SJFS 2026 Night 2 recap May 14, 2026
Posted by Mike C. in Education, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, smooth jazz, Sports, Thoroughbred, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.add a comment
Saturday, May 2, was night 2 of the 23rd anniversary Smooth Jazz for Scholars, hosted by keyboardist Jay Rowe in his hometown of Milford, Connecticut, benefiting the Milford Public Schools music department.
Much of the day was spent at Hilton Garden Inn, whether hanging out in my room or mingling in the lobby. I’d seen night 1 headliner Steve Oliver when I arrived Friday afternoon. On Saturday, I said quick hellos to Althea René and Steve Cole, who were among the night 2 headliners. I also saw fellow photographer Kat Gilraine, Mark and Phyllis Abrams, Rob and Melanie Hoogenboom, and Billy Okumu. At Veterans Memorial Auditorium, the site of Smooth Jazz for Scholars (within Parsons Complex), I saw Jay Dobbins, Judy Raphael, Steve Lewis, Jay Rowe’s wife Deborah, and his mother Mia DiStasi. I made a new acquaintance after the show, which I’ll get to when the time comes.
I left for the auditorium right after watching Golden Tempo make history at the 152nd Kentucky Derby at the restaurant in the hotel lobby. (Watch Larry Collmus call the race for NBC.)
It was another 7:20 arrival, and this was my gear down in the orchestra pit:
- Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens, plus a Speedlite 430 EX II flash attachment (only used for photos of the audience and during the meet-and-greet)
- 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; it’s connected to an Amazon Basics tripod and has a Takstar SGC-598 mic attached
- 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
I arrived at the same time for a set that began at the same time: promptly at 8PM. That’s when Kevin McCabe of JumpStart Jazz Productions bid us good evening.
Saturday’s student openers were the full Joseph A. Foran High School Jazz Ensemble, directed by Jessica Turner.
Kevin McCabe returned to introduce the headliners and house band, led by Smooth Jazz for Scholars music director and founder Jay Rowe.
Jay on his front-facing keyboards:
Saturday’s headliners were the aforementioned Steve Cole on tenor sax (and jokes):
Chieli Minucci on electric guitar:
…and acoustic guitar:
The aforementioned Althea René on flute:
…and Alex Bugnon on keyboards:
The house band accompanying Jay Rowe and the headliners was made up of Steve Scales on percussion:
Trever Somerville on drums:
Andy Abel on guitar:
…and Dave Anderson on bass:
SET LIST
1. The Next Step (Jay Rowe) (also played on night 1)
2026 single
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Andy Abel (guitar)
2. City Groove (Jay Rowe)
2023 single
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Andy Abel (guitar), Steve Scales (percussion)
3. Just Another Love Thing (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Groove Reflections (2021)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Steve Cole (tenor sax)
I love (no pun intended) the “Linus and Lucy” phrases Jay threw into his solos.
4. Attitude (Steve Cole)
Originally heard on: Without a Doubt (2023)
Featured musician: Steve Cole (tenor sax)
5. Time & Space (Althea René)
Originally heard on: 18 Karat (2025)
Featured musician: Althea René (flute)
6. Life on Mars (Althea René) (Dexter Wansel cover)
Originally heard on: Flawsome (2019)
Featured musicians: Althea René (flute, “flute talk”), Andy Abel (guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards), Dave Anderson (bass), Trever Somerville (drums)
7. Daybreak (Special EFX)
Originally heard on: Global Village (1992)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (acoustic/electric guitars), Althea René (flute), Jay Rowe (keyboards)
8. Mystical Remedies/Mystical (Special EFX)
Originally heard on: Modern Manners (1985), Sweet Surrender (2007)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (electric guitar), Steve Cole (tenor sax)
9. Sweet Sticky Thing (Alex Bugnon)
Originally heard on: This Time Around (1993)
Featured musician: Alex Bugnon (keyboards)
Jay Rowe did not play.
10. Night Groove (Alex Bugnon)
Originally heard on: Soul Purpose (2001)
Featured musician: Alex Bugnon (keyboards)
Jay Rowe did not play.
11. Synergy (Althea René)
Originally heard on: Conspiracy Theory (2026)
Featured musician: Althea René (flute)
12. Mirage (Steve Cole)
Originally heard on: Turn It Up (2016)
Featured musician: Steve Cole (tenor sax), Jay Rowe (keyboards)
13. Justice (Steve Cole)
Originally heard on: Smoke and Mirrors (2021)
Featured musicians: Steve Cole (tenor sax), Jay Rowe (keyboards)
50/50 RAFFLE ($965 pot) (won by John)
14. Spellbound (Alex Bugnon) (Joe Sample cover)
Featured musician: Alex Bugnon (keyboards)
(recycled from 2024 night 2 recap): The story behind Alex’s cover of “Spellbound” involved filling in for an ailing Joe Sample at Yoshi’s in 2013. Spellbound was the first jazz album I ever bought, in the summer of 1998.
Jay Rowe did not play.
15. Cool Summer (Special EFX)
2024 single
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (acoustic guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards)
16 (Finale). Love and Happiness (Trever Somerville) (Al Green cover)
Featured musicians: Trever Somerville (vocals, drums), Everyone
Before I get to the bulk of the photos, I need to thank Jay Rowe for taking the time between – “Mystical Remedies” and “Sweet Sticky Thing” – to praise the work of me and my fellow photographers Kat Gilraine, Ken Combs, and Keith McDonald. Thank you so much, Jay. We’ve known each other 20 years (since May 5, 2006) and I am grateful to have you in my life. I’m equally grateful to everyone I’ve gotten to know and collaborate with at Smooth Jazz for Scholars, the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony, and Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, just to name a few.
Now, photo galleries of each musician, beginning with Jay:
Chieli Minucci on electric guitar:
Chieli on acoustic guitar:
The house band is up next, starting with Steve Scales:
Trever Somerville:
Andy Abel:
…and Dave Anderson:
Medium shots:
Chieli Minucci and Althea René on “Daybreak”:
Chieli Minucci and Steve Cole (and Andy Abel) on “Mystical Remedies”:
Alex Bugnon, Dave Anderson, Trever Somerville on “Night Groove”:
Steve Cole and Jay Rowe on “Justice”:
Wide shots:
“The Next Step”:
“Just Another Love Thing”:
“Sweet Sticky Thing”:
End of “Night Groove”:
End of “Cool Summer”:
When the time came for the 50/50 raffle, with a $965 pot, Jay Rowe pulled out the winning ticket from the bag Kevin McCabe brought to the stage:
The winner was John from Brooklyn:
As you saw in the set list and video, Trever Somerville sang for the grand finale: Al Green‘s “Love and Happiness“:
Here’s how the rest of the finale played out photographically:
The big finish to the grand finale:
Jay Rowe’s closing remarks:
All right! Give it up for Alex Bugnon, Steve Cole, Althea René, Chieli Minucci, Steve Scales, Andy Abel, Trever Somerville, Dave Anderson, [and] I’m Jay Rowe! Thank you all so much! We’ll see you outside [in the lobby]! We’re havin’ our after party at Bistro Mediterranean on Bridgeport Avenue! So, come on down and have a drink with us! Thank you so much. We’re signin’ CDs out there [in the lobby], too.
The meet-and-greet photos begin with Anita Guris of 2 The Bridge Talent and the guitar she won, signed by all the musicians (Jay, headliners, house band):
Anita and Chieli Minucci:
In addition to that Fender Squier Telecaster guitar, Anita won two gift baskets in a raffle. I may not have had any luck in raffles, but I am proud for the lucky ones, and luck was with Anita this year.
Here I am with Steve Cole:
Althea René:
Thanks to Jay Rowe’s wife Deborah, me with Jay and Chieli Minucci:
…and after I’d put my EOS R7 away, an iPhone 17 Pro selfie with Ken Combs:
I said good night to everyone, exited the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, and headed back to Hilton Garden Inn.
I checked out of the hotel at 10:30 AM on Sunday, May 3. Even with heavy pockets of traffic in Greenwich, and in one spot each on the Cross Island and Southern State Parkways, the ride home (as a passenger) took an hour and 38 minutes, from 10:38 AM to 12:16 PM.
