Jazz Notes, From Vancouver;
While We Are Away Cruise Specials
“Jazz Notes, From Vancouver“? Now, those are four words that have never been written before in this column. A large portion of the Signature Cruise Experiences’ team is either in Vancouver or on their way here in anticipation of our sailing (Journey of Jazz ’25), which starts on Friday. We arrive in Los Angeles on September 19 after stops in Victoria and an overnight in San Francisco.
It has been years since we sailed on the West Coast and it’s our first time ever sailing from Canada. It will take a minute to realize that there will be no Diamonds International or Margaritaville to visit. Somehow, Napa, Sonoma and the Golden Gate Bridge will have to do.
More to be shared next week when we will be nearing the end of the cruise. But, as always, we have a full lineup of jazz information for you.
Michael Lazaroff
Executive Director
Signature Cruise Experiences
michael@scecruises.com
In This Edition of Jazz Notes
In this edition of Jazz Notes, Executive Director, Michael Lazaroff authors this week’s Signature Cruise Experiences News. With our ’25 Cruise season ending, he focuses on our cruise programs for ’26 and ’27, including Special Cruise Prices for certain ’26 cruises.
Our jazz guru, Lee Mergner, goes in-depth with Christian McBride and Brad Mehldau on their upcoming tour and also introduces us to Nathan and Noah East, the father-son duo performing on David Foster: The Hitman Cruise.
SIGNATURE CRUISE NEWS:
While We Are Away Special Cruise Prices
One of the longstanding traditions of Signature Cruise Experiences is the offering of Special Cruise Prices when we are at sea. So, starting today and going through September 22, 2025, we are offering Special Cruise Prices on the following programs:
| Program | Staterooms | Promo Code |
| David Foster: The Hitman Cruise | All (*) | EOS25 |
| Christian McBride’s World at Sea | All (*) | EOS25 |
| The Jazz Cruise ’26 | Ocean View/Inside | EOS25 |
(*) Your Concierge Class reservation includes a Reserved Seat for Nightly Main Shows
And be sure to check out Best Value #1, Best Value #2 and Best Value #3! The more you sail, the more you save.
Begin ’26 with Special Cruise Prices for David Foster: The Hitman Cruise and Christian McBride’s World at Sea!
David Foster: The Hitman Cruise
Our ’26 Cruise season starts with the inaugural sailing of David Foster: The Hitman Cruise, a program showcasing the amazing talents of one of the most decorated and honored persons in the world of music. David’s abilities as a performer, composer, arranger, and producer have resulted in 16 GRAMMY® Awards and 47 nominations.
Among the stars joining David for the 5-day/5-night program (1.15.26 – 1.20.26) are his wife and star vocalist Katherine McPhee, Babyface, Peter Cincotti, Pia Toscano, Daniel Emmet, Morgan James and Brenna Whitaker. David’s very special guest is Michael McDonald.
SPECIAL CRUISE PRICES: End of Summer ’25 special prices for Ocean View and Inside staterooms continue through September 22. Concierge Class Staterooms are also available in this offer. Guests reserving a Concierge Class Stateroom will also receive a Reserved Seat for the Nightly Main Shows. Use Promo Code: EOS25.
Christian McBride’s World at Sea
Sail for 7 Days/ Pay for 5 – Two Days Free!
Just a few hours after David Foster: The Hitman Cruise docks in Ft. Lauderdale on 1.20.27, another inaugural sailing launches. Christian McBride’s World at Sea will set sail for 7-days and 7-nights of Christian’s fabulous ensembles, along with the very best lineup of vocalists we have ever presented.
Imagine Ledisi, Samara Joy, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Angélique Kidjo, Melissa Walker and José James on the same ship!
SPECIAL CRUISE PRICES: We want every music fan in the world to enjoy this cruise! For the time being, we are offering staterooms for a 7-day/7-night cruise at 5-day/5-night cruise prices! Clearly, the very best value we have ever offered. Join us and enjoy Christian McBride’s World…at sea. Sail for 7 days, pay for 5 with Promo Code: EOS25.
BEST VALUE #1
12 Days/Nights of Great Music
Guests who sail on both cruises not only enjoy End of Summer ’25 Cruise Prices, but also will be provided additional benefits related to sailing for 12 days in terms of beverage packages, laundry or specialty dining. If you have previously reserved a stateroom on one of the cruises, you will receive those benefits when you add the second cruise.
The Jazz Cruise ’26 – 90% Reserved
The Jazz Cruise ’27 – Launch Update
Following the McBride cruise is The Jazz Cruise ’26, the longest sailing full-ship charter in the world. While jazz festivals all over the world, including those with legendary names and histories, are including performers outside the world of jazz, The Jazz Cruise is the standard bearer of this music.
