Instrumental Invasion, 2/10/21 February 11, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Country, Film, Jazz, Media, Military, Music, Personal, Radio, Travel.add a comment
The February 10, 2021, Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded on January 14 (first hour, first talk break of hour 2) and 15 (the rest of the show).
The playlist was created on January 12 with annotations starting that day and completing on the 13th, after which the script was drafted.
In the early months of Instrumental Invasion, I avoided dated references, but now, I’m mindful of when shows air. Valentine’s Day is on Sunday, so I worked that in and played relevant songs. Drummer Eric Valentine’s presence in “Sunday Strut” by Blake Aaron was coincidental.
As long as I’ve had Boney James and Rick Braun‘s Shake It Up, I’ve thought of the main theme for The Magnificent Seven while listening to “Love’s Like That,” their collaboration with Fourplay. So, I had to mention that after I played it. Unfortunately, the explanation and side-by-side comparison led me to pick a shorter Lee Ritenour song from his Dreamcatcher album. “Starlight” was out, “Storyteller” was in. That also meant I needed to share more information about “Song for Barry” after the Airmen of Note‘s cover of the Brecker Brothers song on Return of the Brecker Brothers.
The recurring theme in this show was travel: by airplane, car, and train.
I finally got to use the Game Dave liner coming out of a David Benoit song, and from the same album, so I could say “that was Gamer David Benoit.”
Now, the bad news: I was unable to aircheck the show. It’s the third time that’s happened. On August 5, it was because my cable went out two hours before air (and stayed out until the 8th). On November 4, the FM stream was down for maintenance. I was asleep at the time, but I can only assume this third blunder was due to an automatic Windows update that made the computer restart. Microsoft Edge was still open on restart and Easy MP3 Recorder apparently still conducted its timed recording even though the stream wasn’t active. Ergo, two hours of silence.
So, click here to download the “aircheck” MP3, culled from the original segment files (plus the underwriting and Legal ID from last week’s aircheck), or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 12/30/20 December 31, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Travel, TV.add a comment
The December 30, 2020, Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over three days. The first segment was recorded on November 25, the next two on the 26th (Thanksgiving), and the second hour on the 27th (Black Friday). A pickup for the first segment of hour 2 was recorded on the 29th and the segment was re-edited. All segments were truncated from 18:45 to 18:40 on December 10.
The playlist was created and annotated on November 23.
The show was a scaled-down version of the 40-year musical journey special I had in mind for Homecoming Weekend, had there been one. Obviously, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Homecoming itself was canceled, along with the LIU Sharks football season, if not merely postponed to spring. There were plans to have an abbreviated virtual Homecoming programming block, but those were scrapped in September. (Click here to wistfully read about the 2019 Homecoming Weekend.)
Had the weekend gone on and my proposed special aired, the playlist would have looked like this. As you can see, most of what I had in mind ended up in the December 30 show. “Snake Eyes” by Grover Washington, Jr. was put in the November 11 show, and I played “Born to Be Bad” by Joe Sample on December 2. Like “Snake Eyes,” “Message to Michael” by Earl Klugh and “Strikes Twice” by Larry Carlton were included to make up for an unaired segment in the April 8 show. The inclusion of “Silverbird” by Jeff Jarvis and “Cruisin’ Down Ocean Drive” by The Rippingtons made up for the July 8 show‘s unaired segment.
My talk-up for “Going All the Way” by Nelson Rangell was inspired by Chris Berman‘s catchphrase “(and) he could…go…all…the…way!,” which he used when narrating NFL highlights on ESPN.
“That ending sneaks up on you,” my line coming out of “Aniversário” by Fourplay, was recycled from my live 2016 Homecoming show.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
I’m happy and thankful for the opportunity I was given in 2020 with Instrumental Invasion. Here’s hoping 2021 is happier and healthier for all of us.
Instrumental Invasion, 12/9/20 December 10, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Travel.add a comment
The December 9, 2020, Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on November 11 and 12.
The playlist was created on November 9 with annotations on the 9th and 10th.
I swapped out the 1984 and earlier segment in favor of a third 2017 to present segment.
While recording the second segment on the 11th, I was informed of a change to the segment length standard, from an even 19 minutes to 18:45. I tweaked the first segment accordingly and scaled down my talk breaks for the rest of the show. To that end, some of the annotations seen in the playlist were omitted. Among them, Paul Brown‘s arrangement of “Grazing in the Grass” was #1 for Boney James and Rick Braun on their Shake It Up album in 2000. That’s why Paul’s album is called Ones Upon a Time: it’s new recordings of songs he arranged for other musicians throughout his career.