Cross Island Parkway Exit 25A, Southern State Parkway East:
Southern State Parkway Exit 13N, Linden Boulevard:
That’s the last of the photos and the last of my two-part 2026 Smooth Jazz for Scholars recap. The publication of these posts, and all the videos, is the culmination of a 19-day labor of love; from the moment I entered the Roosevelt School East Room at LIU Post (for the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony) to the moment yesterday when I clicked “save draft” one last time on the SJFS night 1 and 2 posts. Thank you for following me on this multimedia journey, and thank you to Jay Rowe, the Friday and Saturday headliners, the house band, Kevin McCabe and the JumpStart Jazz Productions crew, and all my fellow smooth jazz fans and photographers.
Like the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony video, I dedicate this two-part recap to my uncle Scott Stephen, a Milford native, whom I lost on April 23. The bulk of my post-production was done at the computer/desk hutch that he graciously assembled back in June 2023. Uncle Scott was a very handy man, a funny man, and as avid a fisherman as my dad Bill. I will miss him dearly.
SJFS 2026 Night 1 recap May 14, 2026
Posted by Mike C. in Education, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, smooth jazz, Travel, Video.add a comment
Friday, May 1, was the first of two nights of the 23rd anniversary Smooth Jazz for Scholars, hosted by keyboardist Jay Rowe in his hometown of Milford, Connecticut, benefiting the Milford Public Schools music department.
This was another year with minimal anxiety ahead of the ride from Wantagh to Milford, but I did bump into the right edge of my bedroom door before I left the house. (I was walking out to tell my dad something across the hall and my right shoe got caught.) I tended to the resulting cut quickly enough that it never swelled. I didn’t even need ointment or bandages by the time I packed up my gear in the Parsons Complex Veterans Memorial Auditorium that night.
Surprisingly, the Hampton Inn on Plains Road closed down. Thus, the official hotel was Hilton Garden Inn on Old Gate Lane.
After a quick stop at the store for seltzer to stock in my room’s mini fridge, the ride to the hotel took two hours and 16 minutes. It felt longer with multiple heavy pockets of traffic between the Throgs Neck Bridge and I-95 Connecticut exit 23.
Exit 40 led to Hilton Garden Inn:
View from the outside:
…and inside my room (taken Saturday):
I arrived at Veterans Memorial Auditorium at about 7:20. The parking lot by the baseball field was busy with a concert of its own; a rock concert. That was also the case on Saturday.
Yes, I lost with the three 50/50 raffle tickets I bought each night. Next.
Ron Hancox was at a high school reunion this year and Andrew James was also absent. That left a quartet of photographers: Katherine Gilraine, Ken Combs, Keith McDonald, and me. (Happy birthday, Kat, since it’s your birthday while I write this paragraph the day before publication.)
The gear I use:
- Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens, plus a Speedlite 430 EX II flash attachment (only used for photos of the audience and during the meet-and-greet)
- 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; it’s connected to an Amazon Basics tripod and has a Takstar SGC-598 mic attached
- 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
Promptly at 8PM, the lights came down and Kevin McCabe from JumpStart Jazz Productions bid us good evening.
The Jonathan Law High School jazz sextet, not a full ensemble, played first.
The Law sextet played three songs. I recognized the second and third as “Autumn Leaves” and “Song for My Father.”
Kevin McCabe returned to introduce the headliners and house band, led by Jay Rowe.
Jay was on keyboards, facing forward this year:
Friday’s headliners were Steve Oliver on guitar and vocal sounds:
Jessy J on tenor sax:
Brian Simpson on keyboards (but not keytar):
Marion Meadows (ladies…) on soprano sax:
…and vocalist Timmy Maia:
As for the house band, Steve Scales returned on percussion:
Trever Somerville was on drums:
Andy Abel on guitar:
…and Dave Anderson on bass:
SET LIST
1. East Coast West Coast (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Red, Hot & Smooth (2006)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Andy Abel (guitar)
2. The Next Step (Jay Rowe)
2026 single
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Andy Abel (guitar)
3. High Noon (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: Positive Energy (2002)
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocal sounds), Steve Scales (percussion)
4. Dancing in the Sand (Steve Oliver)
2026 single
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocal sounds)
5. Tropical Rain (Jessy J)
Originally heard on: True Love (2009)
Featured musician: Jessy J (tenor sax)
6. Tequila Moon (Jessy J)
Originally heard on: Tequila Moon (2008)
Featured musicians: Jessy J (tenor sax), Andy Abel (guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards)
7. I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) (Timmy Maia) (Hall & Oates cover)
Featured musicians: Timmy Maia (vocals), Jessy J (tenor sax)
8. I Just Might (Timmy Maia) (Bruno Mars cover)
Featured musician: Timmy Maia (vocals)
9. It Could Happen (Brian Simpson)
Originally heard on: It’s All Good (2005)
Featured musicians: Brian Simpson (keyboards)
Jay Rowe did not play.
10. It’s All Good (Brian Simpson)
Originally heard on: It’s All Good (2005)
Featured musicians: Brian Simpson (keyboards), Jessy J (tenor sax), Trever Somerville (drums)
Jay Rowe did not play.
11. Saturday Cool (Brian Simpson)
Originally heard on: It’s All Good (2005)
Featured musicians: Brian Simpson (keyboards), Jessy J (tenor sax), Dave Anderson (bass)
Jay Rowe did not play.
12. Michelle/The Warmth of the Sun (Jay Rowe) (covers of The Beatles and The Beach Boys)
Originally heard on: Jay Walking (1997) (“The Warmth of the Sun” only)
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)
This was a tribute to Michele Mueller who worked with the CD/merchandise table in the lobby on behalf of JumpStart Jazz Productions. Michele died much too soon at the age of 61 on February 26. The last time I saw Michele was on night 2 last year. I bought Jeff Kashiwa‘s Luminoso CD from her before the show, and she took a photo of us when he signed it after the show.
Thank you to Kevin McCabe for requesting this tribute and reaching out to me for the audio to play on your WRTC-FM radio show.
13. The Lift (Marion Meadows) (started in audience)
Originally heard on: Body Rhythm (1995)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)
The annual game of “Where’s Marion?” commenced in the left center aisle.
14. Treasures (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: In Deep (2002)
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Andy Abel (guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards)
15. Suede (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: Player’s Club (2004)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)
50/50 RAFFLE ($1,130 pot) (won by audience member whose name I did not catch)
16. Beso del Sol (Jessy J)
Originally heard on: Terranova (2025)
Featured musician: Jessy J (tenor sax), Steve Scales (percussion)
17. Chips and Salsa (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: 3D (2004)
Featured musicians: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocals, vocal sounds), Everyone (including the audience)
18 (Finale). Give Me the Night (Timmy Maia) (George Benson cover on 1980 album of the same name)
Featured musicians: Timmy Maia (lead vocals), Steve Oliver (backing vocals, guitar), Everyone
This is the part with photo galleries of each musician, starting with Jay Rowe:
Marion Meadows, starting “The Lift” in the audience:
On stage:
Turning to the house band, Steve Scales:
Trever Somerville:
Andy Abel:
Dave Anderson, with all photos from his “Saturday Cool” solo:
Medium shots:
Timmy Maia and Jay Rowe:
“High Noon”: Percussion by “the two Steves,” Oliver and Scales:
Jessy J and Andy Abel:
Jessy J and Brian Simpson:
“It’s All Good” ending:
“Saturday Cool” ending:
Wide shots:
“It Could Happen”:
Michele Mueller tribute medley:
The 50/50 raffle had a $1,130 pot!
Kevin McCabe brought bag of tickets to the stage, and Jay Rowe picked the winner that wasn’t me:
I didn’t catch the winner’s name, but it’s someone Jay knew.
For that reason, he had to make clear the raffle was not rigged. I blurted out to myself, “if it was rigged, I would’ve won.”
“Chips and Salsa” wasn’t the finale, but all the headliners joined Steve Oliver as it began.
