2023 Jazz Cruise – Music Unites Us Again

 

The Jazz Cruise vintage 2023 blew away the blues of years of Covid dormancy.  We had attended the 20^th anniversary cruise in early 2020 right before Covid upended all of our lives and booked it for the following year which never came (or the following year).

The 2023 happening was extraordinary as one could feel a singular energy between the performers and the appreciative audience, an energy which has always been unique to the Jazz world but was enhanced by the long interval and a deep appreciation of what music means to these extraordinary artists and their audience.  We went from one venue to the next, lining up our day of sometimes as many as five different performances.  This sometimes meant skipping a meal (shocking on a nice ship!).

 

Speaking of the ship, I might as well mention that we were on the newly upgraded Celebrity Millennium, but it is a charted vessel through the Jazz Cruise, so everyone on board is there for the jazz only, with Celebrity merely operating the ship.  Even the destinations are secondary, many people (such as us) preferring to stay on board, passing up Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Nassau, places we have previously visited.

 

Bill Charlap, Ann, Bob

It is impossible to summarize all the wonderful artists we heard, saw, and frequently met and chatted with.  It is probably the only venue where the latter is possible.  Nothing like talking to a piano God such as Bill Charlap as we were both in the solarium in shorts! 

 

The first six intensive days

This photo of the first 6 days of activities summarizes (the 7^th did not fit in the photograph) the frenzied pace and the extent of the artists on board.  Some of our little notations sketched out our “strategy” for making the most of our days, focusing on some of our favorites, although it does not show the serendipitous performances we caught as well, musicians who were new to us.  I’m certain we enjoyed a full eight to ten hours each day of music and talk with the musicians and other devoted fans.

 

Ann, Bob, Emmet Cohen

 

Here were some of the high points for us.  It is remarkable to witness the maturation of Emmet Cohen, who we first saw as a 28 year old at Dizzy’s (but has been involved in the Jazz Cruise practically right out of college).  His progression as a jazz pianist now places him near the top of such musicians, technically, soulfully, and multifaceted, eager and capable to play all forms of jazz, with a deep reverence for jazz history.  

 

Emmet made lemonade of the lemons Covid delivered, making more than 100 Monday night jazz performances from his Harlem apartment.   Live at “Emmet’s Place” frequently showcased many of his neighboring musicians, particularly his talented sidemen, bassist Russell Hall, and drummer, Kyle Poole.  Kyle is still his drummer, a talented recording artist and arranger in his own right, but his new bassist, on board the cruise as well, is Yasushi Nakamura.  Those Monday night shows were the highlight of the week for his fans during our quarantine.

 

Emmet Cohen, Yasushi Nakamura, Kyle Poole

 

Emmet has become a “rock star” at the age of 33 and an important part of the jazz cruise, as well as now touring the world.  We knew him when.  He organizes the popular Keyboard Capers towards the end of the cruise, all the talented pianists on board performing, with a camera cam projecting their keyboard strokes and then all of them lining up to take their turns with as many as 10 hands on the keyboard, such improvisional genius and pure love of the music and respect for one another.

 

Ann, Emmet Cohen

 

With “Emmet’s Place” Cohen has reimagined the music business model.  Forget about selling CDs.  Instead, go back to the days of Hayden and Mozart and seek patrons, but in this Internet world, smaller contributions from members of “Emmet Cohen Exclusive,” with four different levels of contributions.  We’ve been members from the get-go.  This allows such talented artists to free themselves from the music label, dependent on selling CDs (which have suffered in the Internet world), and to tour and to develop their unique styles (his CDs are part of the benefit of being a member, but the main one is knowing we along with hundreds (or thousands now) of others are helping an artist to reach his fullest potential).

 

For me, his popularity has a downside.  There was once a time I could email him about a Johnny Mandel song, as an example, and he’d eventually answer.  Now due to his enormous popularity he has a staff, a technical crew; he’s gone big time, but that’s fine.  It’s wonderful to watch him grow.

Bill Charlap

 

The other pianist whose performances we never missed was the incomparable Bill Charlap.  The other pianists on board have the same reverence.  With the exception of Oscar Peterson – and Emmet – my favorite ones are all named Bill: Bill Charlap, Bill Mays, and the late great Bill Evans.  As I mentioned, we happened to chat with Charlap as he passed through the Spa.  We were having a “health” breakfast.  I think he was a little perplexed when we told him that we have breakfast with him every morning.  Huh?  And we do.  We turn to Alexa and ask “her” to play the Bill Charlap trio.  He was amused and friendly.