Nonetheless, the end of the show was cut off again. It was only eight seconds this time, but I’m still scaling segments back to 18:40 from now on.
Last week, I dubbed tenor sax as the “MVP” of the show since it was in so many songs. This week, it was the Hammond B-3 organ.
If you still don’t think Rio.com, the name of Alex Bugnon‘s song, is a real website, here’s proof.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 11/4/20 November 5, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Travel.add a comment
The November 4, 2020, Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over four days:
- September 25: Hour 1, Segment 1
- September 26: Hour 1, Segments 2 and 3
- September 27: Hour 2, Segment 1
- September 28: Hour 2, Segments 2 and 3
The playlist was created and annotated on September 22.
I made up for last week by successfully including “Beyond the Seventh Galaxy” by Return to Forever.
I had to script out all talk breaks in the first segment, but only two others after that.
I was interested to learn about Larriland Farm after including Ken Navarro’s tribute to them. In addition to their website, this video neatly explains them:
The stream was down, so I couldn’t aircheck the show, but I was assured that the station was still broadcasting over the air. To make up for that, just as I did three months ago, I combined the segment files into one big file in Adobe Audition, applying the broadcast multiband compression filter to each segment.
Click here to download the scoped “aircheck” MP3 or listen below:
11:05 AM UPDATE: I was wrong to refer to TLC as a band when talking up Steve Cole‘s cover of “Waterfalls.” Bands play instruments; they just sang. They were a group.
Instrumental Invasion, 10/21/20 October 22, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Travel.add a comment
The October 21, 2020, Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over four days. The first hour was recorded one segment per day from September 8 to 10; the second hour was recorded entirely on the 11th. Two talk breaks in the second hour were re-recorded on the 24th. The first talk break of the hour had to be redone to acknowledge Chuck Loeb‘s association with Stan Getz, which led to his cover of “The Girl from Ipanema,” the song that closed hour 1. (10/26 UPDATE: Unfortunately, I didn’t say his last name. “Chuck’s”? Chuck who?) The second was to note at the end of the hour’s second segment that Côte d’Azur is another name for the French Riviera.
The playlist was created and annotated on September 6, along with last week’s show.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Attending the 2020 U.S. Open in spirit; how I got through the COVID-19 lockdown September 22, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, Dogs, Golf, Health, Internet, Media, Music, New Age, News, Personal, Photography, Sports, Tennis, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games.add a comment
2020 would have been the third year in a row I attended a PGA Tour major championship held in the New York metropolitan area and fourth year in the last five. In 2016, I traveled to Baltusrol Golf Club for the second round of the PGA Championship. In 2018, I was briefly at Shinnecock Hills for the third round of the U.S. Open. And last year, I witnessed the final round of the PGA at Bethpage Black Golf Course, the third time a major had been held there.
This year, the U.S. Open was to return to New York in June, as usual, to be held at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck. As my dad and I had done in 2002 and 2018, we opted to attend the third round so that he could watch at home on Father’s Day. We attended the final round the last time the championship was at Winged Foot in 2006. We were on the periphery of Phil Mickelson‘s collapse on the final hole. So many people stood by the 18th green that we could only hear the undoing. It was a depressing walk to the bus terminal and ride back to general parking at Orchard Beach in the Bronx.
Shortly after Dad bought the 2020 third round tickets in December, I bought a polo shirt that I would proudly don as I walked Winged Foot’s West Course. I had visions of aerial shots of the course along and ground level views of flags flying in the breeze while Brian Tyler‘s epic theme for Fox Sports‘ USGA coverage – “Triumph of the Spirit” – danced through my head.
Meanwhile, an insidious disease was spreading its way around the world. By March, Coronavirus Disease 2019 – also known as COVID-19 and the coronavirus – had reached the United States. State and local governments put residents on lockdown. Events were canceled or postponed left and right. Sports were put on hold indefinitely.
It was a sudden, sharp, and scary change that was very hard for me to bear. I was so scared and paranoid that I avoided watching or reading the news. It was torture passing by the den as my parents watched New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily briefings. His voice was the last thing I wanted to hear as it served as a harsh reality check. Social media wasn’t any better. Every day, another public figure became a casualty. Some of my friends lost their friends. My dad lost two of his friends.
