SJFS 2022 Night 1 recap May 6, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Baseball, Health, Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel.add a comment
Updated with videos on 5/15.
After a two-year absence due to COVID-19, keyboardist Jay Rowe‘s 18th annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars (benefiting the Milford Public Schools music department) finally happened!
It’s a good thing I didn’t throw away my 2020 tickets because they were honored on both nights.
As noted in my promotion back in February, this was the first SJFS without Rohn Lawrence on guitar in the house band and Nick Colionne as a potential headliner. We lost Rohn to COVID on December 30 and Nick on January 1. This year’s SJFS was dedicated to their memory.
The first night’s headliners were Peter White, Nelson Rangell, and Marion Meadows, plus three surprise guests! More on them later in the recap. Now, the preamble:
I had been in the habit of going to sleep early and waking up early, but last week, I tried to train my body to stay up and wake up later so I could not only chronicle both nights of SJFS, but attend the WCWP station dinner on Thursday night.
I awoke Friday morning after only six hours of sleep and carried out my typical morning activities: exercise, cereal for breakfast, and treadmill running (and showering after, of course). Nowadays, I watch streaming content on my phone while I run rather than listen to music or audiobooks. With this run, I totaled 180 miles in a month for only the third time (July 2018, April 2020)!
Next on the agenda, packing up for the trip to Milford, Connecticut (“a small city with a big heart“), with my dad Bill. I had an hour or so left until our 12:30 departure, so I edited the photos from the station dinner and posted them to Facebook. I finished just in time, then checked to make sure I packed everything I wanted to.
It took about two hours to reach Milford’s Hampton Inn, the official hotel of this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars, as it has been most of the time. I photographed road signs on the way, but I’m saving those photos and the ones from the return trip for a later post.
Upon arrival, Dad and I went back out to Big Y World Class Market a block southeast of the hotel to replace expired shampoo and mouthwash, and buy snacks to make up for the ones I forgot to pack at home. We were briefly back at Hampton Inn before going to dinner (and dessert for me) at Applebee’s up Boston Post Road in neighboring Orange. Marion Meadows was checking in as I walked through the lobby, so we spoke briefly. I returned one more time before the show to relax and wait for my girlfriend Kelly to pick me up at 6:30. On the way out this time, I saw members of the LIU Sharks baseball team! I’ve been at the hotel with college athletic teams before, but not a team from my alma mater! They were in town for a three-game series against the Sacred Heart Pioneers (ironically, LIU Post’s team name before the One LIU unification). Sacred Heart won the first two games, but LIU avoided the sweep Sunday. I would see players in the lobby again on Saturday and Sunday mornings, letting some know on Saturday that I was an alum and had a weekly radio show.
Okay, we’re almost up to the first night of SJFS.
Kelly and I waited in her SUV until we saw the line of attendees file in to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium at the Parsons Complex. The line began to move at 7:15, so in we went.
After having my ticket checked, I set up my equipment in the orchestra pit and mingled with my fellow photographers Katherine Gilraine and Ron Hancox, Jay Dobbins, Dolly Moye, Estella Greene, Billy and Sandy Okumu, Ron’s wife Nydia, and Jay Rowe’s mother Mia DiStasi. I was elated to see all of them in person after so long. I only wish photographer KT Jones was still with us. (He succumbed to cancer in late February.)
The auditorium interior underwent an upgrade between 2019 and 2022. Monitors were set up throughout the lobby. Most cycled through a slideshow of images from past Smooth Jazz for Scholars, including pictures with Rohn Lawrence, Nick Colionne, or both of them. Two monitors had an overhead view of the stage. The sound system, lighting, and seating were all improved.
