Instrumental Invasion, Christmas 2025 Edition (12/24, 5PM; 12/25, 9PM) December 25, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Baseball, Bluegrass, Christmas, Classical, Comedy, Film, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Media, Music, New Age, Personal, Radio, smooth jazz, Sports, Technology, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
A special three-hour Christmas 2025 edition of Instrumental Invasion was recorded principally on December 1 with pickups recorded during quality control on the morning of the 3rd and again that afternoon in case the show didn’t only air on Christmas. Indeed, it aired Christmas Eve at 5PM and reran on Christmas at 9PM. (I use the past tense despite publishing on Christmas morning.)
Before I say more, here is the scoped aircheck:
What I said in the outro is true. WCWP/WXBA station manager Dan Cox hosted a Microsoft Teams meeting for alumni on October 27. When he opened the “floor” to questions, I had two:
- May I contribute to the rotation of legal IDs voiced by alumni?
- Would it be okay if I recorded a special Christmas show?
Dan said yes to both. Right after the meeting I recorded VO for the ID, which turned out this way:
I didn’t start work on the Christmas Instrumental Invasion until the following Monday, November 3, when Dan answered a follow-up email about show length. He said it could be as long as I wanted. So, I chose to make a three-hour show. The playlist, created and tweaked between November 3 and 15, was reworked from the playlist for what would have been the fourth and final Christmas show of my Wednesday night run. (2020, 2021, 2022 recaps) The renovation hiatus ended that run sooner than planned. 22 of the 23 songs from the unused playlist were incorporated into this one with minimal rearranging. 15 songs were added to pad out the three hours (all under an hour in length), and the 23rd song from the original playlist was changed due to time constraints in hour 2.
Annotations drafting began November 5, when I completed my first playlist draft, and tweaks followed along through the 15th. For the first time ever, I’m sharing the script. Work on that began when my initial annotations draft completed on November 10. Tweaks continued all the way into recording and pickups.
I had planned on doing as I did for the last two Homecoming Weekend prerecords (2024, 2025), by recording and mixing live on my Twitch channel from December 4 to 6. I even did like this year’s HCW show and preloaded the music and liners into Adobe Audition multitrack session files. However, I developed an obsession with the video game PowerWash Simulator 2, for which I have the Xbox Series X/S port. I wasn’t about to halt gameplay for three days when I was on the verge of completing the game’s career mode. (I did that on December 6 and completed the game entirely [in its initial form] two nights later.) So, I recorded and edited all 15 talk breaks (five per hour) in a three-hour span on December 1. Then, I mixed them into the preloaded sessions. All three hours were within the 58:00 to 59:59 range Dan Cox asks of show files with hour 1 skewing closer to the minimum at 58:20, which I reworked to 58:36. Hours 2 and 3 required reworking in the opposite direction to reach run times of 59:58 and 59:57.
The December 3 quality control session required a handful of pickups with truncating in the last two hours for even shorter times. I misinterpreted an email that afternoon, leading me to think the show either might not air on Christmas or wouldn’t be limited to Christmas. The resulting evergreen pickups worked in my favor as Dan chose to premiere the show Christmas Eve at 5PM and run it again on Christmas at 9PM. The end result hour by hour: 58:39, 59:52, 59:54. There was no dead air between files as legal IDs bridged the gaps. That meant the show after mine began before the top of the hour.
This paragraph was written December 9 after learning that Gordon Goodwin died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 70. His Big Phat Band were part of my show with “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” It’s too late for me to redo the talk break for the set with the song as I’ve already sent Dan the show hour files. Gordon will live on through his music, not just with the Big Phat Band, but for the TV shows and films he scored.
“You wanna have a catch?” in the intro was a quote from the end of Field of Dreams where Ray gets to play catch with his father. The Colin Mochrie joke about “foreplay” (not Fourplay) is a sound command for my Twitch streams and was sourced from this Whose Line video:
And lastly, pianist Bill Evans crediting “Joe LaBarbera on drums” was from the end of a live performance of “Days of Wine and Roses” at Keystone Korner in San Francisco. It’s part of a posthumous box set called Consecration: The Final Recordings Part 2.
I’ll leave you with screenshots of each completed multitrack session on the morning of December 3 (before the evergreen revisions):
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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.
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.
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.