From March to June, I kept busy at home. I retouched photo scans, removing dust and scratches, and adjusting contrast and color. While I worked, I listened to music or to interview podcasts that didn’t reference the news. Once I landed a weekly radio show at WCWP, recording and producing the shows became another preoccupation. In my downtime, I watched videos on the various YouTube channels I subscribe to, learning about technology and video games. I also watched traditional TV programming: sitcoms like Last Man Standing and Man with a Plan, and the documentary miniseries The Last Dance, about the Chicago Bulls championship dynasty in the 1990s. I worked out religiously and watched what I ate. I bought groceries and other necessities online.
On social media, I limited my Facebook posts to treadmill running milestones, post-radio show blog posts, and photos from the past on Throwback Thursday (#TBT), Flashback Friday (#FBF) or #MemoryMonday. Instagram had some of those photos from the past, but I also began the Cocoa Photo Series, with new entries posted every two to three days. It’s photos of my late Chocolate Labrador from his puppy days in 1998 through Christmas 2006. Here’s an example.
As states and localities were phased back to somewhat normal, I left my house more often, disposable mask in hand when walking through the neighborhood and covering my face when necessary, especially when shopping. I still buy some things online, though.
For a few months now, I’ve begun to follow various dog accounts on Instagram, mostly for Labrador Retrievers. Watching dogs grow up is just what I need in these difficult times.
This concludes the COVID-19 portion of the post.
In April, I learned that three of the four PGA Tour majors were rescheduled for later in the year, with the [British] Open Championship being canceled outright. The U.S. Open was rescheduled for September 17 to 20, the first time the event was in September since 1913. (This meant it would occur a week after the conclusion of the tennis US Open, sans periods, held south of Winged Foot within the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. For the record, Naomi Osaka won the women’s singles title for the second time in three years while Dominic Thiem won for the men, his first grand slam title.)
Assuming spectators would be allowed, I would be attending the third round of the U.S. Open on September 19. I put the date in my iPhone calendar and hoped that fans got the okay to attend. On July 29, access was denied. I felt like I had wasted my money on a shirt for an event I couldn’t even see in person. At least Dad got refunded for the tickets.
Indeed, to date, I’ve only worn it once since this Instagram post. That one time was on September 10, a week before the first round. It was for a photo project that would put myself at Winged Foot in spirit.
I connected my Nikon D5500 to a tripod, attached a remote, and photographed myself in front of a blank spot on my bedroom wall, clad in what I would have worn to the third round:
The hat is from 2006 and the ticket holder is from 2018.
Then, I applied an effect to make it seem like I was outside in the sun:
The third step was to combine the image with a shot of Winged Foot I found on Google:
I used the magic wand tool to highlight the wall so I could delete it, leaving only myself. Then, I copied and pasted what was left over the Winged Foot image. After initially placing myself in the center of the image, I cropped it down and re-centered myself. This is the end result:
For publicity’s sake, I made sure to note it was a “fake photo.” I posted to Facebook upon completion on the 10th and to Instagram on the morning of the 19th.
Fall conditions were in effect in the area, which meant I’d have a jacket on if I was truly in person, as I did last year at the PGA:
I watched all four rounds of the U.S. Open on TV like everyone else, but not on FS1 and Fox. The rescheduling put Fox in a bind as they were committed to college football on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday. The only solution was to relinquish their USGA rights back to NBC Sports, which they did on June 29. Starting this year, Thursdays and Fridays would be seen on Golf Channel with weekend coverage on NBC. This also meant the previous U.S. Open theme, “In Celebration of Man” by Yanni (pardon the audio quality), made its return. (A bagpipe-infused version was made for Open Championship coverage, as heard in 2016.)
At the end of 72 holes, Bryson DeChambeau was the 120th United States Open champion. He was the only player to shoot under par in the final round and the only player under par for the championship. Bryson joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods among players to win an NCAA individual title, the U.S. Amateur, and the U.S. Open. It was his first career major victory and I was very glad for him.
The end result motivated me to include the polo shirt in my regular rotation, just as I do with shirts for most of the other tournaments I’ve attended.
The next major to be held in the New York metropolitan area comes in May 2022 when the PGA Championship is held at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. I hope the world is post-pandemic by then so I can be there in person. (Other future sites can be found here.)
1/11/21 UPDATE: The 2022 PGA has been pulled from Trump National Bedminster due to the riot at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday by some of the outgoing president’s supporters. An alternate venue has not been chosen yet. I hope it’s one in the New York metro area as Bedminster would have been.
