Instrumental Invasion, 7/5/23 July 6, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, City Pop, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Video, World Music.add a comment
The July 5 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was principally recorded on May 24 with evergreen pickups recorded on June 25, denoted by my COVID-compromised voice.
The playlist was created on May 14 and 15, alongside the ones for July 12 and 19. It was annotated with those on May 21 and 22 with the talk break script drafted on the 23rd and before recording on the 24th.
I anticipated going over in the last segment, so I made sure to build a significant surplus before then. The surplus ended up at 57 seconds, which wasn’t enough until I swapped out long liners for short ones.
Thanks to Mike Riccio for providing his year jingle compilation so I could play the 1979 one before “1979” by Roberto Restuccia:
“In the House” by Kim Waters was originally played on August 4, 2021. It was included this week with two other songs performed in April at Smooth Jazz for Scholars. Kim and Paul Taylor headlined the second night while Marion Meadows was part of the first night.
The GRP All-Star Big Band recording session was filmed for later video release, and someone posted the “I Remember Clifford” portion to YouTube:
Click here to download the scoped aircheck or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 6/28/23 June 29, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, City Pop, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The June 28 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded entirely on May 17, following the Smooth Jazz for Scholars hiatus (first night recap, second night recap).
The playlist was created on April 15 and 16 and annotated between the 21st and 26th. The talk break script wasn’t drafted until May 16 and 17, with the last talk break scripted between recording sessions.
My talk breaks were short enough to build a 49-second surplus, which I made up by redoing the top of hour 2 at a slower pace and excerpting the end of Jay Rowe‘s keyboard solo on “Waterfall” from SJFS night 2. Good thing I played “You Did It Again,” a song inspired by “Waterfall.” Watch the full SJFS performance here:
This was the second week in a row with two T-Square and Casiopea songs.
There were references to Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, and Pinky and the Brain.
Click here to download this week’s aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 6/21/23 June 22, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, City Pop, Computer, Education, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Technology, TV.add a comment
The June 21 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was still another one-day recording, done entirely on April 24. I’m not bothering with streak stats anymore. It’s a regular thing now. Pickups were recorded April 26 and 27, with extensive rerecording on May 3.
Let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way first:
The playlist was created alongside next week’s on April 15 and 16, with a tweak on the 22nd to add a Louis Hayes song. Annotations were written between April 21 and 23, followed by the talk break script draft. I hoped to get next week’s show recorded before Smooth Jazz for Scholars, but that didn’t pan out. The playlist and annotations were reworked to coincide with May 3’s rerecording.
I played two songs by The Square/T-Square and Casiopea in order to get through their catalog faster. For a time, I was obsessed with the piano solo at the end of “Night Dreamer.” The credits for “Midnight Dreamer” on Miss You in New York list one of the trumpeters as Allen Rubens, but spotty Discogs credits for that name led me to believe it was Alan Rubin. (Alan’s “Mr. Fabulous” moniker came from The Blues Brothers band and film.)
There were four retreads (down from five before swapping in Louis Hayes):
- “Sweet Revival” by The Crusaders (5/13/20) (with gargly MP3 audio)
- “Down & Loaded” by Bill Heller (6/10/20)
- “Lifecycle” by Nathan East (7/8/20)
- “Monster in the Attic” by David Benoit (8/5/20)
I’ve gotten more playful and goofy in my talk breaks in recent shows, either by going off script or working that shtick into the script. For example, “…East and West play bass the best…but it’s subjective.” Also, I didn’t think there’d be so much spelling.
There was a whole talk break centered around something related to anime because of the original David Benoit song I had in mind, “Yusuke the Ghost.” The May 3 rerecords removed all references (including later callbacks) and changed David’s song to “Monster in the Attic.” The morals of the story are don’t do fandubs if you want to work professionally in voice-over, and don’t blab on your radio show and blog about every little thing a creator you support does or has done.
As if all that weren’t enough, this show aired on the day I tested positive for COVID-19. It finally got me after three years and three months in the U.S. This adds to my production delays that began with the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony and continued with my mom’s retirement party last Friday and replacing my computer desk and hutch on Saturday. (Thanks to my uncle Scott for assembling the new one.) The advance buffer is down to four shows. After next week, what I’ve recorded so far (through July 19) has been reworked as evergreens without dated references. This will allow them to air as reruns if I need a hiatus. Beyond that, I’ve made playlists for four shows (including show 175), annotated and scripted one (as an evergreen), and partially annotated two others. Depending on how I feel, those will be the last shows until September or October.