WCWP-FM 60th anniversary celebration weekend, 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony March 25, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Education, Football, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Livestream, Media, Music, Personal, Philanthropy, Photography, Pop, Radio, Rock, smooth jazz, Sports, Technology, TV, Video.add a comment
NOTE: Whenever possible throughout this post (no pun intended), I will list an alum’s graduation year in parentheses.
Sunday, March 16, at 4PM Eastern marked 60 years since WCWP-FM signed on. Located at 88.1 on the FM band, the public radio station emanates from the Benjamin and Elizabeth Abrams Communications Center at LIU Post. The school was known as C.W. Post College in 1965, but it has always been part of the Long Island University system. (Wikipedia entry)
WCWP was initially a carrier current radio station, signing on at noon on October 18, 1961. (That 60th anniversary was celebrated during Homecoming Weekend in 2021.) Art Beltrone (1963) was the first student voice heard at sign-on. Here is that sign-on:
Quoting Art from the aircheck:
Two years ago, a group of students and your announcer felt that a school such as Post would benefit a great deal from a radio station. We organized a small club at first, and at the meetings that followed, we talked radio, making hopeful plans for the establishment of a carrier current station, leading eventually into an FM station.
In just over three years, the FM station dream was realized.
WCWP-FM’s 60th anniversary celebration also spanned an entire weekend, from 6PM on March 14 to 6PM on March 16.
The celebration included a dinner on the night of March 15, held in the East Room of the Roosevelt School on the south end of campus. The dinner included the induction of the 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame class: 1984 alumnae Jeannie Moon and Laurie White, and fittingly, Benjamin Abrams. Ben Abrams, a founder of Emerson Radio, whose philanthropic efforts allowed for construction of the building that would house the FM station. In later years, the student-run web station would also emanate from the Abrams Communications Center, but I digress.
I considered splitting the celebration recap into three posts. Instead, everything is here, separated by dates and events in bold font.
This isn’t a personal diary of my experience, meaning I won’t mention things like when I arrived on campus, what equipment I used, and how I spent my downtime. This is a multimedia celebration of WCWP-FM’s 60 years on the air; the students, alumni, faculty, and volunteers who are part of its history; and the latest inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame. (Full disclosure: I have served on the Hall of Fame Committee since the 2022 class.)
FRIDAY, MARCH 14
Meet-and-Greet, The Rock Show
I only have two photos of the meet-and-greet in the lobby of the Abrams Communications Center.
First is my fellow 2004 alumnus Joe Sacco with WCWP station manager Dan Cox (1985).
Then, Dan took a photo of Joe and me.
All other photos were in Studio 2 for The Rock Show with Jeff and Pat Kroll, and guest host Neil Marks.
Before air, Dan Cox dropped in to speak with the Krolls (Jeff graduated in 1975, Pat in ’79), Neil (’77), and Bobby Guthenberg, a.k.a. Bobby G. (’70).
Jeff Kroll kicked off The Rock Show just after 7PM.
The theme was many songs that topped the music charts on March 16. That date in 1965 was when WCWP-FM signed on. Not every year was represented in the playlist, and only a snippet was played of the number 1 song in 2025, but the songs Jeff did play lived up to their chart-topping status.
Jeff’s wife Pat Kroll (née Champion) served as co-host…
…with the addition of Neil Marks.
About half an hour into the show, Jeff interviewed 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame inductees Laurie White and Jeannie Moon (both 1984 alumnae).
Jeannie Moon 
Laurie White
One hour in, Jeff and Pat spoke to Mike Chimeri (me), WCWP station historian and photographer, and 2021 WCWP Hall of Famer.
Neil Marks took photos on my behalf.
My lead-in was “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley – number 1 on March 16, 1988. So, I began my interview with a nod to my Twitch channel, and gave a shoutout to music streamer GnatChat. Nat does a jazzy rendition of “Never Gonna Give You Up” as her raid song. (She, too, is an event photographer, albeit professionally.) I posted an excerpt of the video below to her Discord chat server and she thanked me for the shoutout.
After that, I discussed my history with WCWP, dating back to my first show on October 5, 2001, on WebRadio WCWP, now known as The Wave. (Select scoped airchecks of The Mike Chimeri Show can be heard here. As for Instrumental Invasion, here’s the recap aggregation page.)
