull sketches to match the cover photo’s beach setting. Nice touch.
On the way out to the parking lot, I said hello to Jay Rowe’s mother Mia DiStasi. The title of Jay’s 2006 song (from Red, Hot and Smooth) is apt: “Everyone Loves Mia.”
When I got back to my hotel room at Hampton Inn, I unloaded all the photos and videos to my laptop. I would winnow down the photos in the morning and use Advanced Renamer to quickly change the remaining filenames.
MikeChimeri.com 