Friday night’s set began at 8:15, an hour after the auditorium doors opened. Kevin McCabe of Jumpstart Jazz Productions enthusiastically welcomed us back:
I simultaneously recorded the show (mostly for private use) (5/15 UPDATE: exceptions below) with my recently-acquired professional 4K camcorder (and detachable handle unit). Four minutes into Kevin’s spiel, a system error occurred and I had to turn the camcorder off and back on. After that, no problems. It recorded two hours and 32 minutes continuously; no starting a new file every 20 minutes like my previous camcorder.
As for the photos, I have the same DSLR camera but with a superzoom lens I bought last year. No more switching between 18-140 mm (18-55 before that) and 55-300 mm. I have one lens to rule them all.
Here are the photos! The house band was led by Jay Rowe on keyboards:
Andy Abel on electric and acoustic guitar (seen on electric):
Dave Livolsi on bass:
Trever Somerville on drums:
…and percussion by Tony Cintron:
(If you’re wondering, Steve Scales is alive and well.)
The headliners were Peter White on acoustic guitar and harmonica (seen on guitar):
Marion Meadows on soprano sax:
…and Nelson Rangell on alto sax, flute, piccolo, whistling, and vocal percussion (seen on alto):
SET LIST
1. East Coast West Coast (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Red Hot & Smooth (2006)
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)
2. Smooth Ride (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Smooth Ride (2016)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Peter White (guitar)
3. Promenade/Could It Be I’m Falling in Love (The Spinners cover) (Peter White)
Originally heard on: Promenade (1993)/Reflections (1994)
Featured musicians: Peter White (guitar), surprise guest Vincent Ingala! (tenor sax) (watch him surprise the audience)
Peter introduced “Promenade” with the “-naid” pronunciation, not “-nahd,” as I’ve been saying all these years.
4. Here We Go (Peter White)
Originally heard on: Here We Go (2012)
Featured musicians: Peter White (guitar), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
I’d been dreaming about this collaboration ever since I heard David Sanborn on the original.
5. Vonetta (Earl Klugh cover) (Nelson Rangell)
Originally heard on: Soul to Souls (2006)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (flute), Andy Abel (guitar)
6. Body Rhythm (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: Body Rhythm (1995)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)
As usual, Marion began this song in the audience, working his way to the stage.
7. Treasures (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: In Deep (2002)
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Andy Abel (guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards)
Andy channeled the spirit of Rohn Lawrence on his solo.
8. Caravan of Dreams (Peter White)
Originally heard on: Caravan of Dreams (1996)
Featured musicians: Peter White (guitar), Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)
9. Peaceful (Peter White)
Originally heard on: Music for STARLUX Airlines (2019)
Featured musicians: Peter White (guitar/harmonica), Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)
10. Marcosinho (Dave Grusin composition for flautist Dave Valentin) (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: Whisper (2013)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)
A harmonica-like filter was applied to Marion’s sax for his solo intro.
11. Suede (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: Player’s Club (2004)
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Andy Abel (guitar)
12. Geopolitics (Nelson Rangell)
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
13. Sonora (Hampton Hawes cover) (Nelson Rangell)
Originally heard on: Destiny (1995) (alto sax), My American Songbook, Vol. 1 (2005)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (whistling/piccolo/vocal percussion), Peter White (guitar)
14. Muff (John Tropea cover) (Nelson Rangell)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (alto sax), surprise guest Jeff Kashiwa! (tenor sax)
Jeff headlined Saturday’s set, but he played on “Muff” and the finale.
15 (Finale). I Wish (Stevie Wonder cover)
Featured musicians: Everyone
Arti Dixson sat in for Trever Somerville on drums.
Here are groups of pictures by artist, starting with Peter White:
The last three are of Peter on harmonica. 
Marion Meadows:
Nelson Rangell on alto sax (during “Geopolitics”):
Nelson on flute for “Vonetta”:
…and “Sonora”: whistling, piccolo, whistling with the piccolo in his hand, vocal percussion:
Nelson watches Peter’s “Sonora” solo 
Vocal percussion (“schick-schicka”) 
The end of the song 
A standing ovation! (contrast-corrected camcorder vidcap)
Surprise guest Vincent Ingala:
Surprise guest Jeff Kashiwa:
Jay Rowe (during “Treasures”):
Andy Abel:
Andy played acoustic on “Marcosinho.” 
