Soon, it will be Thanksgiving week. I say “week” because, over the past few years, what was once a holiday celebrated with an evening of preparation and anticipation, then a full day of food creation, excess libation and family conversation and culminating with an early morning migration to shopping centers to purchase gifts for the […]

Mother Nature…Still Undefeated Do you remember the Chiffon margarine commercial where “Mother Nature” tastes the product and declares it to be her “sweet creamy butter”? Upon learning that it is really margarine, “Mother Nature” becomes angry and shouts, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” California fires. Tornadoes. Floods. The truth is, no one fools, […]

I love to watch John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight. His mix of satire, comedy and pathos is exquisitely presented in a confident yet selfless style. He never brags, but you have the sense that he is riding a big white horse, only when he draws his gun, it shoots water, not bullets. No, this is […]

Wynton Marsalis joins Marcus Miller & Gregory Porter forJourney of Jazz ’27 in New Orleans! Wynton Marsalis joining Journey of Jazz ’27 may be the most exciting headline for Jazz Notes that we have ever presented! Each of these three jazz icons are among the most talented in the world! Individually, they are headliners, collectively they […]

For those readers who are patrons of the ASPCA, this title references the arcade game in which you pound plastic moles with some kind of mallet as they pop up. The idea is that when one issue is addressed, another one always takes its place. As they say in the movies, no animals were harmed […]

It’s Q4 ’25! Time to Get Ready for Q1 ’26 & to Launch ’27 Planning ahead is important in every business or endeavor. To make tomorrow work, you need to work today. At any given time at Signature Cruise Experiences, we are preparing for the next round of cruise programs and planning and launching the round […]

The title of this edition of Our Take is my not-so-subtle reminder to turn your clocks BACK tonight, as most of the country begins four months of standard time. Depending upon how far east or west you are in a particular time zone, it has been very dark in the morning the past few weeks. […]

Here Comes The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.3 & Chris Botti at Sea III! Our ’25 Cruise Programs concluded just a few weeks ago. In a mere 78 days, we set sail for the first five of our ’26 Cruise Programs, which will keep us at sea for 33 days. Then, ten days later, we set sail […]

Earlier this week, I discussed the concern that jazz was becoming too woke, a situation being blamed for dismissals at the Kennedy Center. My premise was a simple one. Long before there were concerns about “woke,” jazz was part of the fabric of the music world. That traits of the jazz life were consistent with […]

Is Jazz Too Woke? Have you read David R. Adler’s latest article in JazzTimes about the Kennedy Center? In his role as editor of the magazine, Adler makes the case that recent firings and resignations of key jazz personnel at the Kennedy Center signals an attack on jazz. His argument suggests that the powers that […]