Emmet Cohen serves as the host of The Jazz Cruise ’26 and leads a group of jazz icons: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Paquito D’Rivera, Chucho Valdés, Monty Alexander, Ron Carter, Houston Person, John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, Lewis Nash, Benny Green, Herlin Riley, a cadre of “recurring stars” that include John, Jeff, Houston, John Pizzarelli, Kurt Elling, Shelly Berg, Catherine Russell, Ken Peplowski, Wycliffe Gordon, Niki Haris and some “frequent stars” such as Anat Cohen, James Morrison, Sean Jones, Terell Stafford, Benny Benack, Veronica Swift and more.
SPECIAL CRUISE PRICES: Presenting nearly 100 jazz musicians in total, The Jazz Cruise ’26 is nearly 90% reserved and reaches fully reserved status every year, so act now. Special Cruise Prices for Ocean View and Inside Staterooms are available through September 22, 2025.
LAUNCH UPDATE: The Jazz Cruise ’27 will be announced before Thanksgiving ’25.
BEST VALUE #2
14 Days/Nights of Great Music
Guests who sail on both cruises enjoy End of Summer ’25 Cruise Prices as well as additional benefits related to sailing for 14 days in terms of beverage packages, laundry and specialty dining. If you have previously reserved a stateroom on one of the cruises, you will receive those benefits when you add the second cruise.
BEST VALUE #3
16 Days/Nights of Great Music
The Jazz Trifecta
All three sailings are on Celebrity Summit, begin and end in Ft. Lauderdale and feature world class entertainment from morning to afternoon to night. If you were to sail on all three programs, in just 19 days you will have seen and heard the following:
David Foster • Michael McDonald • Babyface
Katharine McPhee • Take 6 • Peter Cincotti
Christian McBride • Ledisi • Samara Joy
Cécile McLorin Salvant • Dee Dee Bridgewater
Paquito D’Rivera • Chucho Valdés • Kurt Elling
& More than 200 other musicians and vocalists
The Cruise Price for the Jazz Trifecta will depend upon many factors (cruise history, current reservations, stateroom category, etc.). Each opportunity is different, so contacting the office (888.852.9987) is the only way to learn what the Cruise Price will be. We do promise, however, that if you are sailing for 19 days, we will make sure that you have a great time and an even better Cruise Price.
The Smooth Jazz Cruise
‘26.1/’26.2/’26.3/’27.1/’27.2/’27.3
A lot to talk about on The Smooth Jazz Cruise front. Taking them in order, The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.1 & ’26.2 are fully reserved. Cancellations do create availability which is filled from the 3,000 guests on the Waitlist.
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.3, sailing September 11 – 18, 2026, mirrors the itinerary that Journey of Jazz ’25 will be using next week and is nearly 90% reserved, despite being more than a year out! Still, staterooms are available!
Last week featured the launch of The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’27.1 & ’27.2. Guests on The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.1 & ’26.2 have until November 26, 2025, to rebook their current stateroom. Those who are not sailing in ’26 may complete a Pre-Sail Reservation now. Doing so establishes their priority to select a stateroom after the November 26, 2025 deadline.
Information about The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’27.3 will be presented later this year. Completing that rundown was quicker than anticipated.
Botti at Sea III
’26
The complete lineup for Chris Botti at Sea III has been announced and it is spectacular! Joining international star trumpeter Chris Botti are three international superstar talents, each one instantly recognizable and beloved:
- Elvis Costello
- Boz Scaggs
- Melody Gardot
The lineup also includes Peabo Bryson, Regina Belle, John Splithoff, Candy Dulfer, Emmet Cohen, Morgan James, Wycliffe Gordon, Terell Stafford, Taylor Eigsti, Reuben Rogers, Herlin Riley and more.
This program is in Open Booking and, though it sails more than a year from now, the cruise is filling up fast. Stay tuned for more information about the fabulous excursions that will be offered when Botti at Sea III docks in Victoria, BC and overnights in San Francisco.
Christian McBride & Brad Mehldau On Tour
Throughout October, Christian McBride will be touring the U.S. in a duo with his longtime friend and bandmate Brad Mehldau. The two first played together as members of Joshua Redman’s quartet in the early 90s. That band, which includes Brian Blade on drums, would reunite several times over the next three decades for both recordings and tours, while each of the members established their own formidable careers as band leaders. Among that quartet’s highly acclaimed recordings together are MoodSwing (1994), RoundAgain (2020), and LongGone (2023).
“Brad is justifiably revered as one of the greatest pianists of all time,” Christian says.“I’m very proud to have been friends and cohorts with him for almost 35 years. He was one of the first people I met when I moved to NYC in 1989, and it continues to be an uplifting experience every time we play together.” For the record, Christian often rocks his Philadelphia Eagles jersey with the number 89, which is not in celebration of either Eagles players Calvin Williams or Chad Lewis, but rather as a remembrance of his entry into the New York City jazz scene.
