Chieli Minucci & Special EFX at The Cutting Room January 21, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
For the second time in three nights, I was in the New York City borough of Manhattan for a concert. Thursday, it was pianist Lisa Hilton at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. On Saturday, it was guitarist Chieli Minucci and his band Special EFX at The Cutting Room. Thursday was acoustic. Saturday was electronic. But each were exciting and entertaining, not to mention my first time at each venue.
The Cutting Room was one block south and five blocks east of where I exited Penn Station’s LIRR Terminal. Once there, I was directed to a room set back on the left. It was dark with most of the light coming from the stage. Most tables on facing the left side and center of the stage were full, but my girlfriend and I found an empty table close to the right end of the stage. But whatever side of the stage we were facing, we were going to be treated to great music from a legendary band, celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2014.
Special EFX was led by co-founder Chieli Minucci on electric guitar:
Jay Rowe on keyboards:
David Mann on tenor saxophone…
…soprano saxophone…
…and flute:
Jerry Brooks on bass:
And, as best I could see him from my seat, Lionel Cordew on drums:
Unfortunately, I couldn’t see much more of Jerry and Lionel from my seat. I probably could have taken shots from the right side of the stage behind the column that blocked my view, but I didn’t want to risk getting reprimanded. To make up for the lack of pictures, I’m dipping into the archives with pics of them from Special EFX’s appearance at the Long Beach Jazz Festival in September 2012.
Back on Saturday night, the band played eight songs:
1. Ballerina
Originally heard on: “Just Like Magic,” 1990
2. Courageous Cats
Originally heard on: “Jewels,” 1995 (Chieli solo album)
3. Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers
Originally heard on: “Renaissance,” 1996 (Chieli solo album)
4. Crazy Eights
Originally heard on: “Genesis,” 2013
5. Till the End of Time (preceded by Jay’s intro)
Originally heard on: “Genesis,” 2013
6. Kickin’ It Hard/Spain
“Kickin’ It Hard” originally heard on: “Night Grooves,” 2003 (Chieli solo album); “Spain” is a Return to Forever cover
7. Speak to Me (preceded by Chieli’s intro)
Originally heard on: “Masterpiece,” 1999
8. Bodybeat (preceded by Chieli and Jerry’s intro duet)
Originally heard on: “Body Language,” 1995
#6 and 7 featured occasional vocalization from Chieli.
Now that you’ve seen Jerry Brooks and Lionel Cordew, here are pictures of the rest of the band, starting with Chieli Minucci:
Jay Rowe, seen here during his “Courageous Cats” solo:
It was Jay’s birthday, and Chieli had a present for him:
Jay’s “Till the End of Time” intro:
David Mann:
The last song (“Bodybeat”):
The bow:
As I wrote earlier, it was another night of great music from the legendary Chieli Minucci and Special EFX. I hope to see them again soon.
Lisa Hilton at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall January 17, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Football, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.add a comment
Previous recap: June 2011
Later recaps: January 2015, January 2016, January 2018, January 2019
Last night marked the second time I saw jazz pianist Lisa Hilton perform. The first time was about 2 1/2 years ago in Greenwich Village (see link above). This time, I was uptown at Carnegie Hall‘s Weill Recital Hall. It was my first time ever at Carnegie.
My journey began at around 4PM, when I left home to walk to the Wantagh LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) station for a 4:27 Penn Station-bound train. I would have taken a later train, but I wanted to be safe in case any delays popped up during my walk to the station. That’s what happened the day before when I had to take a train to Rockville Centre. But even though there were delays earlier in the day, there were none when I arrived. My trip to Penn Station was smooth sailing. No one sat near me after Freeport. It was a peaceful journey as I took in the sights while listening to my iPod, not a noisy one where I’m surrounded by chatter from people of varying ages. (The ride back was somewhat crowded, but not too noisy. And it helps to have studio headphones.)
