It’s seems as if the cold weather has been around forever.  I know we’re not quite halfway through the season yet, but it feels like that when the cold wind blows.  How comforting to know that soon I would be on a cruise ship traveling to warm, sunny places, listening to great music, surrounded by friends, and thinking how great it is not to be in my cubicle in front of a computer. 

I was particularly excited about this year’s cruise.  The 2009 cruise is a full ship charter.  That means that we are all here with the same goal in mind, sharing a common purpose: to have a wonderful cruise experience while enjoying world class music from some of the most talented musicians around; cruise host Norman Brown, jam session host Nick Colionne, Boney James, Mindi Abair, Larry Carlton, Heather Headley, Acoustic Alchemy, Greg Adams, Marion Meadows, Steve Cole, Shilts, Steve Oliver, Chieli Minucci, Michael Lington, Alan Hewitt, and Althea Rene.  In addition to the advertised musicians, there were a few surprises as well, like Steve Madaio, Michael Manson, Laurie Wheeler, Gail Jhonson, and Jim Peterik; extra bang for your buck.  The full ship charter makes it extra special.  We don’t have to share the ship with anybody.  We are all one big happy smooth jazz family, including the artists, many of whom brought their own families and friends.  There was plenty of musical talent, which made it possible to offer several concerts daily, including the now famous late night jam sessions hosted by Nick Colionne.  It was easy to get your musical fill onboard the Celebrity Century that week.

Some people have compared these music cruises to a floating jazz festival.  That’s not entirely true.  I love jazz festivals as much as the next person, but there is not a lot of playing outside of their own act.  What I really like about this cruise is the one of a kind musical pairings that takes place during the cruise’s concerts and jam sessions.  There may be many acts on the line-up during a festival, but rarely do you see one artist invite another artist on stage to perform with them.  The Smooth Music Cruise had quite a bit of that taking place. Mindi Abair played with so many other musicians that I actually started to think that she was hanging out backstage with her sax waiting for opportunities to sneak onstage and play.  We got to see Mindi with Michael Lington, Greg Adams, Steve Cole, and others.  We got to see Marion Meadows play with Heather Headley, Greg Adams and Steve Oliver play with Alan Hewitt, Shilts play with Acoustic Alchemy, Jim Peterik play with Nick Colionne, and just so many others.  It was incredible.

So, as you watch Alan Hewitt perform his hit rendition of “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” or Mindi rock the boat (pun intended) with “True Blue,” you realize that these guys (and gals) can really play.  When Nick Colionne performs his much requested “Rainy Night in Georgia,” or Greg Adams kills it with “Cool to the Touch” you think that it can’t possibly get any better.  When you lose yourself inside the beauty of Acoustic Alchemy’s “Lazeez,” or Steve Coles’ “Our Love,” you know that those moments are magical.  When Boney jams with “Into the Blue,” or Shilts on “Staten Island Groove,” you know it’s time to get up and dance.

It’s also great to see people experiencing new music and discovering artists they may not be entirely familiar with.  Cruisers came from all parts of the country, and all parts of the world.  Today’s reality has not only eliminated the primary outlet used to bring people new music, but access to concerts and concert venues geographically limits some people as well.  Those factors, as well as, times being what they are, also make it difficult for some musicians to tour as much as they’d like to.  That being said, this cruise was a great opportunity for some of the artists to musically introduce themselves to the audience.  I know the cruisers were as impressed with Althea Rene as I was when I first heard her several cruises ago.  And the talented Gail Jhonson, who got to step out from Norman Brown a little bit and show the world what she could do. 

I’ve mentioned all of these hugely talented musicians, but I would be amiss if I left out the heart and soul of the Smooth Music Cruise; the two house bands: for the concerts: Chad Wright on drums, J.V. Collier on bass, Kevin Flournoy on keys, and Brian Price on guitar.  These guys had to learn over 100 songs so they could play for all the musicians performing on the cruise.  That is amazing.  For the jam sessions, the Nick Colionne band: Dave Hiltebrand on bass, Chris Miskel on drums, John Erickson on keys, Tim Gant on keys, and Buddy Fambro on guitar.  They had to be able to play whatever was thrown their way, even when songs would morph into completely different songs without stopping.  That’s the definition of a pro, and why these guys are constantly in demand.   

Now the cruise is over and it’s back to the real world.  When the cold wind blows, I’ll just remember what fun I had on board the ship, and in Miami, Key West, Nassau, and Coco Cay.  Not a bad way to keep warm.