 

All the “Bills” I mentioned, I think play with a similar sensibility.  I made that observation to him and, small world that music is, he said that Bill Mays is a close friend and he just spoke to him the day before.  Makes sense.  No wonder I am drawn so personally to their music.  The songs they prefer, and their styles are ones that I’m most familiar with, not that I can play anywhere at that level, but most of the songs they play are the same ones I play from the Great American songbook and Broadway.  At one of Charlap’s performances he played a song I’m intimately familiar with, a classic ballad I’ve tried to master, Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane’s “Too Late Now,” from the 1951 movie musical Royal Wedding.  As he was playing, I found the fake book version on my phone and was able to follow his unique style which he applied to the song, thinking maybe, just maybe, a little will rub off on me.

 

Bill Charlap, Peter Washington, Kenny Washington

 

Surprising to me was at times Charlap exhibited a sudden physicality in his performances along with his lyricism.  He seems like such a mild mannered person, a piano style which relies on a melancholy feel and suddenly an explosion of sound.  We sat close to him in each of his performances as he prefers the more intimate lounges (which were nonetheless packed to SRO).

 

Bill Charlap Keyboard Capers

 

The piano pyrotechnics of the younger pianists in Keyboard Capers was handed to Charlap to conclude, a salute to his stature by his contemporary greats.  Brilliantly, and in contrast, he concluded with the wistful “You Are My Sunshine” which I would put in the same category as two songs I like to sometimes conclude concerts with, “Smile” or ”Bye Bye Blackbird.”  Then all the other great pianists on board lined up for an extravaganza of multiple hands on the piano.  Just phenomenal.

 

Jeff Hamilton, Tamir Handleman, Jon Hamar

One of the pianists who we saw on the last cruise is Renee Rosnes, coincidentally Bill Charlap’s wife, who is a master in her own right, and I just have to wonder how it must be to grow up in such a talented family.  And then there is the incomparable Benny Green who we saw in several venues, once being interviewed with Tamir Handleman both of whom have their own distinctive styles.  Handleman is the pianist for the world class drummer, Jeff Hamilton Trio, along with the bassist Jon Hamar and we went to as many of their gigs as we could.  Jeff Hamilton is a drummer in his own elite league and has a rich history of playing with some of the great bands.

 

Benny Green accompanied Nicki Parrott who plays the bass and is a wonderful jazz vocalist (a little reminiscent of our favorite Doris Day).  Unbelievably she said it was the first time she has ever performed with Benny Green and the looks they were giving each other, back and forth, during their performance spoke adoration and respect.  It is something special in jazz as artists hand the melody back and forth for improvisation and then come together, almost like magic to me.   

Greg Hutchinson, Christian McBride, Benny Green

 

Green also was the pianist for the Jazz Hall of Fame bassist Christian McBride which honored the great bassist Ray Brown.

 

Tamir Hendelman, Leroy Downs, Benny Green

 

Benny Green and Tamir Hendelman were interviewed by Leroy Downs, talking about their own histories, approach to jazz piano.  Every word was fascinating.  But there was a certain body language and enthusiasm expressed by Green which Ann read as his being in a very different place in life than where he was when we saw him three years earlier, so she went up to him after the interview and made the observation.  Green was stunned.  He is such a soulful individual and he admitted that there was a woman in his life now and that he’s found a new level of contentment.  It showed in all his performances, with McBride, Parrott, and whenever he was called to play.  He is one of the greats in jazz piano, technically and emotionally.  

 

Also on board were established elder jazz greats, Monty Alexander, who we first heard in the early 1970s, a Caribbean pianist whose early work had that driving Caribbean rhythm.  We recently caught one of his performances at Dizzy’s too.   

 

Huston Person, Emmet Cohen, John Pizzarelli

 

Then the senior saxophonist, playing all the classics, Houston Person, now in his late 80s wowed every age in the audience.  He still has the heart and strength of a younger person (and had the courage to climb the five flights to Emmet Cohen’s apartment one night to perform with him).  We actually met Person three years ago at the 2020 cruise, sitting with he and his family on board in the restaurant waiting for our respective rooms to open, easily talking back and forth about music but our not knowing who he was.  He never said; we never asked and then we learned the legend we were honored to be sitting next to!  Then, although not an octogenarian like Alexander and Person is Wynton Marsalis who is almost synonymous with the word ‘jazz’ itself.  He’s won Grammy awards in five consecutive years.   

