Smooth Jazz for Scholars 2022 dates/lineup February 22, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Video.add a comment
Keyboardist Jay Rowe shared wonderful news on Monday night: Smooth Jazz for Scholars is back!
Two of the three featured musicians on Friday, April 29 – Peter White and Nelson Rangell – would have been featured on the Friday in 2020. Jeff Kashiwa was originally slated for 2020’s Saturday show. Nelson grew his hair out during the pandemic, but it’s back to the length you saw in the billboard. Marcus Anderson will be making his Smooth Jazz for Scholars debut.
Brian Simpson and Marion Meadows were present in 2019. Who would have thought that would be the last SJFS for Nick Colionne and Rohn Lawrence? Nick passed away last month, on New Year’s Day, and Rohn died two days earlier, on December 30. Here is Rohn’s guitar solo on the first night in 2019 during Marion’s cover of “No Rhyme, No Reason”:
I was also reminded I took a photo of Nick and Rohn together during the last song of 2016’s second night:
Rest in power.
Repeating the information about this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars:
Friday, April 29
Peter White
Nelson Rangell
Marion Meadows
Saturday, April 30
Brian Simpson
Jeff Kashiwa
Marcus Anderson
Jay Rowe will be featured on both nights.
Location:
Veterans Memorial Auditorium in the Parsons Government Center
70 W. River St.
Milford, CT 06460
Tickets: $45 for one night, $75 for both nights
Please specify which night for single night purchases.
2020 tickets will be honored.
Proof of vaccination is required and masks must be worn.
Funds can be sent to Jay electronically:
PayPal: funhouse63@aol.com
Venmo: John-Rowe-43
Cash App: $Jayrowe
Or by check:
Jay Rowe
78 Hillside Ave.
Milford, CT 06460
As usual, I’ll end this post with recaps of the first and second nights in 2019, the 17th annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars. The 18th will definitely be worth the wait. See you there!
4/30 UPDATE: Brian Simpson had to back out of the second night. He was replaced with Alex Bugnon.
Instrumental Invasion, 2/16/22 February 17, 2022
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The February 16 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the last show recorded in 2021. One hour per day was recorded on December 28 and 29.
The playlist was created on December 26 with annotations and the script draft on the 27th.
Return to Forever appeared in the first segment for the second week in a row and it was also the second week in a row with a Rippingtons song featuring saxophonist Kirk Whalum. The show was chock full of past and present members of the Rippingtons.
I mentioned that Nelson Rangell recorded “The Island” under its translated original title (“To Begin Again”), but I didn’t mention that he also whistled “How Insensitive” live at Smooth Jazz for Scholars in 2013. In that case, he did not disclose its original Portuguese title, “Insensatez.” Depending on your source, that translates to “foolishness” or “foolish one.” Marilyn Bergman, co-writer of “The Island” with her husband Alan, died on January 8, just over a week after I recorded this show.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 2/9/22 February 10, 2022
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The February 9 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on December 20 and 21, 2021. Pickups were also recorded on the 21st and on January 2nd after learning of guitarist Nick Colionne’s passing on New Year’s Day.
The playlist was created on December 19 with annotations and the script draft on the 20th, followed immediately by recording.
“The Closer We Get” by Dave Koz and “Heart to Heart” by Norman Brown made their second appearance as they were singles in mid-December. “The Closer We Get” was first played on January 6, 2021, and “Heart to Heart” on September 30, 2020.
Four of the first five songs were originally considered for last week’s show, but dropped when the duration standard was reduced from 18:30 to 18:00. Those songs were:
- “The Happening” by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
- “Captain Marvel” by Return to Forever
- “Feeling Funky” by The Crusaders
- “Pittsburgh” by Ahmad Jamal
The “fun fact” I shared in the January 26 post made it to air this week while back-selling “Captain Marvel.” This was the first show where I didn’t refer to bassist James Cammack as Jim, while back-selling “Pittsburgh,” and the show where I finally learned guitarist Ramon Stagnaro had been misidentified as Stagnero in album credits, leading me in previous shows to use an Italian pronunciation (“stahn-yair-o”). 3/7 UPDATE: It turns out I got the Italian pronunciation right; it was pronounced “stun-yahr-o.” I say “was” because, sadly, Ramon died February 16, a week after this show aired.
After this show, the only song I haven’t played from Jay Rowe‘s Groove Reflections album is the last track, “Almost Kool.”
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 2/2/22 February 3, 2022
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The special 2/2/22 edition of Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded from December 13 to 15, 2021: one segment on the 13th, two on the 14th, and the second hour on the 15th.