After my interview, Neil Marks returned to his seat. Music and banter between Jeff, Pat, and Neil took up the rest of the show, concluding with “Believe” by Cher, number 1 on March 16, 1999, during my senior year at Wantagh High School. (Neil is a fellow Wantagh High School alumnus.)
Watch a scoped aircheck of The Rock Show below:
More of the beginnings and ends of songs can be heard in the audio version of the scoped aircheck:
SATURDAY, MARCH 15
60th Anniversary Celebration Dinner and 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony
(with a pictorial tour of Roosevelt School presidential exhibits)
There was an open house at the Abrams Communications Center on Saturday afternoon. In this first photo, WCWP station manager Dan Cox showed the current makeup of Studio 3 to Neil Marks (1977), Fred Gaudelli (1982), and Suzanne Langwell (1983).
Neil, Fred, and Suzanne are all members of the WCWP Hall of Fame. Neil was part of the 2017 class, Fred was inducted in ’19, and Suzanne in ’22 (ceremony in ’23).
Suzanne Langwell and Neil and Lita Marks converse in Studio 3:
Jeff Kroll prerecorded an interview with Fred Gaudelli to air during Sunday’s FM 60th anniversary broadcast. (Scroll down to that portion of this post to see and hear it.)
Fred is not only in the WCWP Hall of Fame, but also the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame (2020-21), and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, receiving the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2023.
Cynthia Hochman, daughter of Benjamin Abrams, spoke to Jeff Kroll and Neil Marks. Listening along are Cynthia’s granddaughters and Joan Yonke, LIU Director of Development and Annual Fund. (Development webpage)
Suzanne Langwell also spoke to Cynthia Hochman.
Pete Sacoulas (2017) drove me and Neil Marks to the south end of LIU Post’s campus for the 60th anniversary celebration and 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony in the Roosevelt School‘s East Room.
Photos of the presidential exhibits will be shown at the end of this album. For now, I’ll note this was my first time inside the now-Roosevelt School since my first semester in Fall 1999. It was a building for music courses, such as Introduction to Music Theory. My professor was John Meschi, now the Director of Music Technology.
The entrance to the East Room:
The Hall of Fame banner and plaques, and programs:
As guests filed in, a photo array looped on a monitor to the left of the podium.
A straight-on podium view:
It makes you feel like you’re in the White House briefing room.
LIU President Dr. Kimberly Cline speaking with Marjorie Hyman, daughter of Benjamin Abrams, who was among the 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame inductees:
Dr. Cline speaking with Cynthia Hochman, another daughter of Benjamin Abrams; and one of Cynthia’s granddaughters:
Jeff Kroll and WCWP station manager Dan Cox speaking with Dr. Kimberly Cline and Vice President for University Advancement Kerry Kruckel:
Fred Gaudelli joined the conversation with Dr. Cline and Ms. Kruckel:
Courtesy of Suzanne Langwell, here’s a photo of Suzanne with 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame inductees Laurie White and Jeannie Moon:
The 60th anniversary celebration began with opening remarks from Dan Cox:
Kerry Kruckel, LIU Vice President for University Advancement, was next to speak:
Cindy Rogers, District Director for Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), delivered a citation on the Congressman’s behalf:
The citation:
Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition
Presented to
WCWP
Long Island University Public Radio
In celebration of its
60th Anniversary
On behalf of the constituents of the Third Congressional District of New York, congratulations on celebrating your 60th Anniversary. This achievement is a testament to your hard work and dedication to providing informative and entertaining content to the community as a student-run radio station. Best wishes for many more years of successful broadcasting.
Thomas R. Suozzi
Member of Congress
Third District of New York
March 15, 2025
Dan Cox read a statement from WCWP founding member Art Beltrone, commemorating the FM station’s 60th anniversary:
That was followed by prerecorded speeches from Hank Neimark (1964) and Ted David (1972):
Hank signed on WCWP-FM at 4PM on March 16, 1965, with the words “WCWP-FM is on the air.” (You’ll see him recite those words again during the 60th anniversary broadcast later in this post.)
Dan Reagan (1981) presented 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee Jeannie Moon.
Dan was a 2022 inductee with Suzanne Langwell and six others, and served as chairman of the 2024 Hall of Fame Committee.
