What has now become one of the top smooth jazz festivals in the country, Sea Breeze Jazz Festival attracts thousands of fans each year. The weather, location, organization and incredible line up of favorite artists makes this one hard to beat. The seasoned pros who coordinate this massive effort make it look all too easy. Every year I am amazed at the accumulation of new talent and fan favorites who grace the stage.

The first night was highlighted by the dinner cruise with saxophonist Eric Darius. The patrons on board were in for a great night as the soft winds blew in from the gulf, and the hot music graced his horn. Playing so many hits from his latest release, On A Mission, it seemed as he was just that, on a mission.

The Thursday session started later in the evening. The real treat of the day had to be the evening concerts featuring Boney James and George Benson. Boney hit the stage with “All Night Long” followed by “Enter My Dream” on soprano. He got into a couple of new ones from his latest CD as he got into the crowd for a rousing ovation. He finished up his amazing set with “Grazin In The Grass” as the crowd sang along. George Benson hit the stage all decked out in a violet wardrobe that shined under the evening lights. “Breezin’” was an instant crowd favorite as always, and his vocals sounded as fresh as ever on “Nothing’s Going to Change My Love.” He played through the listing of hits including “This Mascarade” and dancing to “Turn Your Love Around.” He closed the evening with the very proper “Give Me The Night” which I believed he already owned.

Friday was kicked off by a get together with several of the artists at the local Borders for a little jam session and a few autographs. Three rising stars in smooth jazz then took the stage at the festival. Keyboardist Nicholas Cole, bassist Julian Vaughn and saxophonist Marcus Anderson tore through a set of original material as well as a couple of covers which included Cole’s “Fifth Avenue” with Anderson on flute as well as Anderson’s “Let’s Play.” Marcus concluded the show with a little bit of Michael Jackson, as he donned one white glove and hat then tore into “Better Be Starting Something.” His dance moves as well as his sax playing had the crowd warmed up and on their feet. Trumpeter Joey Sommerville graced the stage next all decked out in a white out fit that looked great on stage. The crowd was happy to hear some new stuff from his CD entitled Get Down Club. He was out front with the crowd most of the show, and his red trumpet really shined on “School Boy Crush.” Ryan Whitehead accented it with a long sax solo. Crowd favorites “Sensitive Side”, and “Sansibel Island” got everyone in to it. It played right into the crowd as he slowed things down for “Moon Shadows” and finished the evening off with some great Earth, Wind and Fire covers. Gentlemen of the Night featuring Warren Hill, Marion Meadows, and Paul Taylor finished out the evening. Paul dazzled the crowd with “Prime Time” from his new Burnin’ CD. Warren brought out an oldie from his Devotion CD called “Another Goodbye.” After a couple other favorites, he played “Our First Dance” followed by Marion and some crowd favorites. The highlight of the show was “Tell Me Something Good” in which the “gentlemen” were in to the crowd followed by a rousing encore to finish the evening.

Saturday morning brought more sunshine and even more fans. Opening the day was Colorado’s very own Dotsero. The classic “Put It In Your Pocket” featured great keys and sax as these jazz pioneers went into the title track from their Essential CD that featured Mark Craft on bass. The set was highlighted with Steve Watts getting into the crowd, and then finalizing with “Amazing Grace” that sent chills thru the audience. It was a remarkable way to start the day. Trumpeter Cindy Bradley was up next to feature songs from Bloom as well as her upcoming album, Unscripted. “Swing Set” was a fun one that told of a childhood bully growing up. Featuring Gail Johnson on keys through most of the set, sax man Tim Veeder was a great addition and spiced up most of the cuts heard. It was so good to hear her latest single, “Massive Transit” as she shined well on the trumpet and Veeder added his tenor. “Lifted” was a good addition to the set too from the new album and allowed Bradley to be out front on her beautiful red horn, as was “A New Day.” The drums were featured on “Curves Ahead” that also included some nice sax work again. It was the first time many of the fans had seen this “new artist of the year”, and they were not disappointed. Eric Darius was up next and hit the stage with selections from On A Mission then “Just For the Moment” from Goin’ All Outas well as the title track. “Kingston’s Flavor” added a Jamacian feel to it then slowed it down and got into the crowd. He finished up the set with “Night On The Town” for a roaring ovation.