The playlist was created on December 10 so I could devote the weekend to Festival of Games and the subsequent blog post. I had to tweak the playlist on the 13th after it was suggested that I make segments exactly 18 minutes long. That brings me full circle as it was the original segment standard for the first seven months of the show. The six shows leading up to this one had some segments shortened to as close to 18 minutes as possible.
After the tweak, I annotated the playlist and drafted the talk break script. Every segment but the last had to be padded out with extra liners, script additions, and ad-libs. A dozen songs ended with fadeouts and “Theme from M*A*S*H” by Ahmad Jamal (from Digital Works) was one minute short. I should have picked a 7:30+ song, not 6:30+. Incidentally, while back-selling the song, I dedicated it to M*A*S*H writer/producer Ken Levine (“laVYNE”), then plugged his blog, By Ken Levine, and podcast, Hollywood and Levine.
Thanks to Jeff Kroll for reminding me that the day was 2/2/22. I tend to have blinders on, so to speak, and miss anomalies like that. It allowed me to search my catalog for songs with the same title by different artists. I’m proud of the six I chose. Lisa Hilton‘s “Getaway” and Fourplay‘s “Lucky” were both played for the second time; respectively heard the first time on February 10, 2021, and November 18, 2020.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
January 28-29 snowstorm February 1, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
***THIS IS MY 600TH BLOG POST!***
It took three weeks for the next major snow event to affect Long Island, and it was major. As in February 2013, Wantagh was west of the worst snow (and blizzard conditions), but this time, I measured 17 inches in the driveway. It’s possible I measured a drift, rendering my reading inaccurate, but I don’t think so. Still, the official total for “1 WNW Wantagh” – according to the National Weather Service – was 14 inches. Their full snowfall report can be viewed here.
The main storm was preceded by a lesser system Friday morning and afternoon with mere non-accumulating snow flurries. I took two photos of that, one at 8:47 AM:
…and another at 3:58 PM:
The real deal began Friday evening. I took this photo at 7:20:
I also took a photo around 8:15 before going to bed, but I accidentally deleted it.
I awoke to heavy snow, a stiff breeze, and much accumulation. Whereas the January 7 snow started powdery, this was all powder as air temperatures hovered in the low 20s for the duration of the storm. The photographic timeline starts at 6:47 AM:
9:05 AM 
11:21 AM 
1:21 PM
As the snow fell, I carried on with indoor tasks: a treadmill run (and shower), drafting the March 23 Instrumental Invasion talk break script and then recording its first hour, and watching content on my streaming services. Underestimating the accumulation, I took out the garbage from the kitchen trash can, getting snow up to my knees, requiring a change of pants.
By 3:45, snow was tapering off:
That meant it was time to break out the shovels and snow blower. My dad Bill shoveled initially, and I took it from there. I cleared the front porch, walkway to the driveway, in front of the garage, and a path to the oil burner fuel cap on the left side of the house. It took Dad 45 minutes to clear the driveway and sidewalk:
He asked at one point if I wanted to use the snow blower, but I declined. I did try it after last year’s blizzard.
When Dad was finished, I shoveled what was left. I had to quit while working on the west end of the driveway due to muscle strain. By 5:06, I sprinkled rock salt on the porch, driveway, and sidewalk, then photographed the aftermath, just as the setting sun shone through the breaking clouds:
The setting sun:
One last Saturday photo from bedroom window at 5:11:
I ate a hearty pasta dinner (as usual), then lied down (after taking ibuprofen) to watch more streaming content. I started feeling tired around 7:00, so I went to sleep. I must have gotten close to ten hours of sleep, getting up for the day at 6:15 AM Sunday. My muscle aches had diminished enough that I went back out to shovel. The snow plow hadn’t come up our block until evening, so I shoveled what had settled onto the edge of the driveway and sidewalk up to the property line. I also gave the west end of the driveway another try. Here’s how it looked back in my room at 6:46:
I still felt well enough to carry out my daily exercise routine, including a treadmill run. I photographed the backyard and deck at 8:16, before the run:
When Dad left for his office, I shoveled whatever wasn’t frozen in the center of the driveway. This is the last aftermath photo, taken at 1:19 PM:
As you can see, there was some melting, thanks to the rock salt and the sun, but temperatures were still only in the 20s, so whatever melted froze overnight. Warmer weather is expected in the next few days with rain on Thursday and Friday. Below freezing temperatures return Friday night with a slight chance of snow.
Until the next storm, thanks for reading my 600th blog post!