Jeannie Moon posed with presenter Dan and her Hall of Fame plaque:
Jeannie’s acceptance speech:
Fred Gaudelli was one of two presenters for inductee Laurie White:
Dan Reagan (right) returned as the second presenter:
Laurie White holding her Hall of Fame plaque with presenters Dan Reagan and Fred Gaudelli:
Laurie’s acceptance speech:
That brought us to the most emotional part of the Hall of Fame Ceremony: the induction of Benjamin Abrams.
Two of Abrams’ surviving daughters, Marjorie Hyman and Cynthia Hochman, spoke on his behalf.
97-year-old Marjorie Hyman’s speech outlined the life and times of her father.
Marjorie’s son Peter and sister Cynthia watching her speech 
A standing ovation!
It was an awe-inspiring speech, one that I complimented Marjorie for after the ceremony. I also thanked her for the generous donation that led to the renovation of the Benjamin and Elizabeth Abrams Communications Center. I initially shook her hand, and continued to hold her hand for the length of our conversation. I nearly cried.
Cynthia Hochman, another of Ben Abrams’ daughters, was next to speak.
Cynthia Hochman and Marjorie Hyman proudly posed with their father Benjamin Abrams’ Hall of Fame plaque:
The ceremony concluded with impassioned remarks from WCWP station manager Dan Cox:
You’ve seen the photos, now watch the video:
If you’re wondering, Marjorie Hyman’s speech is at the 1:07:59 mark.
Ted David left a highly complimentary YouTube comment:
Superior videography to chronicle a major milestone in the history of WCWP, its 60th anniversary. The speeches by the Abrams daughters were the capstones of an amazing evening. Congratulations to the HOF inductees and to all who took part. Special kudos to Mike Chimeri for capturing this history in audio, video and still photography for our posterity!
Thank you very much, Ted.
Now, as promised, we conclude the Saturday portion of this post with photos of the Roosevelt School presidential exhibits.
SUNDAY, MARCH 16
WCWP-FM 60th Anniversary Broadcast
Jeff Kroll commenced the FM 60th anniversary broadcast at 3PM:
Jeff hosted and Pat produced:
Jeff’s view of Zoom on the Studio 3 monitor:
Larry Brodsky (1968) was the first studio guest:
As 4PM approached, producer Pat Kroll made a cameo for the Zoom participants:
Jeff ran a legal ID from Chris Maffei (2013) at 3:58 to clear the way for Hank Neimark at 4PM.
Hank repeated his sign-on: “WCWP-FM is on the air.”
That was followed by applause from Zoom participants Art Beltrone, Bernie Bernard, Junie Thomas, Jon Korkes, Alan Seltzer (1978), Joel Feltman, John LiBretto (1968) (also on staff for the FM sign-on), and John Commins (1973).
Bobby Guthenberg, a.k.a. Bobby G., was the second guest off Zoom and in Studio 3 with Jeff Kroll.
In honor of the late Joe Honerkamp, a.k.a Joseph P. (1974), Jeff Kroll went through a list of high temperatures on March 16 in 1965 and beyond:
Joe was, and Jeff and I (Mike) are, big weather enthusiasts. Jeff said in a comment to this photo in the WCWP Alumni Association album, “[Joe’s] presence was missed throughout the weekend celebrations.”
I showed the following photo featuring Joe Honerkamp (seated at the mic) in the 60th anniversary broadcast before Jeff read the high temperatures:
In the 5PM hour, the studio guest list picked up, starting with Lew Scharfberg (1978) (atop the above photo) and Jeff Jensen (1984):
Lew Scharfberg 
Jeff Jensen
Dan Reagan was next. (His wife Gina looked on outside the studio.)
Dan Reagan was followed by WCWP station manager Dan Cox.
While Jeff Kroll’s prerecorded interview with Fred Gaudelli ran (as seen in the Saturday portion of this recap), I stepped out of Studio 3 to take this photo:
Back live in Studio 3, Jeff Kroll spoke to “Grandfather Rock” Chris MacIntosh, host of Rock N’ Soul Gospel.
Then, it was my turn:
Rather than rehash my WCWP biography from the Friday night interview, I chose to compliment Marjorie Hyman’s speech on behalf of her father Benjamin Abrams.
