The ‘All-Star’ night of the Smooth Jazz Cruise is rarely the best concert of the week. Reduced to cameo’s of what each artist is all about it rarely gets under the skin of the music yet this year, in 2008, as the M/S Westerdam lay at anchor in the stunningly beautiful island of Aruba, the formula worked to perfection. Consequently it is the ideal vehicle for this final look back at a superb week which, paradoxically, faces some challenges in the years to come. More of that later but, for now, it is worth commenting on the sheer energy that the mega talented line-up generated throughout the two breathtaking hours of this tremendous show.
Rick Braun who, over the years of the Smooth Jazz Cruise, has become well known for his propensity for sea-sickness stayed healthy throughout and stepped up for a nice rendition of the track ‘Curve Ball’ from his ‘R & R’ album. Of course the project was his collaboration with Richard Elliot and although Elliot wasn’t around this year, the perennial Euge Groove was and he delivered his usual high octane presentation of his big radio hit ‘Born 2 Groove’. Jonathon Butler is also turning into a constant of the Smooth Jazz Cruise roster and this pint sized dynamo went all the way back to 1987 to wow the excited audience with his excellent ‘Lies’. Between all that the rapidly maturing Mindi Abair strutted her radio friendly stuff, Gerald Albright took the vibe ‘straight ahead’ with his take on a John Coltrane number and, unsurprisingly, Jeff Golub played the blues. Smooth Jazz Cruise Musical Director Brian Simpson found time to play his solo breakthrough hit ‘It’s All Good’, Jessy J gave a glimpse of promise for the future and Regina Belle offered up a sensitive interpretation of the jazz standard ‘Lazy Afternoon’. Yet, in some ways, all that went before seemed only a precursor for two heavy weight performances that were to follow.
Billed as a ‘special guest’, Jeffrey Osborne had only joined the ship that day nevertheless, complete with his own musical director Frankie Crawford on keyboards and Joey Diggs plus the dazzling Shannon Pearson on backing vocals, he blew onto the stage in a whirlwind of soulful professionalism. The former LTD front man was limited to just one song and he selected the Spinners classic ‘I’ll Be Around’ with which he enjoyed success as featured vocalist on the Rippington’s 1994 album ‘Sahara’. This fabulous performance whet the appetite for Osborne’s own sets later in the week and took the occasion to an incredible high yet as George Duke stepped into the spotlight the music just kept on getting better. Using the hugely addictive ‘6 O’Clock’ from his 1992 ‘Snapshot’ CD as the shows play-out number he called each performer back to the stage in turn for a sensational climax to a wonderful night.
Despite the high points of 2008, the waters of the Smooth Jazz Cruise are not as calm as they might be. The increase in the number of vocal artists (Peabo Bryson and Chaka Khan are already lined up for next year) has changed the demographic of the audience and led to fears in some quarters that the event is about to morph into ‘The R & B Cruise’. The rationale for this lies with the organizers, LLC Cruises. It already has the ‘The Dave Koz And Friends’ smooth jazz cruise and has recently added a straight ahead cruise and the ‘Playboy Jazz Cruise’ to its portfolio. Consequently logic suggests that an R & B cruise might be a nice fit. With the very real prospect of existing cruisers not signing up for next year, LLC Executive Director Michael Lazaroff has written to all those who have not yet done so to stress the point that ‘The Smooth Jazz Cruise’ is here to stay. In addition, he has been forced into an embarrassing u-turn when, after announcing that Jeff Golub would not be part of the 2009 line-up, fan protestations compelled him to change his mind. This groundswell of opinion may well be useful in defining what contemporary jazz lovers really want and will make the evolution of smooth jazz cruising very interesting to watch.