Since 2016, every Saturday morning subscribers have received their weekly “jazz fix” in the form of The Weekender. Our purpose is to present what is going on in the world of jazz, where our favorite musicians are performing and various musings about jazz that range from “on the ball” to “off the wall.” Read by nearly 40,000 fans each week, The Weekender has become Signature Cruise Experiences’ voice to Jazz fans worldwide.
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THE WEEKENDER ARCHIVE
July 4, 2026
Our Take: July 4th Edition
Happy 250th Birthday America! I doubt that there is a standard gift for someone’s 250th birthday. I know a couple of trees that old, but when I asked them what…
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June 27, 2026
Our Take: On Holiday
Today is Day 1 of Signature Cruise Experiences Summer Holiday. Depending upon the day of the week on which July 4th lands, we take the week before or the week…
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June 20, 2026
Our Take: Father’s Day
Tomorrow is Father’s Day. There is still time to purchase that special gift, cook his favorite meal or, as in my case, take some time to remember life with Dad.…
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June 13, 2026
Our Take: It’s the 13th. Are You Superstitious?
Performers, actors and athletes are famously superstitious. The benign description is to call quirky personal traits part of a “routine.” When a golfer plumb bobs, checks out the line, takes…
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June 8, 2026
Our Take: What’s Your Music When Not Listening to Jazz?
For various reasons, we are taking inventory of our cruise programs to find common threads both in terms of “good stuff” and “bad stuff.” Those inquiries quickly lead into a…
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May 30, 2026
Our Take: Miles at 100, Marcus at 23
Sonny Rollins died on Memorial Day. His legendary accomplishments and place in the history of jazz are shared by Lee Mergner in an article below. Normally, we burst directly into June after…
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May 23, 2026
Our Take: Memorial Day Weekend
April is Jazz Appreciation Month. The official start of summer is June 21, 2026, the summer solstice. But, for my money, summer jazz season starts on Memorial Day Weekend. From…
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May 16, 2026
Our Take: A Few Days in the Big Apple
I’m home from a few days in New York City. I know that New Orleans is the epicenter of jazz, but when I am in NYC, I feel the jazz…
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May 9, 2026
Our Take: Mothers of Achievement
The title of this Our Take is a bit misleading. After all, by definition, all mothers have achieved. They are all mothers, a heroic achievement by any measure. When a…
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May 2, 2026
Our Take: The Name is Jazz
When someone says, “you know who it is after hearing one name,” they generally mean a first name. On Chris Botti at Sea III (’26), the headliners joining Chris for…
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April 25, 2026
Our Take: Signature Cruise Experiences Foundation LLC
From its inception, our company, now named Signature Cruise Experiences (SCE), has contributed to funds and foundations that promote jazz education and those who provide relief and assistance to jazz…
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April 18, 2026
Our Take: Excursions…or Experiences?
Recently, we added land-based excursions to our programming on several cruises. Sometimes words are used to describe something without regard to their true meaning. I wondered if “excursion” was one…
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April 11, 2026
Our Take: Livestreams…Our Newest Connection
It was the Summer of 2000 when we began to advertise our first cruise program, The Jazz Cruise 2001. We went to some office supply store and used their mimeograph…
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April 4, 2026
Our Take: I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket
Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. I spent some time this week researching jazz tunes that have an Easter theme or connection. Irving Berlin’s “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket”…
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March 28, 2026
Our Take: An April to Remember
There are times in the year when there is so much going on that you are overwhelmed with choices and the dreaded Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) takes control of…
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