I was in a railcar near the back of the train, which meant I needed to walk a little extra from the train to the LIRR Terminal. Once there, I had dinner at TGI Friday’s. Then, I walked up to the subway terminal and took the E train uptown to 7th Avenue and West 53rd Street. The second I emerged from the seemingly endless flights of stairs, I saw the Ed Sullivan Theater, home to the CBS late night talk show, The Late Show with David Letterman. I whipped out my Nikon D5100 and took a picture:
I was fortunate enough to attend a taping with my father back in December 2004, but that’s another story.
I arrived at Carnegie Hall just before 7PM. Since photography wasn’t allowed during Lisa’s performance, these outside pictures will have to do:
Thinking that the time when the doors to the hall are opened was the time to go inside, I waited outside the Weill Recital Hall entrance for 15 minutes. Two couples went inside while I was waiting. Finally, I opened the door and asked if I was allowed to come in. Of course, I was. I got my ticket, went up to the lounge adjacent to the hall, and waited for the hall doors to open.
According to my watch, I took my seat at 7:42. The Weill Recital Hall was not what I was expecting. It was an intimate hall with one row of orchestra seats, where I sat, and a balcony behind them. There were three chandeliers on the ceiling; my seat was between two of them.
The hall was completely acoustic. There were no speakers, no engineer, no amplification, nothing of the kind. I was in for a unique experience.
Lisa entered at 8:06, joined by Ben Street on upright acoustic bass and Billy Hart on drums. Lisa played a Steinway & Sons piano.
The set primarily featured music from her upcoming album, Kaleidoscope. Here’s what the set looked like:
1. Kaleidoscope
2. Whispered Confessions – This one was my favorite.
3. Midnight Mania
4. Bach/Basie/Bird: Boogie Blues Bop
5. Sunny Side Up
6. Blue Horizon
7. Stepping Into Paradise – This was a solo piano piece. Ben and Billy left the stage and took a break. They returned for the rest of the set.
8. Getaway – This was another favorite.
9. Subway
10. When It Rains
11. Evening Song
12. So This Is Love
“Getaway” and “Evening Song” are from Getaway (2013). “Subway” and “When It Rains” are from American Impressions (2012). “So This Is Love” is from My Favorite Things (2005).
“Getaway” was first performed on Seduction (1997) and in a slightly slower tempo on In the Mood for Jazz (2003). “Evening Song” also debuted on Seduction. “Stepping Into Paradise” originated on Getaway.
After the show, I caught up with Lisa in the lounge, and even got to meet her daughter Fiona. Fiona was nice enough to take our picture:
My original plan for returning to Penn Station involving taking the M7 MTA New York City Bus back to 34th Street and walking to the LIRR Terminal from there. But when I got to the bus stop, I had a clear view of Times Square. I could see the Jumbotron, which still had up the “2014” sign, complete with the New Year’s ball frozen in place above it. Forget the bus, I thought. I’m walking back and taking pictures. And I did:
42nd Street Subway Station:
My last two pictures of the night came at the LIRR Terminal entrance:
I initially boarded the wrong train: an express that didn’t stop at Wantagh. Luckily, I was able to grab all my belongings quickly and exit the train (thanks to the doors not closing right away). I quickly found the right train on a different track and barely boarded that one in time. I was bound for home, capping a memorable night. I opened my eyes and ears to a new experience and I enjoyed it. Thank you, Lisa, Ben, and Billy.
Matt Marshak at Houndstooth Pub: 2013 edition November 19, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
Other Matt Marshak show recaps: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015
For the second year in a row, Matt Marshak performed at Houndstooth Pub on the weekend of my birthday. Last year, the show was on my 31st birthday; this year, it was the night before my 32nd.