Dave Livolsi:
Trever Somerville:
Tony Cintron:
Peter and Jay:
Peter and Nelson on “Here We Go”:
Peter and Vincent:
A wide shot during “Geopolitics”:
…and “Vonetta”:
Nelson and Jeff:
The finale: “I Wish”:
Arti Dixson took over on drums for the finale. 
The last note… 
The end! 
After naming all the musicians on the stage: “I’m Jay Rowe! Thanks so much for comin’! For those of you who are comin’ tomorrow night, see you tomorrow night! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for a great night!” 
It was a great night, but it wasn’t over yet. There was meeting and greeting to do; photos with musicians, friends, and musician friends.
First, a photo with Peter White, who I hadn’t seen since the Dave Koz 20th Anniversary Christmas show at Tilles Center in December 2017:
Next, me with Nelson and Jay Rowe:
Jay Dobbins introduced me to Andy Abel and Tony Cintron. I complimented both of them on their work that night. Andy complimented me on noticing a flaw at the end of the title track on Jay Rowe’s Groove Reflections album and I told him I liked his guitar work on Jessy J‘s new album, Blue. He had plenty of insight on the recording process for the tracks with him, Jay, Trever, and Dave Anderson. (Dave couldn’t make it this year because he was performing with Chieli Minucci at the Tarrytown Jazz Forum on both nights, an engagement booked before SJFS was announced in February. That’s also why Chieli couldn’t make it.)
I took a photo of Jay Dobbins, Marion, Andy, and Tony:
Then, I had Jay take one of me and Marion:
I said my goodbyes and Kelly drove me back to the Hampton Inn. Click here to read about what happened before, during, and after Saturday’s show. I’ll leave you with a photo of Billy and Sandy Okumu, and Mark and Phyllis Abrams:
April 22 parkway photos April 26, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
This post contains photos taken along Veterans Memorial Highway (Vets Highway) and four New York State Parkways while returning from a trip to St. James last Friday.
First, a photo of Breeze Airways flight MXY427 seconds after takeoff from Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) bound for Norfolk International Airport (ORF) in Virginia:
Now for the photos on the road, starting on NY 347 just before its concurrence with Vets Highway (NY 454):
…which quickly transitioned to the Sagtikos State Parkway:
And finally, the Southern State Parkway from exit 41S to 30S:
I’ll have a longer trip to and from Milford, Connecticut, Friday and Sunday as Smooth Jazz for Scholars returns Friday and Saturday nights. The next blog post will be the weekly Instrumental Invasion recap and the posts after that will recap SJFS.
Instrumental Invasion, 4/20/22 April 21, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Travel, TV, Video.add a comment
The April 20 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded on March 1 (four segments) and 2 (two segments), the latter occurring before my guest reading stint. Pickups were recorded on the 4th, 8th, and 24th.
The playlist was created on February 26, but not annotated until the 28th, after which the talk break script was drafted.
I forgot to plug the video of “Angela” by the Bob James Trio that was recorded as they recorded:
The session was recorded as video and the Dolby Atmos audio from it was extracted for MQA-CD players. The version of “Angela” you heard on the show was ripped from the CD with regular audio, which is good enough for me.
Coincidentally, the day I started recording this show, Ken Levine (“la-vyne”) wrote a remembrance of Taxi, the series for which Bob wrote the theme. Ken and his writing partner David Isaacs went on to work with some of the Taxi staff – such as the Charles Brothers and Jim Burrows – on Cheers and its spin-off Frasier.
The Shilts anecdote after playing “All Grown Up” referred to his May 2012 show at Houndstooth Pub. Last night was the first time I mentioned the prank.