2/4/21 UPDATE: The PGA announced their replacement last week, which I didn’t find out until this morning. It’s far removed from the New York metro area: Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They were originally scheduled to host the PGA in 2030, which means a new venue will have to be picked for then. The next major in the New York metro area will be the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
I’ll leave you with video and additional articles related to the final round of the 120th U.S. Open.
VIDEO:
John Pak finishes as low amateur
Final round top shots
Final round extended highlights
Bryson DeChambeau, every televised shot
2020 U.S. Open top shots
Every televised shot from DeChambeau’s victory (all rounds)
Trophy presentation
Press conference
Bryson with Todd Lewis on Live from the U.S. Open
Bryson with Todd Lewis on Morning Drive
ARTICLES:
Will Gray, Golf Channel: Bryson DeChambeau cruises to U.S. Open win for first major title
Michael Bamberger, Golf.com: Victory & Validation: Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open on his own terms
Mike Dougherty, Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Bryson DeChambeau vindicated after dominant finish at Winged Foot
Bill Pennington, The New York Times: Bryson DeChambeau wins U.S. Open his way: in commanding fashion
Mark Cannizaro, New York Post: Bryson DeChambeau runs away with U.S. Open for first major title
Greg Logan, Newsday: Bryson DeChambeau powers his way to his first major at Winged Foot
Instrumental Invasion, 8/26/20 August 27, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Technology, Travel, Video, Video Games.add a comment
The August 26, 2020, Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded on July 31.
The playlist was created on July 29 with annotations on the 30th and during the recording session on the 31st.
I was able to include “Bright Sky” by the Jeff Lorber Fusion after replacing it during the recording session for last week’s show.
As noted during the show, “Morning Dew” by Anders Enger Jensen is the theme song for videos by The 8-Bit Guy, who I was fortunate to meet at the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo in 2017 and 2018, attending his panel at the latter. (I also watched his panel at UPLINK earlier this month.)
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
POSTSCRIPT: During the height of the pandemic, WCWP hosts were asked to record messages to include in PSAs (public service announcements). Here was my contribution, recorded May 1, which may or may not have been used:
8/28 UPDATE: Upon listening to the aircheck, I realized missed an opportunity to segue from Bob Mamet‘s Day Into Night to Nelson Rangell‘s Turning Night Into Day. Instead, I got hung up on the saxophone aspect of the show before the spot break and blindly referred to “the sunrise directive” in the talk-up after.
Instrumental Invasion, 8/19/20 August 20, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, History, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games.add a comment
The August 19, 2020, Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded on July 24 (hour 1) and 25 (hour 2).
The playlist was created, modified, and annotated between July 21 and 23.
To accommodate my chatty second talk break of hour 1’s second segment, I had to replace the Jeff Lorber Fusion song I had in mind. Instead of “Bright Sky” off Galaxian, I went with “Lava Lands” from Wizard Island. It was a fitting choice, having watched the Oregon episode of Smithsonian Channel’s Aerial America on their YouTube channel a few days before recording. The Fusion’s album is a reference to various landmarks in Oregon, including Lava Lands Visitor Center and, of course, Wizard Island, which is located within Crater Lake.
I had to rerecord the second and third talk breaks of the above segment on the morning of the 25th, shortly after waking up. That’s why my voice sounded the way it did. I realized that morning I’d mistakenly left out Will Lee on bass while talking about “Some Down Time” by Steve Khan, and wanted to correct that immediately. I had to script the talk breaks so I wouldn’t get flustered or forget what to say.
As I did in my 2018 and ’19 Homecoming Weekend shows, I dedicated the Keiko Matsui song I played – in this case, “Marlin Club Blues” – to Game Dave, citing a video where he suggested you listen to her music rather than in-game music:
I neglected to mention that Randy Waldman played keyboards and Hammond B-3 organ on “Marlin Club Blues.” Keiko was only on piano.
And speaking of YouTube, here is the music video for “Living Out Loud” by Joyce Cooling that I recommended:
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
8/22 UPDATE: While watching the Houston portion of The 8-Bit Guy‘s second Tech from Texas video, it occurred to me that David Benoit‘s song “El Camino Real” was not about the road in California, but the trail in Texas. It should have been obvious since a song called “Houston” precedes it on his Inner Motion album. As a California native, I assumed David had the California road in mind when I annotated the playlist. Clearly, I was wrong.
