Thanksgiving Eve
Happy Thanksgiving Eve! No, that is not a real thing, but it may be my favorite day/night of the year!
It starts with the office closing around 2PM, followed by an errand or two, an hour of tennis and then home for my date with Tom…Tom the turkey that is!
I love cooking a turkey. Tom is always a fresh bird without any injections or flavor enhancers. If Tom is to be elected to the Turkey Hall of Fame, he must avoid all Performance Enhancing Drugs. A brine, though? It is not just allowed; it is mandatory. And that’s how early Thanksgiving Eve evening is spent. Preparing that brine.
The latter part of the evening is for making Tom ready for his overnight brine bath. I remove the neck and the gizzards, and there is also a bit of fat trimming as well. Tom has not been introduced to Ozempic yet, so surgery is sometimes required to make him neat and tidy. This part, of course, is always undertaken later in the evening to avoid upsetting Paula, my wife, who has a significant case of Tom anxiety. Raw poultry is not part of her regimen. She does like to supervise as Tom enters the brining bag and is submerged in his herb and seasoning bath.
Upon waking on Thanksgiving Day, Tom is rewarded for his patience with a nice rinse and careful placement in the pan. Tom’s empty portion is stuffed with lemons and onions and he is coated with oil. A few pieces of string to properly truss Tom for roasting, and we are ready to go.
At this point, just like a good football game, it is all about the clock. First, when do you want to eat? Once established, you start subtracting an hour for Tom to nap post-cooking, cooking time equal to 20 minutes per pound and whatever time it takes for the oven to reach the magical temperature. The resulting number is your start time.
I know your next question. What do you do for the hours between cooking the brine and messing with Tom on Thanksgiving Eve evening?
Wine and jazz. Though most wine lovers might not be caught dead drinking it, I choose the seasonal Beaujolais Nouveau. Released less than a week before Thanksgiving and aged in weeks, not years, the wine is very fruity and often harsh. Yet, it remains a tradition that I continue year after year.
My Thanksgiving Eves have been the same when single or married, with a crowd or by myself. The perfect Tom, the perfect wine and the perfect music was all that I needed to reflect on the blessings in my life. When my son and daughter are there, it’s even better. When Paula is there, that makes it very special indeed.
The next day, of course, is chaos. Cooking anxiety. Side dish timing. Massive clean-up. Thanksgiving Eve is the calm before the storm. The rise before the fall. Today and tonight are wonderful. Tomorrow? A very long 24-hour journey…though still preferable to being Tom.
Michael Lazaroff
Executive Director
Signature Cruise Experiences
Cruise Program Updates and While We Are Away Info
The offices of Signature Cruise Experiences close today around 2PM CT and will not reopen until 9AM CT on Monday, December 1. Though you cannot catch up with us by phone, you can learn about our programs, start and complete a Reservation, sign up for a Pre-Sail reservations and ask us questions – all by email (info@scecruises.com).
Keeping up with the status of our various cruise programs is challenging. We hope that this simple chart will keep you up to date. For more information about the cruises, go to www.scecruises.com.
Christian McBride’s World at Sea
Christian Returns to the Village Vanguard
December finds Christian McBride returning to perform at the Village Vanguard, first with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and drummer Savannah Harris (December 2-7) and then with Inside Straight (December 9-14). Christian first performed at that venerable venue as a member of Roy Hargrove’s band in 1990. In 2007, the Village Vanguard invited Christian to perform there as a leader and he recruited his former bandmate in Freddie Hubbard’s group, drummer Carl Allen, saxophonist Steve Wilson, pianist Eric Reed (who subsequently was replaced by Peter Martin) and an amazing young musical prodigy who had enrolled in McBride’s summer camp program Jazz at Aspen, Colorado, vibraphonist Warren Wolf. The group he named Inside Straight would not only go on to record numerous albums together, but also to perform at the club every year since 2009 (with the exception of 2020).
The Village Vanguard, the oldest operating jazz club in New York City, was opened in its location on 7th Avenue in 1935 by impresario Max Gordon, who initially presented folk music, comedy and beat poetry there. Eventually, in the mid-50s, it became a jazz venue, one that featured virtually every jazz great at one time or another. In November 1957, Sonny Rollins recorded the first live album from the Village Vanguard. In subsequent years, dozens of artists would release Live at The Village Vanguard recordings, including John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Art Pepper and, of course, Christian McBride.
The club’s legacy has many facets, including the list of artists who have appeared there, but also the way the music sounds in that basement venue.The pianist Fred Hersch, who has recorded numerous live albums there, said that the acoustics of the room are entirely unique.
“With minimal amplification in there, when you play very, very quietly, it has presence throughout the entire room,” he explained. “There’s a certain kind of stillness, a kind of hush, that you don’t get anywhere else.”
The late jazz producer Orrin Keepnews recorded there for more than 25 years. “Even in the late ’50s and early ’60s, it was a very popular place,” he told JazzTimes’ Thomas Conrad. “It had a lot of things going for it, some of them accidental, like the acoustics. That odd shape really works. It’s the kind of room that can be comparatively empty and the recording sounds like it’s full. And for a nightclub, that’s quite a high ceiling. It was always a good atmosphere. Musicians liked Max Gordon. It was always a comfortable place to work, although not physically comfortable. In all those years, there was not even an attempt at a musicians’ dressing room.” Indeed, photos of artists “backstage” at the club show musicians in what is clearly a kitchen.
Notwithstanding the kitchen as dressing room, jazz artists and fans consider the venue hallowed ground. “It’s like Yankee Stadium or Madison Square Garden,” said Ron Carter, who has played and recorded there regularly for more than 50 years. “Events that take place there are, by default, more important.”
Lee Mergner
Jazz Consultant
Signature Cruise Experiences
Jazz Cruises Conversations Podcast:
Legacies of Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson with
Cècile McLorin Salvant, Sullivan Fortner & More
This episode, from a Jazz on Film session on the Journey of Jazz cruise, features a discussion about the legacies of Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson, with guests Cècile McLorin Salvant, Sullivan Fortner and Kelly Peterson, Oscar’s widow.