Thank you for your continued support. I’ll close with before and after* photos:
*The true after photo won’t come until my dual monitor setup is complete. As of today, I am waiting for a replacement monitor (dead pixels) and its mate that I bought separately to replace the old one (seen alone in before, on the left in after). That monitor got scuffed when the tripod/webcam fell on it. At the time, I was vacuuming off sawdust from a hole my uncle drilled for the speaker’s power cord.
9:15 AM UPDATE: This is another one of those shows where I went the entire time between recording and airing without noticing a mistake: omitting Masato Honda on alto sax for “Midnight Dreamer” by T-Square and Friends. I also made a research mistake for “Over Nine Waves” by Alison Brown. Compass Records is her and Garry West’s own record label and Compass Sound Studio is their studio.
6/27 UPDATE: My dual monitor setup is complete. The replacement and mate arrived today and neither had dead pixels on their screens.
Instrumental Invasion, 6/14/23 June 15, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, City Pop, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Podcast, Radio, World Music.add a comment
The June 14 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded entirely on April 17, along with pickups. An additional pickup was recorded the next day. This makes for the sixth show in the last seven where talk breaks were principally recorded in one day, and fourth in five shows/fifth in seven shows recorded and mixed in one day.
Kudos to Adobe Audition‘s denoise filter. It perfectly removed the sound of my auxiliary location’s central air conditioner indoor unit which ran nonstop throughout my session. (It wasn’t cooling properly at the time, and was fixed the next day.)
The show playlist was created March 28 with a Keiko Matsui song swapped in on April 1. Annotations were written from April 3 to 7, and the talk break script was drafted April 15 and 16.
“Dave G.” by David Benoit was first played on May 27, 2020, and “Reverse” by Marcus Anderson recurred from July 13, 2022, 11 months ago yesterday.
Allow me to quote my talk break script for the many instruments on “Midnight Picnic” by EKO (John O’Connor):
[John] wrote the description and the composition itself, playing acoustic guitars, electric guitars, mandolin, bouzouki (boo-zooki), and charango.
…
Bob Loveday was on violin and recorders, Paul Ellis on keyboards and programming, Steafan (“Stee-fahn”) Hannigan played uilleann (“illin'”) pipes (stop illin’), Alec Dankworth on acoustic bass that was mixed in a way that sounded like synth bass, Neal Wilkinson on drums, and Geraint (“Grynt”) Watkins on accordion.
I learned the backstory of “Silent Storm” by Ken Navarro through a preview podcast he posted on April 5. The extra pickup was to redo a line that originally started with “and you can’t disturb the neighbors, right, Ken?” I thought that was obnoxious. Since recording, “Silent Storm” became the latest single off Love is Everywhere, and Ken went into the making and mixing of the song in another podcast episode.
Click here to download this week’s scoped aircheck or listen below:
2022 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony June 12, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Baseball, Basketball, Education, Football, Health, History, Hockey, Internet, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Rock, Sports, Technology, Travel, TV, Video.add a comment
Other Hall of Fame ceremony recaps: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2023
On Saturday, June 3, 2023, the WCWP Hall of Fame 2022 class was inducted in a ceremony at LIU Post‘s Alumni Hall.
As noted during the announcement in October, there were eight inductees (listed by name and graduation year):
- Jon Cole, 1980
- Kim Dillon, 1980
- Cosmo Leone, 1980
- Dan Reagan (“reegan”), 1981
- Suzanne Langwell, 1983
- Roger Luce (Lussier), 1984
- John Mullen, 1988
- Travis Demers, 2003
(In full disclosure, I was on the 2022 Hall of Fame Committee.)
WCWP station manager (and 2019 inductee) Pete Bellotti tapped me as the ceremony’s official photographer, in addition to the supplemental video I shot with my camcorder and GoPro to later combine with what his students recorded.
(NOTE: In prior recaps, I used the title “director of broadcasting” in place of “station manager.”)