 

Dee Dee Bridgewater’s hilarious, playful solo with John Pizzarelli (above) was also memorable, honoring the induction of the late Joey DeFrancesco into the Jazz Cruise Hall of Fame.  Emmet Cohen also was part of the ceremony, playing Joey’s vintage Hammond along with Huston Person.

Ann Hampton Callaway and Trio

 

 

Ann Hampton Callaway, Ann

 

Ann Hampton Callaway and Niki Haris were in an elevator when we got on one day and as we pushed the button for the 7^th floor they broke out into an impromptu song about riding to the 7^th! (Nice chord in music.). We’ve seen Callaway many years ago at the Arts Garage and had a photo of that performance to show her later when she too was interviewed by Downs.  Talk about a soulful performer, a singer who knows how to sell a song.  And what a sense of humor, her standup routine being to pick on some guy as being her ex-husband, so I was determined to stay out of the first row! 

 

Tamir Hendelman, Tierney Sutton, Serge Merland

 

Tierney Sutton’s arrangements were memorable, one more great vocalist on board with so many others. She was accompanied by Tamir Hendelman, and her husband, guitarist Serge Merland.

 

Shelly Berg another pianist and educator of renown, who is one of the two directors of the shows, the other composer, bassist, and arranger, John Clayton, was omnipresent, playing and interviewing.  As with the last cruise, I loved attending Berg’s “Jazz University” lectures, this one covering a brief history of jazz juxtaposed to American history and what distinguishes a great jazz piano solo.  Imagine fitting that into an hour?  He did and played some selections as well.  I enjoyed watching Berg watching his many students perform, such as Emmet Cohen.

 

Shelly Berg, Samara Joy

 

One of his interviews though was with the “overnight” sensation, the 21-year-old Samara Joy.  He recorded it for XM radio as well.  We first took note of Joy, then a shy vocalist, about two years ago on Emmet’s Place.  She was just a senior in college as I recall then.  But by then she had already won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition, the range and control of her voice reminiscent of both Sara Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and as we learned in the interview, perhaps her greatest influence, Carmen McRae, who we saw in the late 1970s in an upper East side club.  We heard Joy sing one of our favorites, “Guess Who I Saw Today,” her range and intonation remarkable.  21 years old.  Imagine?  (BTW, I think Eydie Gorme’s version of that song, although a very different style, equally excellent.)

 

Berg asked her that if she could have a wish granted to sing a song with a pianist who has never accompanied her, she responded Sullivan Fortner who of course was on board and then with a little hesitation, her eyes opening wide, Bill Charlap.  That’s jazz, a circle of respect.

Bria Skonberg

 

Then, there is the unexpected.  A trumpet player, Bria Skonberg, played a song she wrote, “So Is The Day” and then broke out into song.  Extraordinary to have such a voice and presentation.  The rule on board is no videos are allowed.  I did take a few brief ones, those that are very personal to me, but will not post them.  There is a YouTube version of her song, so here is a link.  It starts with the vocals rather than the trumpet.  I think it is more effective the other way around as we heard it, a remarkable and unexpected moment.

 

As I mentioned, Emmet's Keyboard Capers is the concluding show in the main theater.  It is so special to me as all the great pianists on board come together, individually playing and then jamming together. It is a particularly joyous moment as these photographs attest.

Emmet Cohen Keyboard Capers

Emmet Cohen, Bill Charlap, Tamir Hendelman, Benny Green

Keyboard Capers Pianists

I’m leaving out so many of the greatest jazz artists we have seen in one place, ever, but I’m hoping my unrestrained enthusiasm makes up for the voids.  My apologies to all who I failed to mention.  So many of them.  But to Michael Lazaroff, the Executive Director of The Jazz Cruise (this being the first of four weeks of jazz on the ship, but this was Straight Ahead Jazz, our favorite, particularly the classic piano, bass, drum trio), our thanks for bringing us all together and to help us forget politics, Covid, and so many of the ills of the world.  United in music we stand.  And it’s all there, in one place.  Congratulations Michael!

The last night at sea...

 

80B

 

“80B” was the imaginative salutation of a homemade card from our friends, Art and Sydelle, to mark my 80^th birthday, an alphanumeric version of the short version of my name.  The card was rendered with an original water color drawn by Art.  Beautiful. 

 

I normally don’t obsess over milestone birthdays.  There was always a future in my mind.  When I was much younger, future and infinity seemed to be in a one-to-one correlation. 