The finale was Timmy Maia’s cover of “Give Me the Night” by George Benson:
The big finish:
[Part of] Jay Rowe’s closing remarks:
… Give it up: Brian Simpson, Timmy Maia, Steve Oliver, Marion Meadows, Jessy J, Steve Scales, Andy Abel, Trever Somerville, Dave Anderson! I’m Jay Rowe! We love you! Thank you all so much for a great night! … We’ll see you all at Bistro Mediterranean and see you all tomorrow night. Thank you.
The meeting and greeting began in the front row with Steve Scales:
Steve and I are both Hall of Famers. I’m in the WCWP Hall of Fame and Steve is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Talking Heads.
Out in the lobby, I caught up with Jessy J:
Brian Simpson:
Steve Oliver:
…and Marion Meadows:
And that’s a wrap on night 1 of the 23rd anniversary of Smooth Jazz for Scholars. Click here for a recap of night 2 and the aftermath.
2025 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony May 5, 2026
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Country, Education, Internet, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Rock, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.2 comments
Picking up on the format from the WCWP-FM 60th anniversary weekend, the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony was part of a three-day celebration, from April 24 to 26, 2026. This was the format for Hall of Fame Induction Weekend:
- Friday, April 24, 7-9PM: Welcome reception at the Abrams Communications Center
- Saturday, April 25, 6-9PM: Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Roosevelt School
- Sunday, April 26, 10AM-1PM: Farewell coffee and bagels at the Abrams Communications Center
Once again, the Roosevelt School‘s East Room dining hall was the site of the ceremony. The 2025 inductees were:
- Chris Maffei (2013)
- Tony Traguardo (1986)
- Ellyn Solis (1981)
- Cande Roth (1980)
Midway through the ceremony, 2026 graduate Avery Cochikas of The Wave, WCWP’s student-run internet station, received the Arthur Beltrone Founders Award. Art helped found WCWP, which signed on as a carrier current station at noon on October 18, 1961. In the role of program director, Art was the first student voice heard at sign-on.
This recap will include photos during and after the ceremony, along with an aircheck of April 24’s The Rock Show, hosted by Dan Reagan, 2022 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee and chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee. (I have served on the committee since 2022, two years before Dan’s chairmanship began.)
Before all that, I present the 2025 ceremony video, with a running time of 1:49:37.
After an adventurous Lyft ride, I arrived at the Roosevelt School well before 6PM; at around 4:45. Let’s just say it involved a northbound detour up and thin, private road. A few minutes later, we turned west and found ourselves on campus by the intramural baseball fields. Gold Coast Road soon followed and we turned south (left) for our destination.
It would be another hour before attendees and inductees began filing in.
I took these photos during the wait after unpacking my equipment:
Two photos featuring Ellyn Solis and her posse before the ceremony:
2025 inductee Ellyn Solis, Yvonne, Ed, Jill, 2022 inductee Kim Dillon 
Chris Poppe, Ellyn, Esme
Dinner was served at 6PM, and the ceremony began shortly after 7PM.
The master of ceremonies was WCWP station manager Dan Cox. 
The first 2025 inductee honored was Chris Maffei. He was presented by 2020 inductee Christina Kay. 
Chris Maffei and Christina Kay 
Chris Maffei’s acceptance speech 
Dan Cox looked on proudly 
Chris and Dan 
Loni and Rich Frazita introduced the next inductee: Tony Traguardo. 
Tony Traguardo’s acceptance speech (after the brief return of his Post Serial character, Swami Origami) 
Rich Frazita sneaked in bunny ears over Tony Traguardo’s head as he and Loni posed with the plaque 
Dan Cox and Tony Traguardo 
Time for the Arthur Beltrone Founders Award, presented to Avery Cochikas. Avery was introduced by his two station managers. First, Pete Bellotti, a 2019 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee. 
Pete’s speech was followed by one from Dan Cox. 
Avery Cochikas and Pete Bellotti 
Avery Cochikas and Dan Cox 
Avery Cochikas’ acceptance speech 
The last two 2025 inductees each had three presenters. First to present Ellyn Solis was 2022 inductee Kim Dillon. 
Second was Cande Roth. 
Third to induct Ellyn was Chris Poppe. 
Ellyn Solis with her plaque and her posse: Cande Roth, Kim Dillon, and Chris Poppe 
Ellyn Solis’ acceptance speech 
Ellyn Solis and Dan Cox 
Kim Dillon returned to present the fourth inductee, Cande Roth. 
Ellyn Solis donned her Midnite Progressive t-shirt when she inducted Cande. 
Third to present Cande was Phathead, her co-host on their eponymous weekday morning radio show on My Country 96.1 WJVC. Phathead is also WJVC program director. 
Cande with her plaque and presenters: Phathead, Kim Dillon, and Ellyn Solis 
Cande Roth’s acceptance speech 
Cande’s family and friends looked on from their tables 
Dan Cox and Cande Roth 
Dan’s closing remarks 
Ed, Chris, KC (Cande’s son), Yvonne, Evan (Cande’s son), Cande, Jill, Ellyn, Rodrigo, Esme (Ellyn’s daughter), Kim, Brian (Cande’s husband), Phathead 
Chris Maffei and Jeff Kroll 
Chris Maffei and Mike Chimeri (2021 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee) 
Christina Kay, Pete Sacoulas, Sami Jo Negron, Julian Wilson, Tessa and Chris Maffei, Charlie and Margaret Moehler 
The same people as above, but with Dan Cox 
Dan Reagan (2022 inductee), Jeannie Moon (2024 inductee), Gina Reagan 
Dan Reagan and Jeff Kroll (2015 inductee)
Jeff ran the board during Dan’s edition of The Rock Show the night before the ceremony: Friday, April 24. It was so good that it went beyond the usual two hours (2 hours and 17 minutes). Here is my scope of Dan Cox’s aircheck (thanks to Jeff for forwarding me the unscoped original):
In one of the talk breaks, Dan Reagan noted rain was in the forecast for the day of the ceremony. It did rain, and it poured. That’s why my mom Lisa suggested a pack my tripods and bag of camcorders in a tall suitcase to shield them. Thank you, Mom, for the idea. She and my dad Bill were attending the annual Freeport Fire Department installation dinner, in the vein of WCWP’s Hall of Fame ceremony, which is why took Lyft rides to and from my home.
Quick tangent: Before I packed up and left the East Room, Cosmo Leone, another 2022 inductee, congratulated my dad. I told him he was just attending the dinner as all FFD members do each year. Little did I know Coz had reason to congratulate. Bill Chimeri – ex-captain of Freeport Truck Company One – was honored for 25 years of active service, as shown in this photo:
End of tangent.
Dan and his wife Gina were kind enough to drive me from the Roosevelt School up to the Abrams Communications Center where our fellow alumni and this year’s inductees looked around WCWP’s renovated home. It also allowed for a more convenient Lyft pickup spot. (The ride home was conversational rather than adventurous.)
2019 inductee Lew Scharfberg talking to the Reagans and Lamendolas 
Dan Cox shows off Studio 3 to 2022 inductees Cosmo Leone and Kim Dillon, Kim’s husband Craig Ruttle (to her left), and Jeff Kroll 
Tony Traguardo and his wife Winifred Boyd (“Winnie”) with Rich and Loni Frazita in the student lounge 
Kim Dillon, Lew Scharfberg, Larry Lamendola, and Jeff Kroll look at the Radio Dataroom (transmitter room) 
Pete Sacoulas tours the Radio Dataroom with Craig Ruttle looking from the outside; Sami Jo Negron is to Craig’s right 
Cosmo Leone with Dan and Gina Reagan 
A tour of Studio 2 
Outside the new Studio 4, Pete Sacoulas, Sami Jo Negron, and Christina Kay view the Hall of Fame plaque listing all inductees to date
That’s a wrap on the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony recap. Congratulations again to Chris Maffei, Tony Traguardo, Ellyn Solis, Cande Roth, and Art Beltrone Founders Award recipient Avery Cochikas.
Thank you to Ellyn and to Julian Wilson for identifying who was who in a few of the photos (last names withheld).