Vincent Randazzo (2024) and Andrew Scarpaci (2023) were next, the most recent WCWP alumni to be interviewed:
Vincent Randazzo 
Andrew Scarpaci
The last guest of the broadcast was Jeannie Moon:
After noting 26 guests were interviewed, on Zoom and in Studio 3 combined, Jeff and Pat Kroll signed off:
Then, it was back to regular programming: Rock N’ Soul Gospel with “Grandfather Rock” Chris MacIntosh.
That brings us to the comprehensive video of the 60th anniversary broadcast, combining upscaled Zoom video, A- and B-roll from my two camcorders (as in the other two videos), supplemental photos, and the full aircheck. Enjoy.
For good measure, the audio from that video:
Thank you for taking this multimedia journey through WCWP-FM’s 60th anniversary celebration. It is the culmination of 11 days of production and post-production. I sacrificed tens of hours of my time, but I assure you it was a labor of love.
My next blog post should be a recap of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights: In Concert at Lincoln Center on April 1. (Jeff and Pat Kroll will be at the March 31 concert.) That will be followed by recaps of this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars, to be held May 2 and 3.
Otherwise, as far as WCWP goes, see you on Homecoming Weekend, starting September 12. (Yes, it’s a week earlier than last year.)
Smooth Jazz for Scholars 2025 dates/lineup January 28, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, smooth jazz, Travel.add a comment
4/19 UPDATE: Marion Meadows has been added to the Saturday lineup. The post has been revised accordingly.
Pardon the delayed promotion once again, but the 21st annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars is fast approaching. Jay Rowe made the official announcement in a December 4 Facebook post. Held two nights a year since 2013, Smooth Jazz for Scholars takes place in Jay’s hometown of Milford, Connecticut, and benefits the Milford Public Schools‘ music department.
Here is that official announcement:
Saturday, May 3, now includes Marion Meadows! Watch the promotional video below.
Timmy Maia is headlining for the second year in a row, it’s the fifth year in a row for Marion Meadows (2018-19, 2022-25), with Peter White, Nelson Rangell, Jeff Kashiwa, and Jackiem Joyner also making return appearances. This is Jackiem’s second time, having debuted on the second night in 2015, but I was back on Long Island to cover that year’s WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony.
Vocalist Lindsey Webster and the duo of Four80East finally make their debuts, five years after their intended debut appearances were canceled by COVID.
Repeating the information in Jay’s original announcement, my addendum, and the promotional video:
Friday, May 2
Peter White
Jackiem Joyner
Nelson Rangell
Timmy Maia
Saturday, May 3
Lindsey Webster
Jeff Kashiwa
Four80East
Marion Meadows
Jay Rowe
Location:
Veterans Memorial Auditorium in the Parsons Government Center
70 W. River St.
Milford, CT 06460
Tickets: $50 for one night, $85 for both nights
General admission tickets can be bought through Eventbrite.
Reserved seating must be ordered by sending funds to Jay via apps or a check.
PayPal: funhouse63@aol.com
Venmo: John-Rowe-43
Cashapp: $Jayrowe
Otherwise, send your check to:
Jay Rowe
P.O. Box 3723
Milford, CT 06460
**PLEASE SPECIFY WHICH NIGHT FOR SINGLE NIGHT PURCHASES.** (per Jay’s website)
I’ll end this promotional post with recaps of last year’s first night and second night.
5/15 UPDATE: Recaps are now up for this year’s first night and second night.
January 19 snow, January 20 aftermath January 23, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz Fusion, Music, Personal, Photography, smooth jazz, Weather.add a comment
After glancing blows from snowstorms in the first four weeks of winter, Long Island finally got a storm that left more than two inches of snow on the ground.
As day turned to night on Sunday, January 19, air temperatures fell from the upper 30s Fahrenheit to below freezing, turning rain to snow. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for Long Island, calling for 3 to 5 inches of snow with the potential for up to 6 inches in stronger bands. (Points north and west were under a winter storm warning.) Thankfully, according to my 12-inch ruler , only 3.4 inches of snow accumulated on my front lawn, and only about an inch on the pavement. Official totals can be found here. The NWS practice of reporting by whole number and tenth decimal point is why converted from fractions (3 7/16″) to decimals (3.4375″) and rounded off to the nearest tenth (3.4″).
Below is a photographic timeline from start to finish on January 19, or at least up to the point where I went to bed.