Lisa Hilton at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall: The one I almost saw January 9, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel, Weather.add a comment
Successful trips to Lisa Hilton performances: June 2011, January 2014, January 2015, January 2016, January 2018, January 2019
This site has been quiet since my recap of Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber just before Christmas. I would have had a recap of Lisa Hilton‘s annual Weill Recital Hall show on January 9, but circumstances beyond my control before showtime prevented me from seeing it. It was very disappointing. The worst part is I began drafting the recap in advance. I’ve been sitting on the draft for weeks, opting not to delete it. Now, you get to see how the recap would have gone:
Thursday marked the sixth time in the last seven years that I saw Lisa Hilton and Friends perform at Carnegie Hall‘s Weill Recital Hall.
It was my second show in three weeks, having seen Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber at The Iridium on December 19. That was a mainly electric performance. Lisa and her friends performed acoustically in Weill Recital Hall’s natural sound system.
Lisa’s friends were JD Allen on tenor saxophone, Luques Curtis on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums.
Together, they mostly played music from Lisa’s latest album, Chalkboard Destiny. The album’s message is that we don’t have predetermined fates. We can make our own paths. That doesn’t keep me from regretting the paths I haven’t taken in my life, but I digress.
If I only knew the words I wrote would ring true that night.
It was cold on the platform at Wantagh’s LIRR station, but bearable with no wind. The 5:55 train was on time and my section of the railcar was quiet. I arrived at Penn Station at 6:56. I wasn’t going to attempt subway trains from Woodside this time. …
The show began at 8:??. As I said, Lisa, JD, Luques, and Rudy mostly played music from Chalkboard Destiny, except where noted:
(Describe songs)
After the show, I gathered my belongings and met Lisa in the lobby where we caught up with each other and posed for our usual pic:
“Our usual pic” would have gone here.
I took the C train back to Penn Station and the 10:?? Babylon train back to Wantagh.
That’s as far as the draft went. I would have added to it on Friday and published it Saturday, but my chalkboard destiny didn’t call for that.
The impetus for bringing this draft to light is a newsletter Lisa e-mailed on Monday night. The subject was “Behind the scenes at Carnegie Hall.” It led with this photo by professional photographer Ryan Nava:
Here’s what followed:
Are you curious what it’s like to perform at Carnegie Hall?
One thing for sure is that it was a LOT easier the sixth time than it was the first time, especially with an enthusiastic audience, so this year was my favorite year so far. The fact that I had friends JD, Luques, and Rudy all there this year just warmed my heart – we really have been playing together a while and it’s just getting better for us.
OK, back to the question, what is it like to play there? Every room has a unique energy, as well as advantages and disadvantages – but these days, I only perform in rooms that I like. Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall has perfect acoustics and an amazing 9′ Steinway D, so that’s way up there in the advantages category for a pianist, of course, since I only get to play a piano like that maybe 2-3 times a year at best. Just imagine my favorite thing to do – playing the piano – on one of the finest instruments in the entire country. It’s like a Ferrari to me – a high-performance vehicle – that’s what it’s like! You can see the piano practically overwhelms the stage – it’s huge – the big “engine” has longer strings with the ability for a greater range of sound, as well as dynamics. So, I get to enjoy the thrill of the sonic beauty, the easy “touch” which allows quickness and clarity, but I also try and “milk” the room and piano with contrast in volume – playing very, very softly as well as really pretty loud, all magnified naturally by the design of the room, so no microphones are needed. That’s definitely cool. I also like that it’s a “treat” for most of us to go to Carnegie Hall, so there are positive expectations with the audience. The room and stage are very pretty and live up to those expectations – lots of chandeliers all around – and I like being a part of a special experience. As an artist, I like playing up to those advantages – so yes, the room is inspiring.
OK, what’s it like to play Carnegie Hall?
It’s absolutely soooo much fun! We had an awesome time! I think we’ll be back January 10, 2021!
That would be a Saturday, a first for Lisa at Weill.
Below Lisa’s commentary was a collage of Ryan Nava’s photography with the Chalkboard Destiny artwork in the center:
I hope I’m able to redeem myself next year. Redemption is always sweet. Thank you to Lisa, not just for your explanatory newsletter, but for your understanding.
I’ll conclude this post with last year’s “usual pic”:
11/18 UPDATE: There will be no redemption in 2021. Due to the ongoing pandemic, Carnegie Hall canceled the show (per Lisa’s latest blog post).
Mike Stern & Jeff Lorber Fusion at The Iridium December 22, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Theatre, Travel, Weather.1 comment so far
I made my fourth trip to The Iridium Jazz Club on Thursday night to see Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber Fusion perform. Not only was it the last show of their four-night engagement at The Iridium, but also the last show of their tour.