A few days before the show aired, I finally learned how to properly say Maynard Ferguson‘s first name: “may-nard,” not “-nerd” like for football players Brad and Don. Unfortunately, it was too late to correct the mistake, but rest assured it won’t happen again.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 4/6/22 April 7, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Baseball, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.add a comment
The April 6 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over three days in mid-February: the first hour on the 14th (Valentine’s Day), one second hour segment on the 15th, and the last two on the 16th when a pickup was also recorded.
The playlist was created on February 12 and annotated on the 13th. The talk break script was drafted before recording on the 14th.
A few days before work on this show began, I finally took the plunge and bought the Kaotica Eyeball microphone isolation shield. Since my remote location has minimal room echo, the Eyeball is for home recordings. It only took two days to ship from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Here’s how it looks from my chair:
It’s as big as my head, a challenge for Zoom meetings and for reading text on the right side of my monitor, but it works! Room echo was practically gone from any talk breaks I recorded at home. You will have to lower the pot (potentiometer) on your mixer. The Eyeball isolates background audio so well that more of the mic is picked up.
Thank you to actor and impressionist Jim Meskimen (son of Marion Ross) for recommending the Kaotica Eyeball in one of Mark Evanier‘s 2020 voice-over panel livestreams (cued to the relevant portion) and then jogging my memory about it in an Instagram post a few days before my purchase.
This wasn’t the first show with talk breaks recorded through the Eyeball, due to pickups I recorded for March 16.
After acquiring new music releases in the weeks leading up to this show, and the Friday after, I re-instituted two 2017 to present segments for the second hour. I included “Feet First” by Rick Braun unaware that it was the first single off his eponymous album. I did know that “Sun Princess” by the Jeff Lorber Fusion and “Out to Lunch” by Oli Silk were on the smooth jazz radio charts. So, I worked them in. Due to time constraints in the last segment, I couldn’t remind listeners about the accelerando at the end of the Bob James Trio arrangement of “Westchester Lady.” That same arrangement was part of their Blue Note set in November 2018, a month after Feel Like Making LIVE! was recorded. I said of the Blue Note performance:
This song had a call and response between the trio and ended with an accelerando that led me to polka dance [in my seat].
“The Big Windy Cat” by Nick Colionne was played 52 weeks after the previous cut from No Limits, “Headin’ Wes Before Dawn.” “Rippin’ n Runnin'” by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, from That’s How We Roll, was played exactly six months after “Howdiz Songo?” We also went exactly six months between tracks from the Jeff Lorber Fusion’s Space-Time – “Louisiana” and “Sun Princess” – and between the last track to date from the previous Bob James Trio album, Espresso, and the first off Feel Like Making LIVE! The Espresso track was “Mister Magic,” which was also recorded for the new album.
Little did I know my inclusion of “Swingin’ for the Fence” by Nelson Rangell, and addressing personnel as “heavy hitters,” would coincide with the delayed start to the 2022 Major League Baseball Season, and appear in a show preceded by the baseball edition of The Rock Show. And it slipped my mind that an unusually late blizzard affected the New York metro area 40 years ago: April 6, 1982. You can watch WABC-TV‘s Eyewitness News coverage of that storm here.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 1/19/22 January 20, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Travel.2 comments
The January 19 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded from November 30 to December 2, 2021: the first segment at home on November 30, the next three at my remote location on December 1, and the last two back at home on December 2. Pickups were recorded on the 3rd and 14th, the latter date for shortening three segments.
The playlist was created on November 28 with annotations and the script draft on the 29th.