Despite my best efforts, the performance anxiety issue I had with Smooth Jazz for Scholars affected me again ahead of the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony. My essential tremor got progressively worse, reaching its peak when my dad dropped me off outside Alumni Hall at around 12:30. I’m feeling stressed again merely writing about it.
I put my equipment down on a table in the back and began snapping away while also talking to inductees and attendees.
2022 inductee John Mullen speaking to ’19 inductee/WCWP station manager Pete Bellotti and Maureen Tuthill, interim dean of Long Island University’s College of Arts and Design (Brooklyn and Post campuses) 
Cosmo Leone, Dan Reagan, and family 
2022 inductee Travis Demers with ’17 inductee Neil Marks 
2015 inductee Jeff Kroll speaks with ’22 inductee Kim Dillon and her first presenter, Ellyn Solis. 
2022 inductee Roger Luce with ’13 inductee Bill Mozer, Suzanne Langwell’s presenter
The ceremony was hosted by Dan Cox, WCWP’s station manager from 2002 to ’22:
Current station manager Pete Bellotti had opening remarks:
John Mullen was the first inductee, presented by Dan Cox:
John’s acceptance speech:
Rich Kahn presented the second 2022 inductee, Jon Cole:
Jon’s acceptance speech:
Inductee 3 was Cosmo Leone, presented by Larry Lamendola:
Cosmo’s acceptance speech:
Kim Dillon had three presenters, led by Ellyn Solis:
Next, 2019 inductee Lew Scharfberg:
Third, Cande Roth:
Kim and her three presenters:
Kim’s acceptance speech:
At the halfway point, the Art Beltrone Founders Award was presented to graduating senior DeAnna Aguinaldo. After Pete Bellotti’s introduction…
…there were presentations by DeAnna’s WCWP colleagues: senior director Michael Moffa…:
…and Vincent Randazzo, student program director and vice president of The Wave (formerly WebRadio WCWP and MyWCWP):
DeAnna’s acceptance speech:
DeAnna with Pete, Michael and Vincent:
Before introducing Dan Reagan’s presenter, Dan Cox had kind words for his former student:
Like last year, the ceremony was streamed live on Zoom:
2019 inductee Fred Gaudelli presented Dan Reagan (“reegan”), the fifth ’22 inductee:
Dan began his acceptance speech by acknowledging Fred’s upcoming honor in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: the 2023 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.
With eight inductees, WCWP’s 2022 Hall of Fame class matched the amount of players, coaches, and executives enshrined annually in Canton, Ohio.
This shot my camcorder viewinder became the new cover photo for my YouTube channel and LinkedIn page:
Dan thanked me at one point, which explains why he emailed me before the ceremony asking how to pronounce my last name.
He also talked about Post professor Chris Dodrill, who I remember fondly from my time as a student. I asked Dan for Professor Dodrill’s email address the following Monday. Chris replied to me the next day, noting that he watched the ceremony on Zoom, and congratulating me on my induction last year (2021 class). He gave his regards to my aunt Robin Rose, who was an academic counselor at then-C.W. Post, and the reason I went there in the first place. Dodrill is now a music researcher for the Library of Congress, to whom he generously donated his vast John Philip Sousa collection, answering questions from fellow Sousa enthusiasts.
It was 20 years ago in April when Fred Gaudelli and Dan Reagan spoke to a class taught by Prof. Dodrill, after which I posted for a photo with them:
2013 inductee Bill Mozer presented Suzanne Langwell, and tied up loose ends from his brief acceptance speech when the ceremony format was different.
Suzanne receiving her plaque from Bill:
Once I took the photo, Bill introduced me to the ceremony attendees as the station historian, a moniker he first bestowed upon me at the 2014 ceremony. Perfectionist that I am, I don’t know if the title fits since I don’t know everything about WCWP’s history, though I’m flattered to be called that.
Suzanne’s acceptance speech:
John “J.P.” Parise presented his radio co-host, inductee Roger Luce (Lussier):
Roger and J.P.:
Roger’s acceptance speech:
Roger spoke to broadcasting students at Humanities Hall in March 2002, and again, a photo was taken with me afterward:
The inductee presentations were bookended by Dan Cox, presenting the last of the afternoon, Travis Demers:
Travis’s acceptance speech:
The ceremony concluded with Dan’s closing remarks:
After the ceremony, we see seven of the eight inductees and the Art Beltrone Founders Award recipient:
DeAnna Aguinaldo and her parents:
Dan Reagan and Cosmo Leone:
Fred Gaudelli, Dan Reagan, Brian Miles, Mike Maimone:
A group photo with inductees, presenters, friends:
I was taking shots without asking them to look at me, but Bill Mozer directed them to me. 