Crowd favorite Euge Groove came on next all decked in a comfortable loose blue shirt for the day. He hit the stage selecting a couple of songs from Sunday Morning including “Say My Name.” The title track from Livin’ Large was an instant crowd favorite. He switched between tenor and soprano with ease, and it was clear why he is such a crowd favorite. He had a lot of fun with “Just My Imagination” as the ladies sang along, followed by the guys with “Let’s Get It On.” He shined on “Slow Jam” from his Born 2 Groove CD and followed up with “Sunday Morning.”  Throw in a little dance contest, and this set had to be one of the most fun this afternoon. As usual Brian Culbertson kicked things into high gear on both trombone and keys. His overly active band had the crowd dancing and singing all afternoon with cuts from X!! including “That’s Life” and “Skies Wide Open” that featured Marques Jordan on vocals and sax.  Bringing Back the Funk featured “Funkin’ Like My Father” and the ever favorite “Serpentine Fire.” The set as usual was full of energy and had Brian interacting with the crowd while setting some mean hooks on the keys. It is understandable why he walked off with SIX of the Oasis awards that were presented this weekend! (Best Entertainer of the Year; Best Album of the Year ("XII"); Best Song of the Year ("That's Life"); Best Keyboardist of the Year; Best Collaboration of the Year("That's Life" w/Earl Klugh); and Best Male Artist of the Year).

The finale of the evening was Richard Elliot and Norman Brown who worked the crowd both together and separately for a great ending. “Get Away” was a nice touch and had the crowd rocking and Richard added some music from his latest CD before grabbing the EWI for “Rock Steady.” Norman had everyone up and singing as he launched into “For The Love of You.” One of my favorites had to be Richard’s soulful rendition of “When a Man Love’s a Woman.” He brings such heart and passion to the song, and it always makes you want more. Norman finished the set with George Benson’s “This Masquerade” and the crowd left the park exhausted, but very happy.

The final day saw guitarist Robert Harris as he played a Gino Vanelli tune called “I Just Want To Stop” along with the title track from City Lights that featured some good soprano sax. After a tour of the crowd, he finished it off with his single from last year, “Steppin’ Out.” Ken Ford entered the venue from the very rear as the crowd with his violin in hand. It began an intense show that had the crowd wanting more as time went on. The set featured several cover tunes and he finished in the crowd once more with “Moments In Love.” Mindi Abair hit the stage with full band and launched into “Smile”, “Mojo” and the Stones classic, “Miss You.” Her vocals were a hit on “I’ll Be Here For You,” then put a lot of emotion into “Bloom.” The highlight of the set had to be the addition of local band students both on stage, and in the VIP area as they all jammed together for the finale. It only hyped the crowd for Candy Dulfer who kept the energy flowing right from the start with “My Funk” from Funked Up and Chilled Out which was a stark contrast of the intensity of the second song. She followed that with “CD101.9” while thanking all the radio stations for their support. The four song melody that included “L.A. City Lights,” and “For the Love of You” were nice additions as well. She brought her keyboardist/vocalist for “Daylight.” “Rock It” had a great tempo and hook and she was the real life of the party with her beautiful summer dress and pink shoes. Her excitement was evident through the entire set, and she closed with the crowd favorite, “Pick Up the Pieces” with Mindi Abair! This performance had to be way off the charts.

The finale of the weekend was Guitars and Saxes with Peter White, Jeff Golub, Kirk Whalum and Gerald Albright. It was a fitting way to cap off an outstanding four days of smooth jazz. Peter came out first with the crowd favorite “Prominade” followed by Kirk on “Round Trip”, Jeff on “Dangerous Curves”, and then finally Gerald on “To the Max.” The four made their presence felt to a welcoming crowd. Peter came back for “Bright” which was written in honor of Wayman Tisdale, whom we lost just after his Seabreeze appearance a couple of years ago. From Kirk’s album Everything is Everything he brought out “Valdez in Country” that featured Jeff on guitar and Kirk on a beautiful black tenor. Jeff stayed on stage for “Shuffle Board” from Blues for You. That was followed by Gerald on “My, My, My” and Peter’s always fun, “Who’s That Lady?” Jeff explained how quickly kids can grow up went into an and intense song he wrote about the subject called “In The Blink of An Eye.” Kirk followed with some Memphis soul on “Do You Feel Me?” which was followed up with Gerald’s “Georgia on My Mind.” The next part of the set was a lot of fun as each artist played song that had influenced each one of them over the years including “Oh Happy Day”, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” and “Day Tripper.” After sharing the stage for a few more of each others songs, the all launched into a rousing rendition of “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” in honor of Wayman. They all came back out to close the weekend appropriately enough with “When The Saints.” The four seasoned pros really looked at home with each other and played well together through out the whole set. It was good to see them together.

When I look back and see who all I saw this weekend, I’m simply amazed at the talent, new friends, and wonderful experience from it all. Seabreeze is always the highlight of my “jazz season” and like the winds that blow in from the gulf, leaves me with a warm feeling in my heart.