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights at Tilles Center March 31, 2026
Posted by Mike C. in Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Radio, smooth jazz, Travel, TV.add a comment
Wednesday marked a twice in a lifetime experience for me. I got to see Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, mere steps from the Abrams Communications Center, home to WCWP, on the campus of LIU Post. I was part of a capacity (sell-out) crowd!
Here is the Tilles Center exterior, as seen in December 2025:
The Paumanok Stompers Traditional Jazz Band played in the Goldsmith Atrium, but were finished by the time I got inside.
51 weeks and one day had passed since the first time I saw Herb and his band at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Read the linked recap for more information on the set’s songs and their etymology.
Thanks to Bobby Guthenberg for giving away two tickets for me and my dad Bill. Bobby’s daughter Katie was also with us in row J. I was in seat 134, the aisle seat, with Dad in 133, Katie in 132, and Bobby G. in 131. Lori Downing and her friend Regina sat ahead of us in row H, and Jeff and Pat Kroll were in row G. (Jeff’s the biggest Herb Alpert fan I know.) For Bobby, Lori, the Krolls, this was also a twice in a lifetime experience after seeing the Lincoln Center shows. (Jeff and Pat were at Herb’s 90th birthday show last March 31.)
I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge meeting fellow WCWP and then-C.W. Post alumnus Joe Townley outside the Abrams Communications Center before reaching Tilles’s south entrance. Joe is currently EVP of content, programming, and new business for the production company MyEntertainment.
As for the show, I was much closer to the stage at Tilles Center, and I have a better smartphone: an iPhone 17 Pro. (My Canon EOS R7 wasn’t allowed, meaning a return trip to Dad’s car before going inside.)
Admittedly, some photos required enhancements in Photoshop, and not just color filtering. I think you’ll like what you see, though.
The show began 13 minutes past the scheduled 7:30 start, but it was nonstop action after that.
The modern Tijuana Brass was made up of:
- Herb Alpert – lead trumpet
- Kris Bergh – trumpet and percussion
- Ryan Dragon – trombone and percussion
- Bill Cantos – piano, synthesizer, marimba; music director
- Kerry Marx – acoustic and electric guitars
- Hussain Jiffry – bass
- Ray Brinker – drums
My dad loved Ray’s drumming, and Bill Cantos was delighted when I told him after the show that I knew Jay Rowe. Clasping his hands together, he said “tell him I said hi,” which I did (via text message) as Dad and I exited Tilles Center. I spoke to Jay on the phone back in the fall and mentioned the Herb Alpert concert on my pre-Smooth Jazz for Scholars itinerary. That’s when Jay revealed that Bill is another friend from his days at the New England Conservatory. (I already knew about Nelson Rangell and David Mann.)
The set list was mostly identical to last year’s. In fact, the first 12 songs were the same and in the same order. From there, the set diverged. Herb’s wife Lani Hall couldn’t make it this time, which meant no Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 medley. (Hearing their music on the sound system before the show made up for that.) Otherwise, four songs were new to this set: “Route 101,” “Mae” (partial), “Casino Royale” (partial), and “Up Cherry Street.”
Compare and contrast the set on this night with the one from last year. Some tidbits have been recycled. (The original album and release years are in parentheses.)
- The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro) (The Lonely Bull, 1962) – Original composition by Sol Lake
- The Work Song (S.R.O., 1966) – “Work Song” was by cornet player Nat Adderley
- Memories of Madrid (What Now My Love, 1966) – Another original TJB composition by Sol Lake
- Whipped Cream (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – One of two music cues used on The Dating Game
- Spanish Flea (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – The other Dating Game cue – Original composition by TJB member Julius Wechter (also leader of the Baja Marimba Band)
- Ladyfingers (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – As alluded to last year, this song found new life in TikTok videos
- Lollipops and Roses (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965)
- Bittersweet Samba (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – Still another Sol Lake composition for TJB – Serves as the theme to All Night Nippon, a Japanese radio show
- Mexican Shuffle (South of the Border, 1964) – If you’re keeping score, that’s four Sol Lake compositions in the set – Used in TV ads for Clark’s Teaberry gum (shown on the monitor), where it was known as “The Teaberry Shuffle”
- Tangerine (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965)
- I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – Preceded by Ray Brinker drum solo (photos below were upscaled from video freeze frames)
- Love Potion No. 9 (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – The album’s requisite striptease song
- This Guy’s in Love with You (The Beat of the Brass, 1968) – Herb’s lone vocal song of the set – Contrary to popular belief, the song was later reworked as “This Girl’s in Love with You” for Dionne Warwick and other female singers, not the other way around for Herb
- Route 101 (Fandango, 1982) (solo album) – One of several Juan Carlos Calderón compositions for Fandango
- Rise (Rise, 1979) (solo album) – Rap fans may recognize one part from its sampling in “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. – The performance this year was almost as long as the original thanks to many solos
- A Taste of Honey (Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965) – Again, Ray Brinker perfectly matched The Wrecking Crew member Hal Blaine‘s drumming from the original, right down to the bass drum taps to note the 4/4 time signature
- Zorba the Greek (Zorba’s Dance) (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – A clip of the titular film‘s dance scene (with Anthony Quinn as Zorba) was shown during the slow middle (seen below in an upscaled video freeze frame)
- Encore 1-1: Smile (Midnight Sun, 1992; Catch the Wind, 2021) (solo albums) – Requiem for departed friends, including Sergio Mendes, Karen Carpenter, Burt Bacharach (co-writer [with Hal David] of “This Guy’s in Love with You”), and A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss – “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin is not to be confused with “Sweet, Sweet Smile,” which was introduced and popularized by The Carpenters
- Encore 1-2: Medley: Mae (!!Going Places!!, 1965); Casino Royale (Sounds Like…, 1967) – another Bacharach/David composition; What Now My Love (What Now My Love, 1966); A Banda (Herb Alpert’s Ninth, 1967) – Fittingly preceded by band introduction (“a banda” literally means “the band”); Tijuana Taxi (!!Going Places!!, 1965) – original composition by TJB guitarist Ervan “Bud” Coleman
- Encore 1-3 (True Finale): Up Cherry Street (South of the Border, 1964) – Second composition of the set by Julius Wechter
Now that you’ve seen the set and know the band, it’s photo time.
“The Lonely Bull”:
“Mexican Shuffle” with Clark’s Teaberry Gum commercial clips:
Herb talking to the audience between “Memories of Madrid” and “Whipped Cream”:
He noted that this was his first performance on Long Island since 1984 at Jones Beach Theater. Jim Carrey, then a stand-up comedian, opened for him.
Herb and Louis Armstrong in an episode of Kraft Music Hall:
Bill Cantos vocalizing at the piano during “Tangerine”:
Ray Brinker’s drum solo between “Tangerine” and “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You”:
Ryan Dragon’s trombone solo during “I’m Getting Sentimental…”:
“Love Potion No. 9”:
Despite Lani Hall’s absence, Herb Alpert still spoke of how Sergio Mendes played Cupid and matched him with her.
Sergio Mendes explaining the Brasil [year] origin in Portuguese:
Herb’s “translation” turned out to be the origin of the Tijuana Brass:
Sergio replied in fluent English that isn’t what he said at all.
Perhaps because an audience member requested it, the Sergio segment dovetailed into the origin of “This Guy’s in Love with You.” Prompting the audience to sing along, Herb performed a moving rendition of “This Guy’s…” (in a lower key).
And there was another after “Rise”!
“A Taste of Honey”:
What do you think happened afterward?
The last song before the encore was “Zorba’s Dance,” known on !!Going Places!! as “Zorba the Greek.”
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass gathered at center stage and took a bow:
Then, it was back to their posts – no pun intended at LIU Post – for the encore.
Encore song 1 was Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile.”
The mood lightened back up for the five-song medley that featured a little bit of “Casino Royale”:
The medley ended with “Tijuana Taxi,” featuring a marimba solo by Bill Cantos:
He also played a horn honk on his synthesizer.
A night to remember ended with “Up Cherry Street”:
The end!
One last ovation! 
Herb Alpert has left the building…or at least the stage. 