Travis Demers with 2021 inductee Mike Chimeri (me):
Travis and his wife Hannah:
A selfie with Joan Yonke, LIU Post Director of Development, formerly Director of Employer and Alumni Engagement:
To paraphrase Bob Barker, Joan is a loyal friend and true of WCWP.
Mozer and me:
Bill was praised by several inductees and their presenters, and rightly so.
Me with Roger Luce (21 years after the first time) and Dan Cox:
Roger and his sister Christine:
Roger, Christine, and her husband Neil Sass, editor for ABC News’s Nightline:
Finally, candid shots:
Joan Yonke grew up in Atlanta and was pleased to meet Dan Reagan, longtime director of Braves telecasts. (Hannah Demers [right] is also a Georgia native.) 
Preliminary stress aside, it was a pleasure to capture the day, catch up with those I knew, and meet those I hadn’t.
Congratulations to Art Beltrone Founders Award recipient DeAnna Aguinaldo, and to the eight Hall of Fame inductees: John Mullen, Jon Cole, Cosmo Leone, Kim Dillon, Dan Reagan, Suzanne Langwell, Roger Lussier (the one time I didn’t use his on-air name), and Travis Demers.
As of publication, I am working on the ceremony video and will update with the video once it’s ready. Thank you for reading this recap.
7/9/23 UPDATE: The video has been ready for a few weeks, but an unofficial announcement made at the end has yet to go official. So, I uploaded a version without the announcement yesterday, and after hours of processing, it’s ready for publication.
Instrumental Invasion, 6/7/23 June 7, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, City Pop, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Video Games.add a comment
The June 7 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over three days: hour 1 on April 13, the first segment of hour 2 on the 14th, and the last two (plus a pickup) on the 15th. An additional pickup was recorded on May 24.
The playlist was created on March 26, tweaked on April 1 to swap in a Keiko Matsui song. Annotations came between April 3 and 6 with talk break script drafted on April 9 and 10. I was 18 seconds short, so I padded out my outro with the “Blue Birdland” reprise from the end of “The Maynard Ferguson Hit Medley” that I referred to at the top of hour 2.
I got the idea to play “Sister Marian” by The Square (not yet T-Square) after Game Dave reminded me to remind his Twitch stream viewers (in the chat) what it inspired: Koji Kondo‘s Super Mario Bros. [overworld] theme.
For comparison, here is “Sister Marian”…
…and the overworld theme:
I referred to Steve Somers for the second week in a row when I came out of Dave’s liner with “Game Dave knows and I know…”
“7 and 7” by Paul Brown was the only retread this week, first heard last October 19.
Click here to download this week’s scoped aircheck or listen below:
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 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:
- “Get Da Steppin’” by the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio (5/11/22)
- “Everlasting” by Darren Rahn (6/22/22)
- “Tickle Time” by Herb Alpert (11/30/22) – while I merely had this Instagram video in mind then, I directly referenced it now
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:
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:
Home mic with Kaotica Eyeball attached:
Back next week with more music.
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:
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!
…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”:
Marion Meadows starting in the audience for “The Lift”:
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:
Now, the house band, beginning with percussionist Steve Scales:
Drummer Trever Somerville:
Bassist Dave Anderson:
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”:
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:
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.
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):
- “Avenida del Mar” by The Rippingtons (6/2/21)
- “Can’t Tell You Why” by Brian Simpson (4/22/20)
- “So Many Ways” by Brian Simpson (8/11/21)
- “Tried and True” by Dan Siegel (12/8/21)
And The Price is Right music cues I used were (italics are not in the video title):
- Showcase Cue 2 (Cue 56)
- Showcase Cue (Play It Again Stan)
- Every Room in the House Cue
- Showcase Cue ’03 [1]
- Calliope Showcase Cue (Family Feud 1994 Vamp)
- Bopsa Moog
- Main Theme
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.
MikeChimeri.com 