The John Favicchia liner played after his song “Horizons” was one of a handful of Instrumental Invasion liners repurposed from my Mike Chimeri Show days. “The,” “show,” and “WebRadio” were edited out of those liners. Here are recaps of John’s Dharma All Stars gigs that I attended since starting this blog:
September 7, 2008 (preceded by Alan Bates)
June 24, 2016 (Dharma 2.0)
As for Wednesday’s show, I finally got to play Will Donato‘s cover of “Play That Funky Music.” I didn’t have the CD to reference for musician credits when working on the October 27 show, but I bought it, and a few other CDs, days before working on this one. I bought many more CDs in the last two weeks, and you’ll start hearing tracks from them in mid-March.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 12/29/21 December 30, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Golf, History, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, New Year, Personal, Radio, Travel, TV.add a comment
The December 29 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded in two days: the first segment at home on November 9 and the other five at my remote location on the 10th. The denoise filter was applied to all talk breaks but the first. Pickups were recorded on December 14, without the filter, for three shortened segments.
The playlist was created on November 7 and annotated on the 8th with the script draft carrying into the 9th. I forgot to include the New Year’s Eve host succession included in the annotation for “Auld Lang Syne,” but it’s fine. It was better to focus on Guy Lombardo and my Freeport beginnings. The use of Fourplay‘s “Auld Lang Syne” makes this the second week in a row where the show begins with a song from their Snowbound album. It’s also the second regular show in a row with an extra 2017 to present segment in place of 1984 and earlier.
Michael Brecker‘s rendition of “Song for Bilbao,” which followed “Auld Lang Syne,” was first played last June 24. This time, listeners got to hear the correct information as my segment redo the last time didn’t air. I played “Groove Reflections” by Jay Rowe to make up for the end getting cut off on November 3.
The last time I visited my grandparents’ condo, in March 2011, I photographed grandpa Carmen’s hole in one trophy from two angles:
As I said coming out of “Hole in One” by the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Carmen shot a hole in one on the eighth hole of Tarpon Springs Golf Course on August 11, 1995.
The show had its share of running gags, including “plural” and a flat “yes” response to musical questions.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
See you in 2022!
Festival of Games recap December 13, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Aviation, Christmas, History, Internet, Media, Personal, Photography, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
Saturday, for the first time in two years and four months, I made the pilgrimage to the Cradle of Aviation Museum along Museum Row in East Garden City. The event was Festival of Games, spun off from the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo. The main expo returns next August, but video games were calling for me. So, I bought a ticket to the Festival on November 23.
My plan Saturday was to attend for two to three hours, walking through the vendor hall, free play zones, and ticketed arcade zone. (Patrons were given a ticket with their wristband at the front desk.) If any arcade games caught my eye, I’d play them. Then, I’d go back to the vendor hall and pick up games. I followed that plan to the letter upon my arrival just after 12:30. Here are the photos:
A R.O.B. quintet “dances” to Christmas music. 
Computer Space is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month (and last month)! 
Ah, Tetris. As I noted in my recap of the 2019 LI Retro (the expo’s preferred shorthand, rather than LIRGE), I have fond memories of playing the Tetris arcade game at Kutsher’s Hotel and Country Club in March 1995. It was the third of four years in a row of weekend retreats with my fellow congregants of Union Reform Temple. We went to Kutsher’s in ’95 and January ’96, and prior to that, the Nevele Grand Hotel in January ’93 and ’94. Sadly, URT and the two resorts are now defunct. 
The next arcade machine I played was Street Fighter II. I picked up where the previous players left off, but didn’t realize they were in two-player mode until I had my way as Guile with Dhalsim. 
After this, one-player mode kicked in and I was summarily defeated by Ryu, despite somehow winning round 2. 
I am better with the NES port of Donkey Kong Jr. than with the arcade original. 
“Body blow! Body blow!” 
Out of privacy, I chose to remove the boy’s face from this photo. 
I’d heard about Rolling Thunder, but never played it until Saturday. Again, I didn’t get far. 
After that, I gave Double Dragon a go. Yet again, I didn’t get far, but it was far enough for me. 
I could not get a handle on Arkanoid, nor am I the best at its spiritual sibling Breakout. I’m great at Alleyway on Game Boy. 