Before departing, I grabbed two selfies. One with Regina and Lori…
…and the other with Katie, Bobby G., and my dad Bill:
Tilles Center marked a 7-day resumption of Herb Alpert’s tour. One night later, he and his modern Tijuana Brass were in New Haven for another sell-out show at College Street Music Hall. The rest of this paragraph was revised on 4/1: The week concluded with the 51st consecutive sell-out, fittingly on Herb’s 91st birthday, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Ryman just happens to be where Brass guitarist Kerry Marx serves as music director of the Grand Ole Opry. The tour resumes on May 10 at The VETS (Veterans Memorial Auditorium) in Providence, Rhode Island.
My next music event will be down the road from New Haven in Milford, Connecticut, at Jay Rowe‘s 23rd anniversary Smooth Jazz for Scholars on May 1 and 2, held in a different Veterans Memorial Auditorium in the Parsons Complex.
April 25, exactly one month after seeing Herb Alpert at Tilles, I’ll be at the Roosevelt School the south end of LIU Post for the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony Dinner, honoring the Class of 2025 (revealed on Homecoming Weekend last September) and this year’s Arthur Beltrone Service Award recipient. Until I recap that, thank you for reading.
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.
3/29/26 UPDATE: The official hotel this year is the Hilton Garden Inn. Go to Jay’s website for a link to a special rate.
My photos from day 1 of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black September 29, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Food, Golf, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Photography, Politics, Sports, Travel, TV, Weather.add a comment
Six years ago, I said this at the end of my 2019 PGA Championship recap:
Bethpage Black’s next big event will be the 2024 Ryder Cup. [All Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups were pushed back a year due to COVID-19.] The last thing I’d like to hear that Sunday, whether in person or on TV, is the “Olé” song, indicating Europe won again.
Not only did I hear that song endlessly in person on Friday, September 26, but it was sung as Europe defeated the U.S. 15 points to 13. The U.S. teams lost too many foursome and four-ball matches Friday and Saturday to make a complete comeback Sunday. (10/2 UPDATE: Europe clinched when Shane Lowry, who you’ll see front and center in a few photos, halved his singles match with Russell Henley with a birdie at the 18th hole. That gave a Europe a 14-11 lead over the U.S., rendering all other matches inconsequential.)
Even though my dad Bill and I were deferential to visiting European fans and respectful of Team Europe golfers, vice captains, and captain Luke Donald, the loss still hurts. So, this won’t be an in-depth recap, at least not verbally, and I won’t link to any media articles. The extensive gallery below will speak a thousand words per photo. That includes photos of players, caddies, vice captains, and captains of both teams. (St. John’s University alumnus Keegan Bradley was Team U.S.A. captain.)
First, the backstory.
The 2025 Ryder Cup was held at Bethpage Black Course within Bethpage State Park. Despite the name, the park is in Old Bethpage, not regular Bethpage, and uses a Farmingdale ZIP Code. Portions of the park cross out of Nassau County and into Suffolk.
Having played the Black many years ago, my dad can attest it is the most difficult of the four color-coded courses – Red, Green, and Blue are the others. That makes it perfect for major golf championships. Bethpage Black previously hosted the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Open and the aforementioned 2019 PGA Championship. It also hosted The Barclays, a now-defunct first leg of the FedExCup playoffs, in 2012 and 2016.
The four men’s golf majors are won by individuals. This Ryder Cup was the first time Bethpage Black hosted a team championship with bragging rights on the line for one country – the United States – or one continent – Europe.
Perhaps it was foreshadowing when my dad purchased Friday tickets shortly after Rory McIlroy won The Masters on the evening of April 13. Either way, we were going. Good thing, too, because I’d purchased a hat and short-sleeve polo from the Ryder Cup online shop in March. I proudly wore those at Bethpage Black, per these selfies with and without my dad:
We were prepared for enhanced security checkpoints due to President Trump’s presence. However, we were nowhere near him and only passed one checkpoint at the entrance without needing to empty our pockets. I brought along a portable phone battery charger that I’d bought on Amazon in advance of our trip, and it really came in handy. Three charging sessions – two on-site, one on the shuttle bus ride back to Jones Beach State Park – ensured I wouldn’t miss much photographically.
To that end, let’s get two other key photos out of the way before I let the rest of them speak a thousand words each.
Fans cheered and chanted “U.S.A.!” as Air Force One flew by on its approach to nearby Republic Airport. President Trump sat in a designated area in the grandstands by the 1st tee for the start of afternoon four-ball matches. The U.S. only got 1 1/2 points from the four matches, winning one match 6&5 and tying another. The score through Friday: Europe 5 1/2, U.S. 2 1/2.
(This parenthetical was written Sunday at 11:53 AM. The fighter jets just made one last Bethpage Black flyby, whizzing over my house seconds later.)
Food and non-alcoholic drinks were free! Dad and I ate lunch before going to the 2nd fairway and then I had dessert before we waited between the 15th green and 16th tee. I washed down each meal (cheeseburger, two two-packs of Grandma’s chewy chocolate chip cookies) with a can of Bubly cherry seltzer sparkling water, otherwise having two bottles of Aquafina pure water.
I bought one thing from The Ryder Cup Shop on the way back to the Jones Beach general parking shuttle bus: a screenprint pin flag. I’ve gotten one for each major event at Bethpage Black and hung it on my wall. Even in defeat, I’m keeping it up.
I said my dad and I were deferential to any European fans we encountered and were respectful of Team Europe. (My dad’s friend Mike even worked as an attendant in Team Europe’s locker room.) If only every fan was the same. The arrogant harangues by some U.S. fans, not all of them drunk, made me wince. Team member Sepp Straka moved from Vienna, Austria, to Valdosta, Georgia, when he was 14, played for the University of Georgia, and talks like a native southerner. Didn’t matter to those fans. I feel the harangues played a karmic role in Team Europe’s win. I’ll keep what/whom I feel also played a karmic role to myself. Inside the ropes, however, Team Europe was just better. Full stop. (“Period” is a U.S. thing.)
Side note: Other Europeans who are U.S. college golf alumni include Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg (“O-berg”) (Texas Tech University) and Jon Rahm of Spain (Arizona State University). I won’t fault any fans who gave Jon flack for defecting from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. My mind blocked out any criticism toward fellow LIV defector Bryson DeChambeau of the U.S. (University of Texas), but he probably got it, too. Honestly, I’m detached enough to be a LIV Golf agnostic, even with the matter of who funds it. To date, I’ve only seen parts of two tournaments, including highlights of one in Miami.
Okay, enough digressions. Now, the rest of the photos.
Bethpage Black’s next major is a women’s major: The 2028 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
The men’s PGA Championship returns in 2033.
The next Ryder Cup will the centennial, in 2027, at Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland. (I’m sure you saw the promotional tent.)
And the next major here on Long Island will be the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. My dad and I already have third round tickets. I should have better stamina than in ’18 and not want to leave after 2 1/2 hours.
It’s been a long 18 days, what with Homecoming Weekend at LIU Post (and WCWP), the Ryder Cup, and all the post-production (no pun intended). Now, I can decompress until the next big event on my social calendar.
Thank you for reading all the way to the end, and thank you to my dad for another great experience together at a New York area golf tournament.
2025 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming Weekend September 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Education, Football, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Radio, Rock, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Weather.add a comment
NOTE: Two of the alumni hosts, Alana and Tom, do not use their last names on the air. So, I have omitted their last names from this post.
This year, Homecoming Weekend on WCWP (simulcast on WXBA) and at LIU Post was the earliest it’s ever been: September 12 to 14. The date was made public during the WCWP-FM 60th anniversary broadcast on March 16. (Read about that celebratory weekend here.) Homecoming Weekend coordinator Ted David assembled quite the lineup, which began with me at noon (well, noon-ish) on Friday, September 12, and ended at midnight on the 14th/15th as Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh closed Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel with “Red Hot and Cooking” by Garth Hewitt.
The centerpiece of the weekend was the LIU Sharks football team‘s Homecoming game (and home opener) against the Sacred Heart Pioneers. (That was the LIU Post team name before the Post and Brooklyn athletic programs merged and moved from NCAA Division II to Division I.)
