| January 27 - February 4, 2007
M/S Conquest
Montego Bay, Grande Cayman, Cozumel
It began with a stellar concert at Moody Gardens Convention Center in Galveston TX. One after another, the 2007 “All Stars” took the stage – Gerald Albright, Norman Brown, Craig Chaquico, Nick Colionne, Eric Darius, Candy Dulfer, Alan Hewitt, Marion Meadows, Shilts, Paul Taylor, Gerald Veasley, and Pamela Williams – hosted by Brian Culbertson. And that was just the beginning. After a brief intermission, the legendary George Benson took the stage for an hour. And as Norman Brown joined Benson on stage during “On Broadway,” the thought, “where else would you get to see Norman Brown playing with George Benson?” start to echo in the head. This was just the pre-cruise event! We hadn’t even boarded the ship yet.
But that became the theme of the week. All of these artists and more sitting in with each other, night after night – at times there were seven sax players on stage at the same time - Where else would you get to see this?
The whole thing was one big “wow” after another. The music on board the ship was fantastic. In addition to the above artists, there were some surprise guest like Michael Lington, Bobby Lyle, Michael Manson, Chieli Minucci, Ray Parker, Jr., Althea Rene, Terry Steele and Warren Hill. Boney James joined the cruise mid-week.
One of the things that really stood out was that these guys just wanted to play. Every chance they got, they played. It was nice to walk through the ship and see Katisse Buckingham (Down to the Bone) accompanying one of Carnival's own musicians, a pianist, on his flute. They played classical music on several occasions in the lobby. Bill Steinway (Down to the Bone) sat in with a Carnival straight ahead jazz trio in the Cigar Bar for several nights, and Lenny Castro and Ricky Lawson also sat in with the trio on occasion. At one point during the Grand Finale there were three keyboard players: Bobby Lyle, Ozzie Ahlers, and Alan Hewitt, all playing on one keyboard together. It was amazing. At another point, there were four or five guitar players playing, two or three bass players, and a bunch of keyboard players. These guys can really blow when given the freedom and opportunity to just play.
There was a concert every night. The opening show featured Marion Meadows followed by crowd favorite and one of the best-dressed guys in smooth jazz, Nick Colionne. On stage at midnight was Down to the Bone.
Monday, we were at sea, and the day was filled with interviews and autograph session, a poolside show, and a special unplugged session along with the evening concert featuring Gerald Veasley and Candy Dulfer. Veasley provided one of those standout moments when he played a little classical and flamenco guitar on the electric bass. Candy Dulfer was accompanied by keyboardist and vocalist, Chance Howard, and did several selections from her upcoming CD, Everything. She was joined by Veasley for the encore, “Pick Up the Pieces.” Dulfer revealed that Gerald used to play in her father, Hans Dulfer’s band.
The first midnight jam was held Monday night. The sessions were hosted by Nick Colionne and were definitely highlights of the week. There were so many musicians floating in and out of the band that if you blinked you missed a change. These were totally unrehearsed, pure jam sessions. The amount of talent there was unbelievable. Monday’s session included Mike Manson, Chieli Minucci, Althea Renee, Michael Lington, Eric Darius, Brian Culbertson, Bobby Lyle, and Candy Dulfer – backed by Buddy Fambro (guitar), Brian Danzy (keyboards), Chris Miskell (drums), Dave Hiltebrand (bass), and John Blasucci (keyboards). There was a band switch – Tony Moore and Chance Howard came on stage to accompany Maysa, Marion Meadows, Shilts, and Mike Manson. The night ended with everyone on stage.
Tuesday was another full day at sea, so it was also full of interview sessions, a poolside show, and another unplugged performance. Tuesday’s concert featured Pamela Williams, Alan Hewitt, and Gerald Albright. At one point, Alan was joined by Craig Chaquico, and later Maysa lent her vocal talents on “Hot Fun in the Summertime.” Gerald Albright, Canadian Smooth Jazz award nominee, NAACP Image Award nominee and Grammy nominee, provided one of the truly great moments of the week when he performed his incredible take on “Georgia On My Mind.” And just in case that wasn’t inspiring enough, Norman Brown joined in on the fun.
