GA Russell Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 CHICK COREA AND CHARLES LLOYD LEAD AWARD-WINNING LINE-UP FOR 2018 SAILING OF BLUE NOTE AT SEA Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton) Also Joins the Line-up of Grammy and Tony Award Winning Artists and NEA Jazz Masters 2017 marked the initial sailing of Blue Note at Sea, a nautical musical collaboration between Blue Note Records, Blue Note Jazz Clubs and Entertainment Cruise Productions. Don Was, president of Blue Note Records and a three time Grammy winning producer has called this three-way production team "the dream team of jazz at sea." With his expertise and direction, the production and programming savvy offered by Steven Bensusan and his team at Blue Note Jazz Clubs and the 17 years of jazz cruises produced by Entertainment Cruise Productions, Was' description seems apt. The 2018 cruise roster is nearly finalized and includes winners of 48 Grammys and 2 Tony Awards. The cruise also features 4 NEA Jazz Masters (the highest award in jazz), all of whom are sailing on Blue Note at Sea for the first time. These four illustrious performers are among the most celebrated jazz artists of our time: 22-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master Chick Corea, NEA Jazz Master Charles Lloyd, triple Grammy-winner and Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Dr. Lonnie Smith. Legendary saxophonist (and Blue Note recording artist) Charles Lloyd will join the cruise in St. Thomas with his band The Marvels - Bill Frisell, Greg Leisz, Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland. Bridgewater, who, in addition to her three Grammys, has earned a Tony award, will be backed by her own band as well. Smith, a Hammond B-3 guru, has been featured on over seventy albums, and has recorded and performed with a virtual "Who's Who" of the greatest jazz, blues and R&B giants in the industry. Both Bridgewater and Smith will be joining the ranks of NEA Jazz Masters in 2017. Bridgewater is not the only Tony Award-winner who will be performing for audiences on the Celebrity Summit next February. Leslie Odom, Jr., best known for his role as Aaron Burr in the Broadway smash hit Hamilton, for which he took home both a Tony (for Best Actor in a Musical) and a Grammy (for Best Musical Theater Album), is set to bring his jazz chops to the forefront when he performs with his band on the cruise. The New York Times describes Odom's style as "tender jazz vocals with flashes of adult-contemporary R&B." Blue Note at Sea '18 will again be hosted by multi-Grammy winning bassist Marcus Miller. Other Grammy-winning artists who will be returning are Robert Glasper, Lalah Hathaway and David Sanborn. While Glasper and Sanborn will perform in the same configurations as they did on Blue Note at Sea's inaugural sailing, five time Grammy winner Hathaway will bring her own band on board this time out. The three bands feature 11 top jazz musicians, all of whom will be performing in other configurations and groups during the cruise. The multi-Grammy winning pianist Robert Glasper will also be appearing with the Blue Note All Stars, an incredible sextet of young visionaries who first formed in 2014 to celebrate Blue Note's 75th Anniversary. The band features Glasper along with his label-mates Ambrose Akinmusire, Lionel Loueke, Marcus Strickland, Derrick Hodge and Kendrick Scott. Both Don Was and Steven Bensusan will also participate on the cruise. Was will emcee several events and will interview many of the performers, as he did on the 2017 sailing. Bensusan will host the Blue Note Jazz Club at Sea, a gorgeous late night venue that offers cabaret style seating in the tradition of his many Blue Note Jazz Clubs. Featuring the most highly respected and renowned contemporary jazz performers in the world, Blue Note At Sea is a collaboration among Blue Note Jazz Clubs, Blue Note Records, and Entertainment Cruise Productions. From stunning main shows to their signature Night Music events to Late, Late Night shows and jam sessions, Blue Note at Sea defines what is new and hip in the world of jazz while also retaining and respecting those aspects of the genre that have made jazz one of the true enduring musical styles around the world. Blue Note at Sea will sail on Celebrity Summit from February 3 - 10, 2018, departing from Ft. Lauderdale, with ports of call in San Juan, St. Thomas, Coco Cay (Bahamas) and Labadee (Haiti). For more information about the cruise program, go to www.bluenoteatsea.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Nelson Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 The multitude of award-winners on the boat are like the sea waters outside -- full of swells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 (edited) I am not a big cruise lover, was on only one cruise in my adult life, a 7 day Baltic cruise on a MSC Orchestra, which left no positive memories. Out of curiosity I just looked at the pricing, and I must say WOW...Damn, this is one expensive cruise. https://www.bluenoteatsea.com/pricing/ Carbonated drinks NOT included. If you want a Pepsi, you pay for the Pepsi. Alcoholic drinks are NOT included. The least expensive berth with "Ocean View" is a "Stateroom ", which I'm pretty sure means a tiny cabin with a porthole, will run $5,400+ for a couple, plus air fair. Make it an even $6,000. This can buy me rountrip tickets, a week's stay in a 4 star hotel, all meals, all booze, at any jazz festival in the world. Edited April 5, 2017 by Dmitry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 2 hours ago, Dmitry said: The least expensive berth with "Ocean View" is a "Stateroom ", which I'm pretty sure means a tiny cabin with a porthole, will run $5,400+ for a couple, plus air fair. Make it an even $6,000. I got this e-mail and checked the prices and got the same sticker shock you did. No way can I afford this. Have these cruises become the provenance of the wealthy? They didn't use to be this way. I once booked a Jazz cruise but had to back out at the last minute (mistake - Gerry Mulligan's last appearances were on that cruise) and the ocean view cabins were only around $2,300/couple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 Check this out. Probably the same company. Same website lay-out, but a different line-up. https://www.thejazzcruise.com/pricing/ Sails next February. The most expensive cabins, from $4,600 to $9,000 per person, are waiting list only. Probably all reserved already.Lots of retired CEO jazz lovers out there, I guess... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 Don't forget to buy the travel insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 Hasn't Blue Note been at sea for quite a few years now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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