NFL Blitz isn’t the same off N64. 
Last but not least, another game I saw in the arcade room at Kutsher’s: NARC.
I didn’t play NARC then (or now), but I videotaped two of my friends playing, per these vidcaps (12/27 UPDATE: I upscaled the vidcaps with Bigjpg):
I left this out of the stacked gallery, but one of the free play TVs was connected to a Famicom Disk System, which ran a festive program:
Back at the vendor hall, I picked up 33 games for various consoles. I don’t remember what I bought from which vendor, but the business cards show they were Geek Guilt, Flashback Gaming, The SemiCollector, and Joega’s Comic Chaos. When greeting one of the vendors, I inadvertently said “hello” like Sheldon Cooper, Jim Parsons‘ character from The Big Bang Theory (and Iain Armitage‘s from Young Sheldon). Noticing, I repeated and got a laugh. As I edited Saturday’s photos, I noticed I missed a couple of vendors over the course of my shopping spree. Oh, well.
As I shopped, I checked my video game collection Word document to make sure I didn’t buy a game I already had. I didn’t.
While waiting for a ride home, I photographed my haul:
Once I got home, I photographed my pickups by console.
Going chronologically, I picked up 15 NES games:
Five for Sega Master System:
Three on Game Boy:
Two for Super Nintendo:
One for Super Famicom!:
Two for Sega Genesis:
One for Sony PlayStation:
One for Nintendo 64 (N64):
Two for PlayStation 3:
And one for Nintendo Switch:
In writing, the games were:
Nintendo Entertainment System:
- Balloon Fight
- Cobra Triangle
- Fester’s Quest
- Freedom Force
- Gauntlet II
- Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode
- Hogan’s Alley
- Kabuki: Quantum Fighter
- The Legend of Zelda
- Mickey Mousecapade
- Rambo
- RoboCop
- Section Z
- StarTropics
- Wrath of the Black Manta
Sega Master System:
Game Boy:
Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom*:
Sega Genesis:
PlayStation:
Nintendo 64:
PlayStation 3:
Xbox 360:
Nintendo Switch:
Thank you to LI Retro for an enjoyable Festival of Games. I’ll see you in August.
Instrumental Invasion, 12/1/21 December 2, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, History, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Technology, Travel, Video.add a comment
The December 1 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on October 10 and 11.
The playlist was created and annotated on October 9 while the script was drafted before recording on the 10th.
I chose to take the next two weeks off to focus on covering WCWP’s Homecoming Weekend and then to unwind, but was pressed into service on October 21 after an additional underwriting spot at the top of each hour necessitated shortening segments to 18:30, and also picking up where I took out a liner. The first segment couldn’t be shortened.
This is the first show with a new thumbnail, after updating my profile photo on my various platforms last Saturday. I took the photo on a GoPro Hero 7 attached to a 10″ flexible tripod. I held a tripod leg with my right hand while taking the photo in an iPhone app with my left hand. It was time-consuming adapting the photo to the show banner, and then updating thumbnails for all completed shows recorded to date, but the end results were worth it, even if the image is darker without a flash.
I led off the show with “Unisphere” by The Dave Brubeck Quartet because I had purchased their Time Changes album – an ironic title, considering my later circumstance – after watching video of a live performance on Dave’s Facebook page:
The song was inspired by the steel structure that served as the theme symbol to the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. As noted on the air, I saw the Unisphere firsthand back in July 2017:
This is the documentary I spoke of, After the Fair:
I saw The Rippingtons live at My Father’s Place in Roslyn in March 2019, the night before Open Road was released. Their set included “Tangerine Skyline.”
I made up for last week’s mistake by including “Watch Your Step” by Chris Geith in the second hour’s second segment.