Instrumental Invasion, 1/26/22 January 27, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Politics, Radio, TV.add a comment
The January 26 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded from December 7 to 9, 2021. The first segment was recorded at home on the 7th, four segments at the remote location on the 8th, and the last segment and pickups back at home on the 9th. More pickups were recorded at the remote location on the 14th as I shortened four segments. Starting next week, all segments will be 18 minutes long, bringing me full circle as that was the standard duration for the first seven months of Instrumental Invasion. (Going forward, I will not specify where segments are recorded; only when.)
The playlist was created on December 5 with annotations on the 6th. The talk break script was drafted on the 6th and 7th.
The stream cut out seven minutes into the show. Audio returned 39 minutes later, but uncompressed and initially fluctuating between channels. I will reuse the songs that didn’t air in future shows.
I played “Sundance” by Boney James because it was on the smooth jazz radio charts at the time of recording. I also wanted to work in the line “without Butch” in reference to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. You won’t hear that on Watercolors!
I didn’t realize “Legacy” by Kenny G – a “duet” with Stan Getz – was new to the charts. I chose it as the first of six tracks to play from New Standards because it was featured in Kenny’s episode of the HBO documentary series Music Box that aired on December 2, the day before the album’s release. Plus, I got to call back to the Return to Forever song at the top of the show (“Medieval Overture“) since Stan Getz collaborated with Chick Corea during the RTF era. Fun fact: Chick’s compositions “Captain Marvel” and “500 Miles High” were recorded with Stan before RTF, but Light as a Feather came out first.
And yes, it’s true. I once let slip my political views on air, as noted after Jeff Lorber‘s “Anthem for a New America.” These days, the less I know about politics and current events, the better, and I don’t want to clash with people. I want to be everyone’s friend, regardless of politics. Incidentally, this was the second week in a row where I played a song from Jeff’s He Had a Hat album.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
The dead air portion was filled with segment file audio. The audio afterward was hard limited with the fluctuating portion converted to mono.
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, 1/12/22 January 13, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Art, Audio, Comedy, History, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Philanthropy, Radio, TV, Video.add a comment
NOTE: This post concludes with remarks on the passing of Bob Saget.
The January 12 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded from November 23 to 25, 2021. The first segment was recorded on the 23rd, the next three on the 24th, and the last two on the 25th, Thanksgiving. Pickups were recorded on the 25th, 27th, and 28th, with an additional pickup on December 14 to accommodate a shortened final segment. The other five had no wiggle room and remained 18:30 in length.
The playlist was created on November 21 and annotated on the 22nd, followed by the script draft.
I had South America, particularly Brazil, on my mind after watching a documentary on Disney+ called Walt & El Grupo about Walt Disney’s 1941 trip, with a group of studio artists, to South America. Then, I watched the two films inspired by the trip: Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. The combination of watching those and listening to a DAT transfer of an extended of “Life is Like a Samba” by David Benoit, which was on a 7″ EP, are the reason I played the album version of the aforementioned song, “Cabana Carioca” by Spyro Gyra, and Cedar Walton‘s cover of “Aquarela do Brasil,” a.k.a. “Brazil.” And while determining how to pronounce vocalist Jerri Bocchino’s last name, since she sang the “Life is Like…” refrain, I was led to her website where she goes by Jerri Bo Keno. That’s how: “bo keno.”
I continued my tradition of playing a different version of a song I played the week before. Last week, I played the original Nelson Rangell version of “Dancing with Ivy,” and this week, it was the song’s writer Jay Rowe‘s version on his debut album, A Dream I Had.
“Wayman” by Steve Cole, “Still In Love” by Marc Antoine, and “Just Can’t Resist” by Oli Silk were all played for the second time. The first two were singles at the time of recording while the third song, like “Chrome Explosion” last week, was used to fill out the segment.
This was the second week in a row where the first song of the show was from 1979 and by a guitarist, and where the third song was by The Crusaders.
I was unaware of bassist Will Lee‘s Uncle Will nickname until an Instagram post by Bob Saget on October 28. I first used it on the Christmas show a few weeks ago. The reason for this anecdote is the unexpected passing of Bob this past Sunday. I saw a post by him that morning, thinking nothing of it, and was blindsided when I saw this post from actress Khrystyne Haje at the top of my feed around 8PM. I was ready to go to sleep, but couldn’t for about two hours. How could I with shocking news rattling around my brain? How could anyone, especially those that knew him personally?