1:58 PM 
3:13 PM 
5:03 PM 
7:15 PM 
9:10 PM 
10:13 PM 
10:56 PM
At 9:04 AM on Monday, January 20, with the sun shining and no clouds in the sky, I took photos of the snow-covered driveway, front yard, and backyard.
At 10AM, I bundled up, put on my snow boots, and went out the front door to begin shoveling. I also had in earbuds to listen to Tom Schuman’s I Am Schuman album on my phone, which I stored in my coat’s inner breast pocket. Within 57 minutes and 28 seconds, according to my watch, I had cleared my mom’s car (with a brush), the left side of the house up to the oil tank cap, the front porch steps, the entire driveway, the curb, and the sidewalk up to the property lines. I had prepped to listen to Kirk Whalum’s Epic Cool album (a Christmas present), but barely finished the first track – “Bah-De-Yah!” – by the time I put the shovel against the wall and went back in the house.
While it has remained quite cold in the aftermath of Sunday’s snowstorm, no snow is in the 7-day forecast as of publication on Thursday, January 23. However, I am mentally prepared for more snowstorms this winter, and with more snow than we’ve seen in four years.
Until the next storm, I’ll leave you with a post-shoveling photographic timeline:
11:04 AM 
1:56 PM (It may have been cold, but the sun still did its job.)
David Benoit at My Father’s Place: A Tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas December 7, 2024
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Broadway, Christmas, Comedy, DVD, Education, Football, History, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, smooth jazz, Theatre, Travel, TV, VHS, Weather.2 comments
3/25/25 NOTE: Scroll down for an update to this post via an email from Steve Stoliar.
Wednesday evening, thanks to the generosity of my fellow WCWP/LIU Post alumnus Bobby Guthenberg, I was at My Father’s Place at the Roslyn Hotel to see David Benoit‘s annual tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas.
It was the first time I’d seen a live show outside of Smooth Jazz for Scholars since before COVID. That last pre-COVID show was Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber Fusion at The Iridium in December 2019. Wednesday also marked the first time I’d seen David and his trio since June 2019, also at My Father’s Place, three months after I saw The Rippingtons there.
Bobby G., longtime friend of My Father’s Place promoter Michael “Eppy” Epstein, first invited me to David’s show one morning in late August. I didn’t hesitate in accepting the invitation. We would meet at WCWP’s Abrams Communications Center by 5:45 PM and drive to Roslyn from there.
Since it was Christmastime, I anticipated David’s set would be similar to the one from his 2008 concert at IMAC (Inter-Media Art Center) in Huntington. (Little did I know that would be the last show I’d ever see there as the venue closed in June 2009, eventually replaced by The Paramount.)
My parents drove me up to LIU Post at 5:00 and we arrived in the parking lot adjacent to WCWP (and Hillwood Commons) within 20 minutes. In contrast to the flurry of activity during Homecoming Weekend, the Abrams Communications Center was as dark as the night sky, with most of the light coming from studio 1 and 3 where live shows were in progress. Thomas, the Wednesday host of The Rock Show, invited me in before retreating to Hillwood for dinner. I paced quietly in the lobby until Bobby G. arrived shortly after 5:45.
Bobby and I conversed on the entire drive to My Father’s Place, listening to David Benoit’s Fuzzy Logic (2002) CD along the way.
It was about 6PM when parked in the Roslyn Hotel lot. We walked up the stairs to the hotel lobby and down the stairs to the My Father’s Place section. (MFP was originally its own venue before relocating to the hotel.) Eppy Epstein was seated outside the entrance and Bobby introduced us. Then, we confirmed our ticketed reservation with the attendant in the entryway and were ushered to a front row center table.
My conversation with Bobby continued as 8PM approached. (He and Billy Joel were classmates at Hicksville High School!) We both ordered separate dinners, each choosing a seltzer with lime as our soft drink, drinking water in the meantime. None of the entrees interested me, so I ordered fried calamari and a “side” of mac and cheese. Our waitress told me the side dish, with shell pasta, was as big as an entree, meaning I only needed to order one bowl. It was all quite good.
I checked the stage for a set list so I’d know what I was in for. I found one on the stage floor by the drum kit. I didn’t think to write the list to my stenographer pad until the show had begun and the waitress took our dessert orders. I chose chocolate lava cake, which was a bit rich for me, even with the vanilla ice cream mixed in, but still good.
Okay, the preamble is over. Let’s talk about the show itself!
