Botti at Sea ’24 completed its triumphant inaugural sailing on Thursday and the entire Jazz Cruises team is now back at home. The cruise was an amazing experience, filled with some of the most versatile, varied, and high-powered talent we have ever presented. Chris Botti’s show, complete with his entire touring band and performers, led off the cruise in style. The ensuing nights featured the incomparable Gregory Porter, who left the audience in awe of his amazing voice, towering talent, and soulful spirit. Reprising their dual billing from our August Las Vegas show, Alonzo Bodden opened for Gregory.

It is Day 3 of the inaugural sailing of Botti at Sea ’24, one of the most highly anticipated cruise programs in the history of Jazz Cruises. Every stateroom was filled with either an amazing performer or an eager guest, both groups ready to have a great week at sea. So far, this sailing has exceeded even the highest expectations. Cruise Emcee Mario Vines started the festivities with a Champagne Sail Away event, that was filled with dancing and a lot of very happy faces. Upon its conclusion, the guests began the nightly schedule of events, with half of them heading to their first dining experience on the ship and the other half scurrying to Chris Botti in concert. In a few hours, these groups would swap places and the enjoyment would continue.

It is Day 3 of the second week of “The Greatest Party at Sea”! Just as we experienced last week, everyone is in a celebratory mood as we continue our two-week celebration of the 20th Anniversary of The Smooth Jazz Cruise. The opening song, which features every headliner on the cruise was a rousing success. We took the Lionel Ritchie song, “All Night Long”, and crafted our own version which we called “All Cruise Long”!

It is Day 3 of The Greatest Party at Sea! Everyone is in a celebratory mood as we start a two-week celebration of the 20th Anniversary of The Smooth Jazz Cruise. As always, the opening song, which features every headliner on the cruise was a rousing success. For whatever reason, my emotions get the better of me every time we present the opening song. Maybe, it is the relief that the cruise has begun or just the glorious sight of all the performers on the stage. Whatever the reason, I get choked up.

Today is the 3rd day of The Jazz Cruise ’24. Amazingly, during our first two days, we have enjoyed more than 20 “In Concert” events. Virtually every one of the nearly 100 musicians have performed at least once.

In a few hours, several Jazz Cruises’ staff will be boarding Celebrity Summit for a 5-day cruise during which we will be preparing for our four 7-day programs that begin on January 18, 2024, with The Jazz Cruise ’24. The next four editions of The Weekender will be delivered while we are “At Sea.” Each edition, starting with the January 20 note, will highlight the activities of the cruise then in progress. Hopefully, we can share some of the excitement of the cruises with everyone.

The world of Jazz Cruises reflects the growing interest in live music. The upcoming ’24 Cruises are fully subscribed, and the readership of The Weekender and Jazz Notes is larger than ever. After a one-week holiday, The Weekender returns in its rightful place as the first email you receive on Saturday mornings.

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, “let’s talk after the holidays.” In the real business world, they would name a hard date as to when they would be back in the […]

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 programming for The Jazz Cruise ‘24, The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’24.1 & ’24.2, and Botti at Sea ’24. Four full days of putting the final […]

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 either not heard of her or knew her by word of mouth only. A turn on The Jazz Cruise ’23, followed by a momentous double […]