Once again, as unofficial station historian, I documented as much as I could of the entire weekend – on campus Friday and Saturday, and from home on Sunday.
I airchecked off the FM web stream on PCs in my bedroom and guest room via Audacity, where I would export as individual files, and then edit in Adobe Audition. Unfortunately, my internet betrayed me on Saturday. I recorded nearly nine hours of silence. I’m grateful to WCWP station manager Dan Cox for filling the gaps with his official airchecks and to Bernie Bernard via her show files.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
I arrived at the Abrams Communications Center at 11:30 AM. While Project Independence and You (one week shy of its 14th anniversary) finished up in studio 3, I prepped for my live Instrumental Invasion. It was the first time I led off Homecoming Weekend since 2017.
I made a separate recap of that show here, but I’ll at least share Pat Kroll’s photo of me during one of my sets…
…and the aircheck video (with an edited open):
Pat and Jeff Kroll had the next show at 2PM. Since their show and Strictly Jazz at 4PM would be rerun from 2AM to 7AM, Jeff had to be prompt, fading out my last song with 1:40 remaining.
Herb Alpert fans that we are, we both began our shows with Tijuana Brass tracks. My lead was “Spanish Flea” while Jeff used “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (covered on S.R.O.) as the intro bed.
Jeff ran the board during his show and Strictly Jazz. 
Neil Marks joined in the second hour to preview the LIU Sharks’ Homecoming football game against the Sacred Heart Pioneers. 
Neil Marks 
Neil Marks and Pat Kroll
Out in the lobby, Neil Marks talked to Strictly Jazz hosts John LiBretto and Hank Neimark about his long trip to LIU Post earlier Friday.
Hank had the honor of signing on WCWP-FM on March 16, 1965.
The Krolls with fellow alumni (and fiancés) Sami Jo Negron and Pete Sacoulas:
A partial video of Jeff and Pat’s show:
…and a full scoped aircheck:
John LiBretto and Hank Neimark hosted Strictly Jazz, the third show of the weekend, Friday at 4PM.
John LiBretto 
Hank Neimark 
Despite the title, Strictly Jazz deviated to pop in hour 2 by playing “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. Pat Kroll returned to read the song’s quirky lyrics. 
Jeff Kroll had additional “Wooly Bully” tidbits.
A partial video of Strictly Jazz:
…and the full scoped aircheck:
From jazz to rock, John Zoni was next at 7PM:
We went from rock to dance just after 9PM with Jay Mirabile and a special edition of The DFK Show.
If you’re wondering, I took a rideshare home around 6:30 PM.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
We jump ahead to 7AM and a prerecorded show hosted by John Commins:
David Friedland was live in studio 2 at 9AM, leading into the Sharks’ Homecoming game:
After editing what I’d airchecked so far, my mom drove me up to LIU Post half an hour later than Friday. We had to clear a security checkpoint before reaching the parking lot by WCWP. I unpacked and walked toward Shark Stadium (no naming rights this year) for photos around and above the field.
The bulk of my Shark Stadium photos were taken on the roof where Travis Demers, Neil Marks, and Jeff Kroll called the LIU Sharks Homecoming football game. Pat Kroll was the coordinating producer.
It was the 2nd quarter when I reached the roof. Travis Demers handled play-by-play for the middle quarters with Jeff Kroll leading the first and last. 
Travis Demers’s field view 
Remote equipment 
Pat Kroll’s notes 
You can’t call a sporting event without spotter charts. 
Just for fun, I took a short video on my iPhone that I later synced to the relevant portion of Dan Cox’s game aircheck:
Travis and my fellow alumni were impressed when I posted that video to the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group.
Before we return to WCWP, let’s look at photos on the field, sidelines, and bleachers.
I made it back to WCWP just before halftime where co-hosts John Zoni and Jeannie Moon narrated highlights and analyzed the first half. At the board was Andrew Scarpaci.
John Zoni 
Jeannie Moon 
Highlights, lowlights, and other elements were run in Zetta by Andrew, as seen at halftime.
The studio portion of the halftime report:
You saw how Zetta looked at halftime. This image after the game tells a different, but predictable story:
For the second year in a row, the Sharks squandered a lead. They gave up 17 unanswered points to the SHU Pioneers, losing 24-21 on a field goal as time expired.
In spite of another down ending, it was another exciting game for Jeff Kroll, Neil Marks, and Travis Demers to call on Long Island’s 88.1 FM.
I kept my camcorders and tripods in studio 3 to cover John Zoni and Jeannie Moon’s portion of the postgame show.
This YouTube video compiles the studio 3 halftime and postgame reports:
I’ll spare you the details of what happened in the Sharks’ next game.
On a happier note, programming moved back to studio 2 after the Sharks postgame show. At 3:30 PM, Homecoming Weekend coordinator Ted David hosted the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee announcement special.
Ted getting in touch with Bernie Bernard to call in and announce the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame inductees
The lucky quartet of 2025 inductees was Cande Roth, Ellyn Solis-Maurer, Tony Traguardo, and Chris Maffei.
(Full disclosure: This was my fourth year on the Hall of Fame Committee.)
Below is the announcement, featuring a cameo from me, here:
…and listen here (without the video’s cutaways):
Bernie Bernard’s prerecorded show ran at 4PM:
As Bernie’s show ran in automation, I joined my fellow alumni outside for the Homecoming barbecue. We’ll use this time for a photographic interlude.
First, Ted’s selfie with me:
Bobby Guthenberg (Bobby G.), Neil Marks, Lew Scharfberg 
Neil Marks, Laurie White, Jeannie Moon, Lew Scharfberg 
Ted David, Rich Lacourciere, new HOF inductee Tony Traguardo, John Zoni, John Mullen, Frank Iemitti, WCWP station manager Dan Cox 
Mike Chimeri, Rich Lacourciere, Tony Traguardo, John Zoni, John Mullen, Frank Iemitti, Dan Cox 
Mike Chimeri and Travis Demers 
Mike Chimeri and Alana 
Mike Chimeri and John Zoni 
Alana next to the WCWP-FM 60th anniversary banner
Live programming returned to studio 2 at 6PM with Bobby G. and Mike Riccio. The dynamic duo counted down most of the 50 songs in the “First Annual WCWP Beatle Spectacular Hit-List.” Published in December 1969, the list represented the most popular Beatles songs as voted by WCWP listeners.
Bobby G. 
Mike Riccio 
With candid photos of Bobby G. and Mike Riccio out of the way, I had them pose for this photo. 
I took this selfie early in the second of two talk breaks.
You can watch those first three talk breaks here:
…and here is the full scoped aircheck:
Incidentally, this is my scan of a copy of the First Annual WCWP Beatle Spectacular Hit-List:
Vincent Randazzo and a host of others were on hand for a special edition of The Alternative Jukebox at 9PM:
Vince’s show was three hours, but half the time was spent chatting with current and recently-graduated staff. It was quite informative. (Shoutout to Post-Party Depression.)
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
The prerecorded Instrumental Invasion ran at midnight. Click here for a full recap, then come back for the rest of this recap.
I will again share the aircheck scope, though:
9/23 UPDATE: And why not include a 65x speed montage of the two Twitch streams that served as recording sessions?
All other info is in the show recap. If you’re returning from that post, welcome back.
Tom was up bright and early at 6AM for the Homecoming Weekend edition of The Dad Rock Show:
Jay LaPrise followed at 8AM with a playlist featuring songs by artists he saw live in concert:
Alana’s The Rockin’ Sunday Show normally airs at noon, but aired in its original 10AM slot on Homecoming Weekend.
Jumping ahead to 1PM, Ted David and Jeff Kroll co-hosted The Joe Show, a remembrance of the late Joseph P. “Joe” Honerkamp.
Joe was a fixture at WCWP for over 50 years, and had a long professional career which included radio stints at WYNY and WHN, and TV production on the weekend Today show.
Among those to reflect on the life and times of Joseph P. were his widow Kathy Honerkamp and their daughters Melanie and Diana. Kathy and Melanie are seen here in studio 2. Diana spoke by phone.
Bruce Leonard and Joel Feltman were also among those to call in.