Matt was on guitar:
Etienne Lytle on keyboards, who was also part of Steve Cole’s band five weeks earlier:
…and Carl Anderson on drums:
The show was engineered by Neal Newman:
With the help of his son Dale:
SET LIST
SET 1
1. Cadillac Kid
2. Down in Delaware
3. A Silent Knowing
4. Time for Takeoff
5. Listen to the Music (The Doobie Brothers cover)
6. Sanibel
7. Funkology
8. I Will Be With You
SET 2
9. Put It Where You Want It (The Crusaders cover)
10. Feelin’ It
11. Hold the Line (Toto cover; Matt had a more jazzy arrangement than Toto’s original version)
12. I’m On Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover)
13. Wind Chill Factor
14. You’ve Been Had (Kenny Harris’ song)
15. Kiss (Prince and The Revolution cover)
16. Sleepwalk (Santo & Johnny cover, notably covered by Larry Carlton)
As I’ve started to do in recent show recaps, most of the pictures below are grouped by artist.
Kenny Harris:
Etienne Lytle:
Carl Anderson, during his “Sanibel” solo:
The blur was intentional. I wanted to show the rapid movement involved in Carl’s drumming.
Matt & Kenny performing back-to-back on “I Will Be with You”:
Matt & Kenny’s “Feelin’ It” vocal break:
Matt’s “I’m On Fire” vocal:
“Kiss”:
For this song, Matt and the band were joined by guest vocalist Anastasia Rene:
“Sleepwalk”:
At one point, Matt left the stage and played his way through the audience:
He returned to the stage for the end:
Between sets, Matt and I posted for this picture:
After the second set, I took pics with Carl Anderson:
I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present than the two hours of music I saw on Saturday night. Thanks to Matt, Kenny, Etienne, Carl, Anastasia, Neal, Dale, and to Steve Butler.
Steve Cole at Houndstooth Pub recap 2 October 14, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
Previous recap: November 2011
Saturday night marked my first visit to Houndstooth Pub, a few blocks north of Penn Station, since my birthday last November. I was there to see saxophonist Steve Cole, whom I last saw perform two Novembers ago (see link above). The show was a release party for his new album, Pulse.
The fun began just after 8PM.
Steve’s saxophone of choice was tenor:
Etienne Lytle played keyboards:
SET LIST
SET 1
1. Off Broadway (NY LA, 2003)
2. So Into You (Between Us, 2000)
3. Curtis (True, 2006)
4. Thursday (Spin, 2005)
5. Angel (Sarah McLachlan cover) (Moonlight, 2011)
6. Do Your Thing (Pulse, 2013)
SET 2
7. Just A Natural Thang (True, 2006)
8. With You All The Way (Pulse, 2013)
9. Undun (The Guess Who cover) (Moonlight, 2011)
10. The Way You Look Tonight (Fred Astaire cover)
11. Sugar (Stanley Turrentine cover)
12. Bounce (True, 2006)
13. (Encore jam)
Most of the pictures below are grouped by artist.
Naturally, we start with Steve:
Etienne Lytle:
Bernard Davis:
Wide shot during “Do Your Thing”:
The last note of “Sugar”:
Shots from the finale (“Bounce”) and encore:
That’s it!
Between sets and after the second set, I caught up with Steve.
This picture is from after the second set:
Thank you to Steve, Etienne, Dave, Bernard, and to Steve Butler. It was another fun few hours at Houndstooth.
I’ll be back there on November 16 to see Matt Marshak.
Spyro Gyra Smooth Cruise recap 2 August 15, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel, Weather.add a comment
My first Smooth Cruise aboard the Spirit of New York five years ago featured Spyro Gyra. Wednesday evening, I saw that legendary band for the second time. As usual, I opted for the sunset cruise over the moonlight one.
Smooth Cruises are run out of Pier 61 at Chelsea Piers in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The cruise rides along the Hudson River to New York Harbor and back.
Thanks to an area of Canadian high pressure behind a cold front the night before, the Northeastern United States was treated to low humidity and early fall-like weather. But that was the weather outside. We’ll get to outside pictures later.
Inside, the heat was on with Spyro Gyra in action.
The leader of the band, Jay Beckenstein, was on the alto saxophone…
…but not simultaneously.
Jay wore a t-shirt with the Morning Dance album cover on it.