 

Beginning an octogenarian decade comes with the knowledge that unlike other decades, there is a different feeling about the future as the body goes beyond its expiration date.  So, the point is to make each day count.  Writing has always been important to me and I’m now turning to something I hope to finish.  You might call it Volume Three of my “explaining” series, this one “Explaining It to Me.”  It will be a personal memoir of a not very extraordinary person.  Now, there’s a blurb for the book!  Nonetheless, as I said in my first volume, getting thoughts down, working, focusing, is an end in itself.  Satisfying.  I’ll even incorporate the short stories I’ve written, ones I always feel are unfinished as every time I open those, I make revisions.  In print I’ll have to call them finished.

 

Time, time, time is now the main issue.  A race to a finish line.  Perhaps that may mean my writing in this space will be more limited, and if a review of a play or a book, more truncated. 

 

Speaking of which, is it coincidental that over my birthday I happened to pick up a book I’ve had in my-to-be -read pile for some time, Louis Begley’s last novel, The New Life of Hugo Gardner?  I wrote extensively about Begley, the author of the Schmidt trilogy, in my November 2012entry, “Schmidtie.” 

Among other details, I pointed out that Begley was at a stage in life when he wrote those novels that was a little ahead of my own stage, and The New Life of Hugo Gardner seems to capture that again for me.  It is about the protagonist’s sense of a life well lived now in summation, a looking back, the outcomes of actions he either knowingly or by chance took in his life. He, as do I, is trying to retain a sense of control, living his remaining years on his terms.

 

Is this Begley’s final fictional statement?  Time will tell.  A brief summation without even naming characters explains why I ask that question.  Hugo Gardner concluded a career as a highly successful and influential journalist, assigned to the Paris office, happily married, two children.  Here he is in his 80s and is told he has prostate cancer and finds his wife has left him for a younger man.

 

His doctor wants to aggressively treat the condition.  Gardner instead prefers to watch and wait and if the waiting does not turn out well, take care of the business in Switzerland.  Like Schmitie, Gardner moves in wealthy, well connected society.  Ultimately we all have these existential dilemmas in common.

 

He is estranged from his daughter and uses his son as a go between in trying to understand his daughter, but they are not close as well.  He also has an ex-lover in Paris, and they get together again, Gardner thinking that there is a possibility of a long term relationship.  But the lover is caring for her invalid husband and wants Gardner simply nearby as a companion and occasional lover.  That has its starts and stops until the boom is lowered by her that she has reconciled with another, younger love, leaving Gardner in a state of limbo, mostly alienated from his family, and having to contend alone with his prostate decision.

 

He explains his big decision to refuse radiation to his long-time Doctor.  As Begley is prone to do, his dialogue does not carry quotation marks.  It works well in his narrative.  And his writing is precise, befitting Begley’s former profession as an attorney:

 

You have explained it all very clearly, I said, and I’m very grateful, but I really don’t want to do the radiation. Your cure may turn out to be a prelude to other illnesses and new dilemmas. Let’s roll the dice. We both know how it will end whatever we do – in exactly the same place.

 

Excuse me, Hugo, but this is nihilistic crap. Why don’t you say straight out that you were tired of life and want to commit suicide?

 

I could have shaken my head thank him and gone home but I felt the need to explain myself. I really didn’t want him to think I was nuts and lacking in respect.

 

Because that’s simply not true, I replied. Please don’t feel concerned. I’m not tired of life. I love life even though I’m lonely and often unhappy. But I want to live on my own terms. That means being capable of making my own decisions, of moving around without a walker or wheelchair. I’m accustomed to chronic pain in my lower back and the aches and pains in this and other joints that come and go but I wouldn’t want to live with great pain. Doesn’t that make sense to you?

 

He didn’t bother to answer.

 

Knowing I might have a similar discussion in my future makes this novel especially poignant.  So does the fact that I share many of the writer’s feelings.  Gardner not only has a NYC apartment, but a home close to Sag Harbor, another of my favorite places from my past, and after seeing his Doctor, he calls his housekeeper there and says get ready, I’m returning.  As fate would have it a younger (female) cousin lives nearby, now a widow, also remote from her children, and they’ve always had a fond relationship and I’ll leave it at that without revealing the denouement. 

 

If this is indeed Begley’s final fictional statement (he turns 90 later this year), it is a fine, thoughtful, perhaps cathartic work, and certainly, for me, relevant and moving.