The scoped aircheck (there were a few songs played) can be heard here:
Ted David shifted to the board at 2PM, playing a wide variety of music over the next hours:
Billy the Kid (Billy Houst) and Joey C. (Joe Conte) had the last two-hour show at 4PM: Masters of Metal.
The penultimate show of Homecoming Weekend began at 6PM: The Ladies of Prison Break Radio, Jamie Mazzo and Sara Dorchak.
And putting a bow on the weekend, my children, was Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh and Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel. Check it out.
Post-production, no pun intended, began as Homecoming Weekend was in progress on September 13 and concluded on the evening of the 21st with publication of this post and the Instrumental Invasion posts.
Thank you very much for reading all the way to the end. It bears repeating: documenting events like this is a labor of love. The next time I step on the campus of LIU Post will be March 25, 2026, for a twice-in-a-lifetime experience thanks to Bobby Guthenberg. My mom and I will get to see Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and Other Delights again for their Tilles Center set. (Read about their April 1 Jazz at the Lincoln Center show here.)
This post is not only dedicated to the memory of Joe Honerkamp, but also Jett Lightning. Jett (Julio) fell ill in the days leading up to Homecoming Weekend and passed away on the morning of September 13. He will be sorely missed at WCWP. I’ll leave you with a photo of Jett taken last year…
…and a scope of his 2022 Homecoming Weekend show featuring Jay Elzweig, who is also no longer with us.
Instrumental Invasion, 9/12/25, 12PM (Homecoming Weekend) (Live!) September 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, smooth jazz, Sports, Travel, Video.add a comment
Other posts: 9/14 12AM prerecorded show recap, comprehensive Homecoming Weekend recap
The live edition of Instrumental Invasion kicked off the 2025 edition of WCWP‘s alumni-run Homecoming Weekend programming block aired at 12PM Friday. (More like 12:03, but I dwell on that enough in the aircheck below.) Whereas last year’s live show was immediately followed by Strictly Jazz, Jeff and Pat Kroll bridged the gap to 4PM with their 2PM show. This was my introduction to new station branding, thanks to a merger with WXBA in Brentwood: “Long Island’s 88.1 FM, WCWP Brookville and WXBA Brentwood, LIU Public Radio.”
Before I get into how this Instrumental Invasion show was made and share photos taken during the show, let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way…
…along with video synced to the scope.
You’ll notice I edited the opening talk break and that it lacks video. I was so ashamed of what happened behind the scenes before playing “InsInvShowOpen” in Zetta that I deleted the raw video file six days after exporting it from the SD card. The important thing is I passed the figurative trial by fire and will know what to do next time. I’ll also try my hardest to follow the advice I forgot in the moment: don’t acknowledge (or dwell on) a mistake. Carry on like nothing happened and handle any issues off-mic.
The playlist for the live Instrumental Invasion was created July 28. This year, I knew would have a second prerecorded show and started working on that playlist the next day. The live playlist was tweaked on August 1 and 17. Annotations were drafted on July 30; August 1, 2, 4, 5, and 17; and once more on September 10. For the sake of spontaneity, I do not make scripts for live shows. I read the annotations cold after each set and otherwise ad-libbed.
Again, the live theme was a 60-year musical journey, coincidentally tying in with WCWP-FM’s 60th anniversary. The August 17 playlist tweak was for the 2025 portion. I found about T-Square‘s new Turn the Page! album (post-announcement Reddit thread), and replaced a different 2025 song (I won’t name the artist) with “Front Runner.”
All programming not involving the LIU Sharks’ Homecoming football game against the Sacred Heart Pioneers emanated from studio 2 at the Abrams Communications Center. Sharks football pre- and postgame shows, and the halftime report, were based in studio 3.
Here are photos I took in studio 2 during hour 2:
My playlist and annotation pages 
Zetta, which I quickly acclimated to
Thanks to Pat Kroll for this photo of me at the board:
Read about this year’s prerecorded two-hour Instrumental Invasion here.
2025 Long Island Retro Gaming expo recap: touring the expo August 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Computer, History, Internet, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, TV, VHS, Video, Video Games, Weather, Wrestling.add a comment
If you haven’t viewed part one yet, click here. Skip ahead to part three here.
Settle in for a comprehensive photographic tour of as much as I could see at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale during the 10th annual Long Island Retro Gaming Expo.
FIRST FLOOR
Vendor Marketplace:
The marketplace as seen from the second floor:
Sponsors:
Ticket prices:
Hangar Arcade:
NES Indie Game Exhibit:
VGNYsoft Physical Indie Games:
Homebrew/Indie Showcase:
PokéLab:
PCs:
(NOTE: This gallery is a mix of photos from PC Freeplay, PC Museum, and regional exclusive computers that were part of the Retro Gaming Museum exhibit.)
Console Freeplay:
Art Gallery:
Gaming hardware displays:
40 Years of the Nintendo Entertainment System:
“Thank you to this year’s museum donors!”
Vintage ad for the Batman Forever video game:
An episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!:
NES Challenges outside the Main Theatre (at least on the middle two):
SECOND FLOOR
LIU Sharks Game Showcase:
This was another table I was too shy to approach. I really should have, being an alumnus of LIU Post and WCWP. It is fitting, though, that in a year where Benjamin Abrams was inducted into the WCWP Hall of Fame, the LIU Sharks Game Showcase table included a TV/DVD player made by Emerson.
Retroware games:
Time Crisis on a modern TV!
Console History Exhibit:
The Arcade Age Exhibit
Other second floor attractions:
THIRD FLOOR
The Floor of Oddities:
And a bonus from the Cradle of Aviation Museum’s Pan Am exhibit:
The Boeing 707: A Fast Story:
That’s the end of the tour. All that remains is part three of my recap with a conclusion and pickups photos.
2025 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo: introduction, guests, staff, fellow attendees, panels August 21, 2025
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Aviation, Books, Computer, Education, History, Internet, Magazine, Media, Personal, Photography, Podcast, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Video Games.add a comment
Feel free to skip ahead to part two (touring the expo) or part three (conclusion and pickups).
INTRODUCTION
2025 marked the 10th anniversary Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, held annually (except during COVID) in the Cradle of Aviation Museum, on the right end of Museum Row in Uniondale*. For the 10th anniversary, LI Retro celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System‘s New York area launch, introduced to the world in places such as Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream.
*I had no idea that LI Retro’s first year was the same year that East Garden City (a.k.a. Nassau Hub) was absorbed into Uniondale and is no longer a census-designated place. Keep that in mind when you read my earlier recaps.
I have attended seven of LI Retro’s nine years. I started small in 2017, only spending two hours there on Sunday afternoon. I was there the entire weekend in 2018 and ’19, and have used my weekend pass on two of the three days since 2022. By 2023, I had to spread my recaps out into three parts because I took so many pictures, mostly of the exhibits (as seen in 2024). That’s what I’m doing again this year.
Tickets went on sale in February and guests were announced in July. Some of those guests will be chronicled below.
You’ll be happy to know there weren’t any mishaps this year. None of my equipment was wrecked and no cups of coffee were spilled.
ARRIVING AT THE MUSEUM
My mom pulled into the Cradle of Aviation Museum parking lot at 9:38 AM on Saturday.
I exited the car with badge QR code printout in hand. I had the lanyard for my badge wrapped around my neck, along with my Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens and Speedlite 430EX II attached. (I only used the latter on for flash photos, and never during panels.)
Inside, I was ushered to the box office where my QR code was scanned and I was handed my weekend badge. I attached to my lanyard and made my way to the first of four panels I had in mind. We’ll see photos from those later in this post.
The LI Retro staff is great and I’m honored to know them. Sunday morning, I met up with staff member Ryan Shapiro and he took this selfie of us:
Thank you, as always, Ryan.
PHOTOS WITH GUESTS AND CANDID PHOTOS OF THEIR TABLES
John Lester (Gamester81)
John is among the first on YouTube with a channel devoted to video games and collecting. Beyond that, he started Game On Expo in Phoenix, Arizona, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in April. He is the co-owner of CollectorVision Games and developed their Sydney Hunter series. Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is the first in that series available on modern consoles.
I got a photo with John after his The Evolution of Retro Collecting panel.