Tom Schuman on keyboards:
Julio Fernandez on guitar:
Scott Ambush on bass:
…and Lee Pearson played the drums:
Lee brought his two sons along.
SET LIST
1. Freetime
2. Catching the Sun
3. De La Luz – Julio, lead vocals; Lee, background vocals
4. Dancing on Table Mountain – Scott, extended bass solo
5. I Believe in You
6. Expect a Miracle – Lee, extended drum solo
7. Falling Walls
8 (Encore). Morning Dance – Jay called this “an encore without leaving the stage.”
Julio’s lead vocal on “De La Luz”:
Backed up by Lee:
Scott’s extended bass solo on “Dancing on Table Mountain”:
The view from my table:
The last note of the night:
Immediately after the set, the band made their way to the deck below for a meet and greet. I caught up with Jay Beckenstein:
Tom Schuman:
…and Scott Ambush:
As promised, we’ll conclude this recap with shots taken outside before and during the cruise:
The Pier 62 skate park:
Close-ups of Hoboken and Weehawken:
Lincoln Tunnel ventilation building in background, Beast Speedboat in center:
Jersey City:
Manhattan’s West Side:
The nearly-completed One World Trade Center:
The Statue of Liberty:
As you can tell by the reflection, I took that at my table.
Brooklyn:
Brooklyn Bridge:
One last shot of One World Trade Center:
Riding the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway, Southern State Parkway, and Wantagh Parkway August 12, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
This is the fourth in my “Riding” series of pictures taken on parkways and expressways while in transit from one area to another.
This time, the pictures were taken on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway, Southern State Parkway, and Wantagh Parkway. I took them with a Nikon D5100, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8, and an iPhone 5. You can figure out what pictures were taken with what camera (or phone) by their quality. License numbers were blurred out in Photoshop.
On the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway south, Exit 13W:
Exit 11 (southbound only):
Exit 10:
Exit 9:
Exit 7E:
Exit 6:
Exit 5:
Exit 4W:
Exit 4E:
Exit 2E:
Seaford-Oyster Bay north, Exit 4W:
Exit 5:
Exit 7E:
Exit 7W:
Exit 8:
Exit 9:
Exit 10:
Exit 12E:
Exit 12W:
Southern State Parkway west, Exit 28S:
Exit 27N:
Some of these next signs were, or may have been, replaced, like the ones above were.
Exit 27S:
Exit 25N:
Exit 19N:
Exit 18:
Exit 13:
Southern State Parkway east, Exit 28S:
On the Wantagh Parkway north, Exit W6:
Exit W3E:
Exit W3W:
Wantagh Parkway south, Exit W4W:
Exit W4E:
Exit W5W:
Exit W5E:
Exit W6W:
Exit W6E:
That concludes this “Riding” post.
Boarding the iPhone bandwagon July 6, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Media, News, Personal, Phone, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, TV, Weather.add a comment
On an unseasonably hot day in mid-April, I switched from an LG enV3 (VX9200) to an iPhone 5. Soon after, I bought an Otterbox Defender case for it (which includes a belt clip holster) and a Logitech wireless headset for extended phone calls.
I’ve downloaded 30 apps so far. Among them are two for radio, nine for sports, three for news, three for weather, and three social media. I bought two apps: a tip calculator (which was standard on my old phone) and the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
On the first day I had the iPhone, it took a few hours to load all my contacts to iCloud. But they’re in and some are categorized by ringtone, something I hadn’t done with my previous phones.
The Nike Running app has been instrumental in getting me to run three miles (or more) every day. Most of the runs have been outdoors, but I ran on my treadmill on a rainy day last month. And with temperatures now hovering near 90 degrees each day, I may have to do more indoor runs on my treadmill or step machine.
The iPhone’s camera has come in handy when I don’t have my Nikon D5100 on me. Most of the pictures taken with the phone are of recently replaced Town of Hempstead street signs and new traffic lights. Some examples:
The one downside is the internal drive is only 13.5 GB (gigabytes) (billed as 16 GB). It makes me wish there was a microSD slot for an additional 16 GB, or even 32.