As you see, there was a fourth member of the band: vocalist Courtney Fortune.
David Benoit was on a Yamaha piano:
New York City native Roberto Vally played bass:
Merrick native Dan Schnelle was on drums:
And the aforementioned Courtney Fortune on vocals:
The front stage featured replicas of Schroeder‘s toy piano and the sapling Charlie Brown chose over fully-grown trees in A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Before more photos, let’s look at…
THE SET LIST
- It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
- Believe
- Medley: My Favorite Things/The Christmas Waltz
- Santa Claus is Coming to Town
- Originals medley: Drive Time/Café Rio/Kei’s Song
- Schroeder/The Doctor is In
- Vince Guaraldi medley: Great Pumpkin Waltz/Thanksgiving Theme/You’re in Love, Charlie Brown/Christmas is Coming/Skating/What Child is This?/O Tannenbaum
- Christmas Time is Here
- Just Like Me
- Linus and Lucy
- (encore) Cabin Fever
Set List Background Info
Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas compositions (except where noted) in the set were “Christmas is Coming,” “Skating,” “What Child is This?” (only on the soundtrack album; arrangement of traditional song), “O Tannenbaum” (arrangement of traditional song), “Linus and Lucy,” and “Christmas Time is Here.” That last song was heard instrumentally throughout A Charlie Brown Christmas, but a separate version added lyrics by Lee Mendelson, the special’s producer and co-writer (with Peanuts creator Charles M. “Sparky” Schulz). David first covered “Linus and Lucy” on This Side Up (1985), which led to an updated arrangement for “The Great Inventors” episode of This is America, Charlie Brown. David scored that entire episode, and many Peanuts TV specials (plus some Garfield specials) through 2006. The specials that stand out in my mind are:
- It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown – Features hilarious scenes where Peppermint Patty and Sally Brown botch their lines in the Christmas play – Similar scenes were played out in the series finale of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, where a young Stacy Ferguson (Fergie) voiced Sally
- You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown – Relegated to VHS, as of this writing – Features
improvisedplay-by-play by Steve Stoliar, a comedy writer, film historian, assistant to Groucho Marx, and impressionist (naturally, his Groucho impression is immaculate [no, he didn’t do it in the special]) *See 3/25/25 UPDATE below this list* - I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown – Focuses heavily on Rerun, Linus and Lucy‘s younger brother, and his desire for a dog, be it Snoopy or Snoopy’s brother Spike (partially recycled from episode 15 of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show) – This special marked the debut of David’s original composition, “Rerun’s Theme,” later recorded for David’s Jazz for Peanuts (2008)
3/25/25 UPDATE: Steve Stoliar emailed me this evening to clear things up about his involvement in You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown.
It was much more of a challenge than mere improvisation. Here – whether you want it or not – is the complete story: I had a friend who worked at Bill Melendez Prods. in a variety of capacities. She called me up one day and said, “Can you help us? We produced this Super Bowl show that Sparky wrote and there are football games with no dialogue that just go on and on and they’re repetitious and confusing.”
She gave me a VHS of the rough-cut and I sat on my living room floor starting, pausing, rewinding my VHS player and trying to time (without a stopwatch) how long each football sequence ran. Then I scribbled down some suggested narration, making use of a lot of alliterations and metaphors, such as you get from color commentators on sporting events. After that, I read it and tried to edit the copy so it fit snugly in the blank spaces. Then I went to Melendez Prods. in Hollywood and we recorded it – with Bill M. directing me – and me doing a sort of Vin Scully-inspired classic sportscaster voice.
It’s fairly miraculous that it worked out. “Variety” actually reviewed it and pointed out the sports narration as a high spot. Unfortunately, my pleasure in having met the challenge was greatly impacted by my late wife and me having been literally thrown out of our apartment by the Northridge Earthquake, which hit between the time I recorded the narration and when the show aired.
I was later rewarded with a lovely production cel (and original background) from one of the birdie football games, inscribed, “For Steve – In friendship – Bill Melendez” in black Sharpie. Sadly, even though it wasn’t in direct sunlight, the inscription faded. But – like Big Julie in “Guys ‘n’ Dolls” talking about the blank dice – “I remembers where da spots previously were.”
It remains the only Charlie Brown special that has any sort of shared writing credit.
End of story – except to thank you for the compliment on my Groucho impression!
