Our Take: 8.8.26

The Influence of Jazz

Yesterday, we announced the inaugural sailing of The Yacht Rock Cruise. For those unfamiliar with that genre, over the last few years, fans of soft rock tunes from the 70s and 80s have formalized certain aspects of that music, named it Yacht Rock and created an alternative world that features yachts, cruising and the celebration of the “smooth” life. Both SXM and iHeart Radio have dedicated channels to present this music and stars like Keith Urban and Charlie Puth are crossing over to present new twists on these songs.

The Yacht Rock Cruise joins Top Shelf Country Cruise, David Foster: The Hitman Cruise and Chris Botti at Sea as the non-jazz programs produced by Signature Cruise Productions. But are they really “non-jazz”? Let’s talk.
 
When it comes to identifying and securing talent for our jazz programs, we have 26+ years of experience with and involvement in the jazz world. Many, if not most, of the stars of jazz know us and we know them. Offers are sent out by us routinely and without a great deal of formality. If someone says “no,” it is more likely due to a scheduling issue than not wanting to join us. The community is wonderful to work with and the process goes quickly and smoothly.
 
Once we cross the line from jazz and enter the world of country music and Adult Contemporary, life changes. I joke that Signature Cruise Experiences goes from being the Superman of the jazz genre to being Clark Kent (and often just Jimmy Olsen) of the music world. But, when the agents and managers learn more about our history, a significant degree of respect begins to emerge. Why? It’s all about the jazz!
 
Most musicians would like to be recognized as being able to play jazz. That is the pinnacle of the profession as musicians recognize that the greatest musicians in the world play jazz. Jazz musicians formed the greatest bands in R & B and their influence on most Adult Contemporary music is undeniable. I could recite story after story about top pop music groups who claim to have been influenced and directed by jazz.
 
I used to do a lot of cooking, even took classes at the Culinary Institute of America, the only “CIA” that does not frighten me. There you learn that every sauce is a derivative of one of the five mother sauces (bechamel, velouté, espagnole, tomato, hollandaise). Once you learn how to make them, the world of sauces is available to you. You can almost add anything to one of the five and be okay. Remember, I said “almost.”
 
In music, all flows from classical and jazz. When someone shows us how to put an entire orchestra on a ship, we will present classical music, but, for now, we will follow the path of jazz to wherever it takes us in terms of music genres. That is our “calling card” and, as one manger recently said to us, “if you can produce top notch jazz music and make those cats happy with your sound and production, you can do anything.”
 
“Anything” is likely hyperbole but throw an “almost” in front of it, and you are on target. We love our programs, our guests, and our music. Individually, they are wonderful. Together, they are sublime. 

No matter what we do, we are just a few steps away from our mother sauce, Jazz.

By Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of The Jazz Cruise, The Smooth Jazz Cruise, Chris Botti at Sea, Journey of Jazz, David Foster: The Hitman Cruise, Top Shelf Country Cruise and The Yacht Rock Cruise. Feel free to express your views or pose questions to him at michael@scecruises.com.

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John Pizzarelli’s P.S. Mr. Bennett

Released this week on the occasion of Tony Bennett’s 100th birthday, John Pizzarelli has released P.S. Mr. Bennett, a five-song EP and followup to his Dear Mr. Bennett recording released earlier this year.

Joined once again by pianist Isaiah J. Thompson and bassist Mike Karn, the EP draws five additional songs from those same recording sessions, continuing Piz’s celebration of Bennett’s seven-decade long career. John will be performing the music from both recordings in shows at Jazz Alley in Seattle (August 13-16) and Catalina’s in Hollywood (August 20-22).

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Cécile McLorin Salvant’s With Every Breath I Take

Cécile McLorin Salvant, who has performed on several of our jazz cruise programs over the years, recently released her first orchestral album, With Every Breath I Take, recorded with the Netherlands Metropole Orkest, conducted by Jules Buckley.

The album features 10 songs by noted composers Cy Coleman, Noël Coward, Duke Ellington, Stephen Sondheim and Billy Strayhorn, as well as by Cécile herself, with new arrangements by Darcy James Argue.

“I’ve always wanted to do an album that was all ballads,” Cécile explains. “And there are specific reasons why I love each of these songs. But behind the decision, I was actually not thinking. It was just about feeling.”

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Signature Cruise Experiences Upcoming Programs

SCE Sailings in ’26

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