Bob’s media friends, like Rich Eisen, suggested fans donate to the Scleroderma Research Foundation in his honor. Bob became involved with SRF after the disease took the life of his sister Gay. I made a donation before airtime last night, and I’m happy to report that thousands more have done the same.
As for last night’s show, click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
January 7 snowfall January 8, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
The first measurable snowfall of the season fell Friday morning, exactly five years to the date of the first measurable snowfall of that winter. I’m not sure when it started this time, but I know it ended around 9:00.
The initial forecast earlier in the week called for a rain/snow mix, but I’ve learned to expect a colder and snowier forecast as the event approaches. That’s what happened here. Thursday’s winter weather advisory called for 3 to 5 inches, then 2 to 4. 8 inches fell (one less than five years ago), at least on our lawn. I measured 5 inches in the driveway, which was resurfaced in August. With air temperatures around the freezing mark (32 degrees Fahrenheit), snow was more wet than powdery, at least by the time I woke up. My friend Jeff Jensen noted it was powdery at the onset. Seeing snow clumped on the trees and bushes misled me.
What follows is the usual photographic timeline from my first photo of the day through the last. We begin at 6:35 AM:
8:49 AM 
The sun peeked out at 9:07 AM. 
10:12 AM 
11:19 AM: My dad Bill is in the middle of clearing the driveway with the snow blower. 
Then, he cleared his car and my mom Lisa’s car. 
11:48 AM, before shoveling 
12:13 PM, after shoveling 
No more snow is expected for a while. The next time more than two inches falls, I’ll post about it. Until then, thanks for reading.
1/11 UPDATE: Jinx. Another round of snow is possible this weekend.
Instrumental Invasion, 1/5/22 January 6, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Baseball, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, New Year, Personal, Radio, Rock, Sports.add a comment
The January 5 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP, the first show of 2022, was recorded over three days in November 2021. The first hour was recorded on my 40th birthday, November 17, the first second hour segment on the 18th, and the other two segments on the 19th. A pickup was recorded on the 20th with more pickups on December 14 as I shortened the length of four segments.
The playlist was created and annotated, and the talk break script was drafted, on November 16.
Jeff Kroll was generous enough to record liners for the show, but he went the extra mile by contributing show open voice overs. Hearkening back to the latter days of The Mike Chimeri Show, I added a laser gun sound and the end of “Brave New World” by The Rippingtons. The end result:
I’ll be using that every week going forward.
I originally intended on talking about that emotional time in my life when I was first exposed to “Dancing with Ivy” by Nelson Rangell (written by Jay Rowe). Coincidentally, it was the latter days of The Mike Chimeri Show. I was depressed, obsessed with the New York Mets, obese, felt threatened by WebRadio WCWP’s new death metal format, Capital Punishment Radio, and I treated anyone and everyone like a therapist. My stubborn arrogance led me to foolishly record a promo where I mocked the tropes of other DJ’s promos, such as a flange effect and bleeping curses. Capital Punishment replied with a mocking promo of their own. It began with a big band excerpt, cut off by DJ derision, and then mimicking a portion of another insulting promo of mine. Picking up on namesakes, I said in the promo that my show didn’t have Coldplay, but did have Fourplay; no Yellowcard, but Yellowjackets; no Jessica or Ashlee, but Brian Simpson. “We don’t have Yellowjacket,” one of them said in my voice, before concluding with words to the effect of smooth metal “and a whole lot more.” That played off my show’s tagline, “smooth jazz and more.” That humbling, humiliating experience eventually led me to stay in my lane and be a team player, but not until after Evening Jazz. I wasn’t a team player then, either. Evening Jazz on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then just Thursdays, was wildly different from the nights Fred Camin hosted. I once ranted to Bernie Bernard, “Ayn Inserto? Insert this.” What a jerk I was.
With that confession out of my system, on a lighter note, I consulted Jay Rowe while working on the playlist, remembering that he admitted who Ivy was when he played it on his piano during a 2020 Facebook livestream (my request). I had forgotten, but Jay reminded me it was for his guitarist friend Tod Baharian‘s daughter, who was just a toddler at the time.
“Chrome Explosion” by Anders Enger Jensen was first played on Instrumental Invasion on June 24, 2020, the same week I first played “Song for Bilbao” by Michael Brecker, which I replayed last week. Here is the “Chrome Explosion” music video I referenced in the subsequent talk break:
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
7:35 AM UPDATE: It took until listening to the aircheck to notice that Tony Watson Jr. played soprano sax on “Ear Candy” by Pieces of a Dream, not tenor. Sometimes, foolish oversights escape my ear until it’s too late.
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