Check out his LI Retro vlog:
Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson
Pat and Ian have been a fixture at Long Island Retro Gaming Expo since 2019, and I never miss their panel, recorded live for their Completely Unnecessary Podcast (a.k.a. CU Podcast). Like John Lester, Pat Contri’s YouTube journey began in 2008 with his Pat the NES Punk series, a fictionalized take on his life as a video game fan and collector. Pat’s YouTube channel also includes Flea Market Madness (sometimes featuring Frank, a fellow New Jersey transplant in San Diego), The Video Game Years retrospective, the aforementioned CU Podcast in video form, and the Not So Common Podcast with Alex Faciane.
Alongside the many Charlie Brown/Peanuts Christmas TV specials, it’s an annual tradition of mine to watch Pat the NES Punk Christmas episodes every December. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but the first two are the most sentimental. Incidentally, I can’t look at R.O.B., the original face of the NES, without hearing the Punch-Out!! opponent “voice.”
A big component of this year’s LI Retro was print media’s role in video game preservation. Pat’s Ultimate Nintendo series does its part. I have been a loyal reader since the Guide to the NES Library, which I bought from Pat (along with Pat the NES Punk DVD sets) in 2019. I helped fund Guide to the SNES Library later that year and last year, the latest book (as seen behind Ian, me, and Pat): Guide to the N64 Library. Pat, Ian, and an all-star lineup of reviewers break down every release for Nintendo’s first three home consoles. I used the Ultimate Nintendo app after each day of LI Retro to add any NES pickups to my collection. (Buy Ultimate Nintendo books here.)
Thank you to Kristen for taking this photo:
I returned the favor by having Kristen pose with Pat and Ian:
Adam Koralik
Sunday afternoon, “Mike Camera” and Adam Koralik met a third time. (That’s my server name on his Discord.) Adam’s trusty Sega Pluto prototype was part of the Retro Gaming Museum exhibit and he was more than happy to discuss it with attendees and have them try out its few playable games.
And of course, I had to get a selfie:
More exhibit photos can be found in part two of this year’s recap.
Matthew Sussman
While I did not meet actor Matthew Sussman, the original English language voice of Meowth in the Pokémon anime, he was a big draw, as seen in this Saturday photo.
I learned from an attendee in line outside the museum Sunday morning that Matthew is a fellow photographer, also in the Canon ecosystem. His camera of choice is the EOS R6 Mark II.
Ryan Burger
Ryan is the publisher of Old School Gamer Magazine, a literal mom-and-pop operation, at least at conventions. On staff at LI Retro were his wife Becky (who took the photo below), and their daughters Paige (the manager) and Rachel.
Ryan graciously gifted me with Old School Gamer Magazine Issue 46, which I held in our Sunday morning photo. You’ll see it again among the pickups in part three. Ryan was part of the third Saturday panel I attended: The Role Print Media Plays in Video Game Preservation. One of Ryan’s fellow panelists was…
Leonard Herman
I remain grateful to The Immortal John Hancock for introducing me to Leonard Herman at their joint 2018 panel. It inspired me to buy Phoenix IV and many other books. I have become good friends with Lenny and his table manager Patrick Wong, and a fixture at any panel Lenny is part of. (If I got the title wrong, either of you can let me know and I’ll edit post haste.)
Lenny is putting the finishing touches on Phoenix 5, to be released in two volumes in 2026 via Jeremy Parish’s Press Run, a division of Limited Run Games. (Jeremy and two rotating Retronauts co-hosts rounded out Saturday’s print media panel.)
Lenny with Patrick Wong on Saturday:
Patrick took our photo on Sunday:
One of the books I bought two years ago was ABC to the VCS, and I think Lenny would be proud that I bought five Atari VCS/2600 games this year. I was inspired to do so because I sought out any games programmed by the quartet of…
Dan and Garry Kitchen, David Crane, John Van Ryzin
Regrettably, I was too shy to approach Dan, Garry, David, or John, but I bought Ghostbusters (designed by David, programmed for 2600 by Dan), Donkey Kong (programmed for 2600 by Garry), and Pitfall! (by David). I couldn’t find H.E.R.O., designed by John. And because of my shyness, I didn’t buy any of their new games made for the 2600.
The new games, by Audacity Games, included:
- Circus Convoy (by David Crane and Garry Kitchen)
- Casey’s Gold (by Dan Kitchen; in second photo above)
- Alien Abduction (by John Van Ryzin)
Dan and Garry Kitchen, and David Crane are seated from left to right. John Van Ryzin is standing in the right corner of the photo. 
I forget if Dan Kitchen or Ryan Burger was playing Casey’s Gold in this candid photo Sunday morning.
That takes care of the guest photos. Photos with fellow attendees are coming up after a look at the quartet of panels I saw.
PANELS
Saturday Panel 1, 10:30-11:30 AM
Panel Room 2 (now upstairs in The Sperry Classroom)
John Lester (Gamester81)
The Evolution of Retro Collecting: From Hobby to Industry
Saturday Panel 2, 12-1PM
Main Theatre
Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson
CU Podcast Live!
The main topic for this edition of The CU Podcast was this video by Phil1Up Collects:
Next on the agenda, NES trivia:
I got the first question right: Which game was released for the NES licensed, unlicensed, and licensed again? I raised my hand and answered “Pac-Man.” I was right, and earned a sticker. As a supporter of The Gaming Historian (and yes, I read a quote in a video), I chose a GH Patreon supporter sticker to go with the one I have from my days as a supporter.
Alex and Daniel Greenberg in the audience:
Q&A:
As usual, I had a question: playing off the Gaming Historian sticker, I asked if Pat or Ian had been in touch with Norman Caruso since he announced last April that he was giving up pursuing the YouTube channel full time. Great news: Norm is still creating. He co-hosts An Old Timey Podcast with his wife Kristin.
Pat was surprised that we went the entire Q&A session without invoking the ill-fated vaporware known as the Intellivision Amico.
As of publication on August 21, the full episode is up, with the Phil1Up Collects video discussion heard starting at 1:15:30. NES trivia and the Q&A are not included. I will update with video clips when posted.
9/29 UPDATE: Sorry for the delay. There is one video and here it is:
Saturday Panel 3, 2:30-3:30 PM
Panel Room 2
The Role Print Media Plays in Video Game Preservation, moderated by Luis Aguasvivas (NPR, Debug Magazine, member of New York Videogame Critics Circle)
Panelists: Leonard Herman, Ryan Burger (Old School Gamer Magazine); Retronauts podcast host Jeremy Parish (Limited Run Games’ Press Run division, Video Works YouTube series and corresponding books [NES Works, SNES Works, Virtual Boy Works, SG-1000 Works]), rotating co-hosts Kevin Bunch (independent researcher, Atari Archive website and YouTube channel, author of Atari Archive Volume 1: 1977-78) and Brian Clark (translator, author of Gameplay Harmonies)
One other tidbit from this panel is Jeremy Parish lamenting that his early 2000s articles for now-defunct websites cannot be accessed because they weren’t archived.
I devoted most of my Sunday to photographing the exhibits and freeplay areas, buying any games I didn’t buy on Saturday, mingling further with guests, and actually playing freeplay games for the first time in years. (Oh, and I bought fried ravioli from a food truck; another first for me.)
So, the one panel I saw that day had to be Lenny’s.
Sunday Panel, 3-4PM
Panel Room 2
Leonard Herman
The History of the History of Videogames
9/29 UPDATE: Leonard posted video of his panel. (Of course, you see me front and center snapping away.)
PHOTOS WITH/OF FELLOW ATTENDEES
My friend Timothy (a.k.a. Sho):
Timothy and C.J. (I forget which vendor she was with):
Daniel Greenberg (Winterion Game Studios):
Daniel and his wife Alex:
Anthony and two of his friends:
I can’t say no to a photo op if someone asks, and I was more than happy to honor Anthony’s requests.
That is the end of post one. Head to part two for a tour of the marketplace and exhibits. Part three features a conclusion, and pickups photos.
I’ll leave you with photos taken before I left for home on Saturday and before I walked back into the museum on Sunday.
MikeChimeri.com 