Brad arrived on the New York City jazz scene a little earlier in the ’80s and spent a few years just absorbing the incredible music being made on a nightly basis there. He was just 20 years old in 1990 when he found himself in what he called jazz heaven.
“I moved from St. Mark’s Place into a studio apartment on Jones Street in the West Village, smack in the middle of jazz heaven,” he wrote in his memoir. “Surrounding me within several blocks were blue-chip jazz clubs: the Village Vanguard, Sweet Basil, the 55 Bar, the Blue Note and the Village Gate. And Visiones, Bradley’s, Fat Tuesdays, Condon’s and the Knitting Factory were only a ten-minute walk away as well. There was so much great music around me every night. Often, there were tough decisions to make. Pianists Tommy Flanagan, Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, Barry Harris and Hank Jones were all titans, at the top of my list.”
Of course, he would channel all of that into his own music, but he found a kinship with Christian during those halcyon days and he’s grateful to rekindle that connection during this tour. “It is a dream come true to play with Christian in this duo setting” Brad says. “Playing with Christian, especially in this configuration, is both joyful and daunting all at once. His level of sophistication and swing, of emotional power and grace, is unsurpassed – not in the least on what he has achieved on his instrument, but also as one of our strongest voices in the music more generally, at the top of his game. I’m so honored to be on stage with him.”
During a recent sailing of The Jazz Cruise, the two performed together, along with vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, in shows that illustrate the unique aspects of our cruises. Specifically, one-of-a-kind collaborations that you’ll only find on our cruise programs at sea.
But throughout October you can catch Christian and Brad at any number of theaters across the country, starting with The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park, MD (outside Washington, DC) on October 2, ending with the Brendel Recital Hall in Winston Salem, NC on October 21. Among the cities where they’ll be playing in between those dates are: Boston, Kansas City, Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Catch them if you can.
– Lee Mergner
Nathan and Noah East: A Family Affair
Even if you don’t recognize his name, you have been hearing him all your life. That’s because bassist Nathan East has played with a virtual who’s who of American popular music, including Phil Collins, Kenny Loggins, Van Morrison, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and, most notably, Eric Clapton with whom he’s played for more than 40 years and who said about Nathan, “He’s the most supportive and caring musician I’ve met.” In fact, Nathan – along with Leland Sklar, Carol Kaye and Ron Carter – is one of the most recorded bassists in history. A founding member of the contemporary jazz super group Fourplay, Nathan is a jazz guy too, having also played with Stanley Turrentine, Al Jarreau, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and other legends.
Born in Philadelphia as one of eight children, Nathan’s family moved to San Diego when he was four. He was just 14 when he started playing around town with a local funk band called Power who were soon picked up by Barry White to tour as his backing band. Nathan was just 16. He soon became a first-call musician for both recordings and tours and hasn’t looked back since.
Among the many huge hits he’s played on include Collins and Philip Bailey’s “Easy Lover” (which East co-wrote), Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” and “Change the World,” Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” Anita Baker’s “Giving You The Best That I Got,” Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose,” Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love For You” and Michael Jackson’s “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.”
Earlier this year Nathan collaborated with his 24-year-old son Noah, a keyboardist and vocalist, to release the appropriately named Father Son. Together they perform original compositions, as well as jazz classics and a reimagining of the Beatles‘ hit “Yesterday.” The two are joined by special guests Clapton, Hubert Laws, Seiko Matsuda, Merry Clayton, Billy Valentine and others.
“As a father, you try to lead by example,” Nathan says. “Noah showed extraordinary talent from an early age and it’s been a joy to watch him grow into a sought-after artist in his own right. I couldn’t be more proud of the musician and person he has become and this album is truly a dream come true.”
The process has been equally special for Noah. “Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been incredibly fortunate to witness my dad’s career up close,” he explained. “Growing up around so many different amazing musicians has provided me with a rich musical background, which has immensely shaped my playing. Recording this album together is an experience I will cherish forever.”
We’re looking forward to hearing Nathan and Noah perform songs from this project during the David Foster Hitman Cruise in January.
– Lee Mergner
Signature Cruise Experiences Programs
’25 CRUISES
Journey of Jazz ’25
9.12.25 – 9.19.25
’26 CRUISES
David Foster: The Hitman Cruise
1.15.26 – 1.20.26
Christian McBride’s World at Sea
1.20.26 – 1.27.26
The Jazz Cruise
1.27.26 – 2.3.26
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.1
2.3.26 – 2.10.26
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.2
2.10.26 – 2.17.26
Top Shelf Country Cruise ‘26
2.27.26 – 3.6.26
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.3
9.11.26 – 9.18.26
Botti at Sea III
9.18.26 – 9.25.26
’27 CRUISES
Journey of Jazz ’27
1.24.27 – 1.31.27
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ‘27.1
1.31.27 – 2.7.27
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ‘27.2
2.7.27 – 2.14.27