Click here to download this show’s aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Turning 40! November 20, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Bowling, Food, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, Video.1 comment so far
As noted in this week’s Instrumental Invasion recap, I turned 40 the day the show aired. Celebration of my birthday began 11 days earlier with a late lunch with my friends Kelly and Lori and my mother Lisa at La Strada of Merrick. After pizza and pasta, I was treated to a birthday cannoli:
The following Saturday, my aunt Donna treated me to two games at AMF Wantagh Lanes, a bowling alley half a mile from my house:
Saturday afternoon bowling at Wantagh Lanes was a tradition for just over a decade of my life, most of which was in Nassau P.A.L.‘s handicap league.
Aunt Donna and I were on lane 24:
It took until late in the first game to regain my form, salvaging an 83. I bounced back with a 149 in the second game.
My ninth frame spare, via cropped vidcaps:
My first shot in the last frame:
The final scores for game 2:
Aunt Donna also shot video of three spare conversions, which I’ve compiled here along with my video:
I posed with my ball, which I’ve had for 25 years, before putting it away:
Aunt Donna then treated me to lunch at Margarita’s Cafe a few minutes to the north. We got caught in a severe thunderstorm on the way to King Kullen where I bought a pint of ice cream:
The storm contained small hail, slightly larger than sleet:
Finally came my 40th birthday on Wednesday. Here’s what greeted me in the kitchen that morning:
At one point in the day, I read Wikipedia’s entry for November 17. I was surprised how many pivotal events occurred on that day and how many notable public figures were born that day.
Dinner was at Umberto’s in Wantagh’s Cherrywood Shopping Center.
I was joined by my parents Lisa and Bill, sister Lauren, and family friends Janice and Joe, Mandy and Kevin, and Janine. This was one of my gifts:
My dinner was meat lasagna:
The staff sang “Happy Birthday” to me as they brought out my vanilla and chocolate tartufo:
I waved to the other guests and thanked them as they applauded, then let them know what milestone I was celebrating: “40!” I got more applause.
My 40th birthday concluded back at home with a Carvel ice cream cake:
Throughout the day, and all the way into this morning, I received hundreds of birthday wishes on social media. Thank you to each and every one of them. I greatly appreciate it. My 40th birthday was a rich, full day; just how a milestone birthday should be.
Working from my 30th birthday post where I said I was a tricenarian, I learned that I’m now a quadragenerian.
I’ll leave you with a simple photo I whipped up in Photoshop:
Instrumental Invasion, 10/20/21 October 21, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.add a comment
The October 20 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded from September 2 to 4: one segment on the 2nd, three on the 3rd, and two on the 4th. Pickups were recorded on the 4th and 5th.
The playlist was created on September 1 with annotations and the script draft on the 2nd.
I referred to live shows in 2016 and ’19, and to New York Comic Con in ’17. I brought up NYCC after bringing up Futurama character Hattie McDoogal after playing “Whatchacallit” by Mike Stern. That was Hattie’s original catchphrase. I like “kajigger” better. I recapped all three events on this blog:
- Lee Ritenour at Blue Note (8/19/16)
- New York Comic Con, Day 1 (10/5/17)
- Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber Fusion at The Iridium (12/19/19)
Let’s face it: if it weren’t for The Weather Channel, I wouldn’t be into instrumentals, or meteorology, for that matter. Many songs on this show were heard during local forecasts, later known as Local on the 8s. TWCClassics.com has compiled video and audio playlists. Audio goes in alphabetical order; “the” is listed under T.
This was the second week in a row where Herbie Hancock led off the show.
“Right On Time” by Richard Elliot was a single at the time of recording, previously heard on March 24.
For the first time since last December 9, the end of the last song – “Top of the Tower” by Jay Rowe – was cut off in automation due to spot breaks running longer than 90 seconds and the first week of new underwriting. 18:40 was a safe segment duration for so long, but no more. The next six shows had to be remixed with 18:30 segments. Some segments stayed at 18:40 and others were in between.
Anyway, click here to download this show’s aircheck MP3 or listen below:
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