Kim Kelley
August 10, 2024
OUR TAKE: Celebrating Jazz
We are spending a lot of time preparing for the 25th Anniversary of The Jazz Cruise celebration. The lineup of musicians is set. With fewer than 30 staterooms available to…
August 3, 2024
OUR TAKE: Reviving Our Jazz Traditions
A few months ago, I was bemoaning the “loss” of two important and meaningful jazz traditions in events and relationships in my world of jazz. The Vail Jazz Organization announced…
July 27, 2024
OUR TAKE: Commander Kirk – Going Where We Have Gone Before
In a recent interview, Kirk Whalum bemoaned the fact that too often the music played under the “smooth jazz” umbrella suffers from a lack of individualism as compositions are dictated…
July 20, 2024
OUR TAKE: Dianne, Diana & Dee Dee
Who is the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) of female jazz vocalists? Among those who have passed, the short list of candidates would include Billie Holliday, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan…
July 13, 2024
Our Take: Back in the States
Going to London and Wimbledon has always been one of the bucket list items of my life. I am a tennis fan, an avid (not talented) player and I can…
July 6, 2024
OUR TAKE: Odds and Ends
We are just past the midway point of both the summer and the year. Both seem to have gone by very quickly. Perhaps that is a function of being older,…
June 29, 2024
OUR TAKE: Jazz vs. Heat
To most people, this title would foreshadow a discussion of two rivals in the National Basketball Association. Though the name Miami Heat makes a lot of sense, Utah Jazz may…
December 23, 2023
OUR TAKE: ‘Tis the Season for Good Cheer and Resolutions!
The holidays are now in full swing. I know this because no agent or manager is answering their calls and, when I do reach someone, it is a recording saying,…
December 16, 2023
OUR TAKE: Programming a Show; Programming the Circus
Last week was dominated by programming of upcoming shows and cruises. We had two Samara Joy shows to program and our entire team was in St. Louis working through the…
December 9, 2023
OUR TAKE: Joy to the World
For the next couple of days, at Jazz Cruises, it is all about Samara Joy. Turn back the calendar one year and I will bet that many of you had…