The midnight session on Tuesday was the Pro-Am Jam. Passengers were invited to bring their instruments onboard and this was their opportunity to get out on the stage and jam with the pros.
We enjoyed some Jamaican hospitality during the day Wednesday, but were back onboard that night to hear Paul Taylor and Norman Brown. Norman sat in with Paul during his set, and Norman was joined by Brian Culbertson and Paul Taylor during his set.
After the concert there was an “All Star Artist Panel.” Promoter, Tony Shark MC-ed the event, and opened the session with a video of a four-year-old girl dancing to Shilts’ sax. At one point Marion Meadows said that if Eric Darius could blow his socks off like Pamela Williams, “I would be his girlfriend.” All of the artists commented on enjoying the camaraderie with the other artists and fans.
Down to the Bone hosted a dance party at midnight to close out the day.
Thursday, we were at Grand Cayman. Some of us ventured out to Hell (and sent postcards to their family and friends from there), while the rest of us just wandered the streets of Georgetown.
That evening, we were treated to shows by Eric Darius and Craig Chaquico. Eric was joined by his sister, Nadia (vocals) for “TKO.” He was later joined by Nick Colionne, Warren Hill, Brian Culbertson, Mike Manson, and Gerald Albright. Chaquico was joined by Michael Lington on his first song – the very appropriate “Café Carnival (which was written on a jazz cruise). Craig is as intriguing a real storyteller as he is a guitarist. It’s always a delight to hear the stories his music tells. And since Craig IS a rocker… we were treated to a little Hendrix and the Jefferson Starship song “Find Your Way Back.”
The All Star Industry Panel followed Thursday night’s show, and featured discussions by radio, record label, and management people. There were some very insightful discussions about where smooth jazz is currently and where it needs to go in the future.
And closing out the day was another great jam session hosted by Nick Colionne.
If it’s Friday, it must be Cozumel. And after a day spent shopping, exploring the Mayan ruins or just chillin’ onboard, we were back ready for more music that night. Friday night was Maysa’s and Boney James’ turn on stage, so the rough seas were not the only thing making the ship rock that night! Michael Lington also hosted a “Cigars and Saxes” event earlier that evening, and we were treated to a panel discussion of the sidemen after the show. This would be a great time to give a big hat tip to all the sidemen who played their *sses off all week. These guys were often playing with headliners they had never played with before. They were just incredible. So a huge shout out goes to Ozzie Ahlers (keyboards), John Blasucci (keyboards), Lenny Castro (percussion), Brian Danzy (keyboards), David Dyson (bass), Jorge Evans (guitar), Buddy Fambro (guitar), Dave Hiltebrand (bass), Chance Howard (keyboards, vocals), Randy Jacobs (guitar), Lamar Jones (bass), Ricky Lawson (drums), Eddie Miller (keyboards, vocals), Chris Miskel (drums) and Gerald Spikes (keyboards, sax and vocals).
Saturday – the last day – was another full day at sea, filled with interview/autograph sessions. The poolside show with Michael Lington had to be brought indoors due to the weather, but no one seemed to mind. It was Brian Culbertson’s turn on stage Saturday night, but just about every artist on the ship lent Brian a hand during the course of the show. The Grand Finale was incredible. The amount of talent standing on one stage was mind-boggling. It was hard to tell who had more fun that night – the audience or the artists, but during Ray Parker, Jr.’s “Ghost Busters,” there was no doubt that everyone was having a blast.
An unforgettable week, for sure! Throughout the week, the artists were always so gracious to the fans. At any time you could find them just hanging in the lobby or on the upper deck and always willing to chat. Where else could you experience all of this?
If you can scrape together the money to go on the 2008 Brian Culbertson All Star Smooth Jazz Cruise… do it!
Elizabeth Ware
Randall Ware
Bonnie Schendell
Mary Bentley |