I bought my preferred seating ticket on October 1, four days after the release of Eleven, Mike and Jeff’s collaborative album. Before Thursday, I had seen Jeff, a keyboardist, and his Fusion bandmate Jimmy Haslip, bass, three times each. For Jeff, my first time was the first night of Smooth Jazz for Scholars in 2014, followed two months later by the Fusion’s appearance at Blue Note, and 19 months after that, I saw them at Birdland. Obviously, two of the three times I’d seen Jimmy was those two Jeff Lorber Fusion shows, but I also saw him with Yellowjackets in 2006. (He left the band about five years later.)
This was my first time seeing Mike Stern, as well as his wife Leni (“Lainie”), also a guitarist, and drummer Dennis Chambers.
It was very cold as I stood on the platform at Wantagh LIRR station just before 6:00, and the gusty winds didn’t help. I was only up there a few minutes because the ticket office was unlocked, which was only slightly warmer, but it was a tough few minutes.
I thoroughly enjoyed Eleven, which I’ve listened to several times since September 27, including during the train ride to Penn Station.
Once at Penn, I took the E train to 50th Street. The station let out at 51st and 8th Avenue, so I had to walk a block east to Broadway to get to The Iridium. It was 7:05 when I arrived.
I initially stood on a small line outside the entrance, not realizing that preferred seating ticket holders could go in before 7:30. When one such ticket holder showed up, I acknowledged my mistake and walked down the stairs inside where ticket holders were let in one at a time. Unfortunately, there was a draft from the front door constantly opening and closing. It was a relief once I entered the venue itself.
The host seated me at a table by the stage, but I felt uncomfortable with the lack of space between chairs. So, I was reseated at a small table facing the left side of the stage that had two chairs on opposite sides. That was much better.
From the menu, I picked Pasta Bolognese which came with a couple of slices of bread; delicious.
The TVs cycled through upcoming bands until 8:30 arrived. Showtime.
The energetic and gregarious Mike Stern led the way on guitar:
Jeff Lorber played a pair of Yamaha Montage 8 synthesizers:
Jimmy Haslip on bass:
I color corrected Jimmy’s pictures because they were too blue and red.
Dennis Chambers on drums:
…and for seven of the nine songs, Leni Stern, Mike’s wife, on additional guitars. She played ngoni on the first tune, “Like a Thief” from her Sabani album, which she also sang:
…and electric guitar:
The happy couple:
Five of the nine songs in the set were from Eleven:
- Motor City
- Jones Street
- Nu Som
- Runner
- Slow Change
Wide shots from the end of “Motor City”:
The end of “Jones Street”:
“Slow Change,” the finale, was my favorite on the album and my favorite Thursday night, ending in an extended jam:
The end of the song:
Mike asked if we wanted one more. Of course we did.
The encore was a Jimi Hendrix cover sung by Mike – “Look Over Yonder”:
With that, the set and the tour were complete.
Before bundling up for the trek back to Penn Station, I met and greeted Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber. I spoke to Jeff more than Mike, reminiscing about the last time I saw the Fusion play in 2016 with Andy Snitzer on saxophone and Lionel Cordew on drums. We talked about what they were up to lately. Lionel was in the audience for one of Wednesday’s sets. I didn’t get to say much to Mike before we posed for a picture:
Mike didn’t realize I wanted both of them in the shot, but I’m satisfied with how it came out.
Just as I was about to leave, I noticed Jimmy Haslip walk by. We spoke briefly and posed for a pic:
The set ran longer than I thought it would, so I didn’t have much time to get to Penn Station for the 10:45 train to Babylon, which would arrive in Wantagh an hour later. Not wanting to look for a subway line to ride to Penn, I ran and walked 17 blocks. I was on the train with a minute to spare. Thanks to the double whammy of two shows at Madison Square Garden – Andrea Bocelli in the arena and Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Twas the Night Before in the Hulu Theater – the train was standing room only! Not a single car offered relief. I learned this from one of the passengers I stood next to in the car. The situation was initially frustrating, but everyone in my end of the car bonded through conversation about where they’d been, which led to other topics. Once the train reached Rockville Centre, the crowd began to thin. 15 minutes later, I was in Wantagh. By midnight, I was home in bed.
I had a wonderful time. Thanks to Mike, Jeff, Leni, Jimmy, and Dennis for 90 minutes of musical bliss.
Whether or not you’ve seen Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber Fusion in person, Eleven is a must. It even has a horn section.