Regardless of that, I’m glad I finally boarded the iPhone bandwagon. I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner.
The end of Manor East June 16, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Media, News, Personal, Travel, TV, Video.add a comment
A piece of my early teens – and my sister’s, as well – is no more. Thursday, without warning, Manor East in Massapequa closed down (WABC-TV, WNYW-TV, CBSNewYork.com, Bellmore Patch). The catering hall at the corner of Jerusalem Avenue and North Broadway was home to my Bar Mitzvah reception in November 1994 and my sister’s Bat Mitzvah reception in September 1996 (two months after her birthday). (Our services were at the now-defunct Union Reform Temple in northwest Freeport.)
I pass by it whenever I take the n55 NICE Bus to Sunrise Mall or on the way to Lumara Salon for my monthly haircut. I can’t imagine what will take its place.
I feel terrible for those that paid for parties and receptions at Manor East and are left scrambling to find alternate locations.
Here is home video that I shot outside Manor East in February 1995 before going in for my friend Rob’s Bar Mitzvah, three months after mine:
(Sorry about the poor camerawork.)
Walking through Grand Central Terminal June 8, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
In the late morning and early afternoon of Friday, April 26, I made the long journey from my home in Wantagh to Milford, Connecticut for the this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars concert (night 1, night 2). After walking from Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal, I took the following pictures while waiting for my Metro-North train to Milford:
The next step was buying a round-trip ticket. Then, I bought a couple of snacks at Rite Aid and made my way to my train’s track.
From here, it was on to Milford.
When I headed home on Sunday, I opted not to walk from GCT to Penn. Instead, I took the 7 train to Woodside-61st Street and waited for a Babylon-bound LIRR train. I had been on enough trains on that branch that I assumed Woodside was a regular stop. But it wasn’t this time. I had to board a Ronkonkoma train and change at Jamaica. The Babylon train at Jamaica arrived on the same track as the Ronkonkoma train. There was a short delay in Baldwin, but I eventually made it back to Wantagh and wound down at home.
MikeChimeri.com 
2013 in review December 31, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Art, Audio, Commentary, Film, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, New Age, News, Personal, Phone, Photography, Radio, Technology, Travel, Weather.add a comment
The following is an excerpt of an end-of-year post WordPress created for MikeChimeri.com. Scroll down for my editorial.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
Click here to see the complete report.
2013 was the first full year for the WordPress version of MikeChimeri.com. April was a transformative month that saw my upgrade from a Nikon D3100 camera to a D5100, and finally join iPhone nation. I upgraded from an LG enV3 to an Apple iPhone 5. (I ended up giving my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 to someone very special.) A week after those two upgrades, I documented the 2013 WCWP Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. A week after that, I was in Milford, Connecticut, for the first two-night Smooth Jazz for Scholars benefit concert series. April also marked five years since The Mike Chimeri Blog was launched; MikeChimeri.com launched in May 2005, seven years before merging with the blog.
In addition to some new contemporary jazz releases, I broadened my musical horizons by adding Return to Forever, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, and various Christmas compilations to my collection. I posted more expressway and parkway pictures. I spent most of the summer scanning old 35mm pictures and recording cassettes and microcassettes to one of my hard drives. I returned to LIU Post and WCWP in October for my annual Homecoming Weekend Show and Homecoming itself. I attended Charlie Fillizola’s art exhibit at Wantagh Public Library. And besides SJFS, I attended concerts in August, October, and November.
I didn’t mention this in any post, but there was one dark spot in 2013: the loss of my paternal grandmother, Marilyn “Mazz” Chimeri (née Garing), in early July. She was the last of my grandparents remaining after I lost my maternal grandparents, Lennie and Arthur Rose, in June and November 2010, and my paternal grandfather, Carmen Chimeri, in December 2011. I miss them dearly, but feel lucky to have known them for as long as I did. I love you all.
I hope for the best in 2014, not only for myself, but for each and every one of you visiting this site. Have a happy and healthy new year.