Thank you, Steve, for correcting the record, and allowing me to post what you wrote. I don’t know where I got in my head that he improvised the dialogue. I must have misinterpreted the Facebook comment he left a few years ago when I said that I’d watched my digitizing of the VHS tape. On that note, Steve wrote in a follow-up reply…
Oh – also – that particular show was produced as a tie-in with Shell Oil and the VHS tape was either a giveaway or for sale at a low, low price at Shell Stations when you filled up your tank. So even though it aired on TV, I suspect it’s missing from DVD release because of the initial deal with Shell. Not sure. I also did voices for Melendez (what a great guy) on “Snoopy’s Reunion” and “It’s The Girl In The Red Truck, Charlie Brown.”
I’m inclined to agree with Steve about the Shell tie-in keeping You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown off DVD and other modern home media releases. It’s the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown is another special that has yet to go beyond VHS, but Snoopy’s Reunion has a dedicated DVD.
Thanks again to Steve Stoliar. Now, back to what I wrote in December.
Speaking of David’s originals, “Kei’s Song” is from Freedom at Midnight (1987), “Cabin Fever” (the encore) was on Waiting for Spring (1989), “Drive Time” originated on The Best of David Benoit: 1987-1995 (one of two new tracks), and “Café Rio” is from Full Circle (2006). “Drive Time” and “Café Rio” get the big band treatment on David’s latest album, Timeless, recorded in the UK with Spice Fusion Big Band.
David composed “Just Like Me” for 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas (2005), with Lee Mendelson lyrics that honor the feel of “Christmas Time is Here.” Vanessa Williams sang on the original, and David recorded a solo piano version at Steinway Hall in 2017, one of 17 tracks from his The Steinway Sessions…session that were saved for It’s a David Benoit Christmas! (2020).
“Great Pumpkin Waltz,” “You’re in Love, Charlie Brown,” and “Thanksgiving Theme” were Vince Guaraldi compositions for It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, You’re in Love, Charlie Brown (yes, more redundancy), and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
“Believe” was a Josh Groban song for the film The Polar Express, which served as the title track to David’s 2015 trio album that featured Jane Monheit and The All-American Boys Chorus.
“Schroeder” (set to Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”) and “The Doctor is In” were from the Broadway musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
That brings us back to the photos. For that You’re a Good Man medley, David portrayed Schroeder and Courtney channeled Lucy.
I’m not ashamed to admit “Just Like Me” drove me to happy tears. It’s such a pretty song.
When Courtney wasn’t on stage, the trio of David, Roberto, and Dan played instrumentally.
The finale: “Linus and Lucy”:
For the encore, a man at a front row table held up his LP copy of Waiting for Spring (I have it on CD) and requested a track from there. David chose “Cabin Fever,” one of my favorites.
I only got to meet and greet half the band. Roberto and Dan were deep in separate conversations and I didn’t want to rudely interrupt.
However, I did get to catch up with David, who signed my copy of Timeless:
I then introduced David to Bobby Guthenberg (who took the above photo). Bobby bought a copy of Timeless, and David signed that.
Bobby G. and I weren’t the only WCWP alumni at My Father’s Place that night. Voice actor David Kaplan was there, too. It was great to see him. He was talking to vocalist Courtney Fortune, who I then spoke to. I complimented Courtney’s performance and told her how moving her rendition of “Just Like Me” was. Then, Bobby took a photo of us:
My one regret is not getting a photo with My Father’s Place promoter Eppy Epstein before Bobby and I exited The Roslyn. Upon exiting, I noticed it was snowing!
Before meeting and greeting, Bobby offered to drive me back to Wantagh so my parents wouldn’t have to drive back up to WCWP for me. I accepted and called my mom to let her know. Bobby cautiously drove home in the rain/snow mix, once again conversing the entire way while finishing up his Fuzzy Logic CD. He switched to Timeless while waiting at a red light on Jerusalem Avenue.
Bobby dropped me off at the curb at about 10:30. I wished him good night and thanked him yet again for treating me to a memorable night at My Father’s Place. (He messaged me on Facebook upon his safe return home to Bayside.) I may return to MFP some time in 2025 if Eppy can book drummer Billy Cobham. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Thank you again to David Benoit, Roberto Vally, Dan Schnelle, and Courtney Fortune. You were all wonderful.
MikeChimeri.com 