After a good experience on my first cruise (the coast of Alaska and British Columbia in 2023), I was open to cruising again. Such an opportunity appeared on the back page of this paper for many months: JazzFest at Sea. The cruise advertising referred to a review in this paper a few years ago by Frank Farbenbloom, which I had read at the time but paid no further attention to it. I checked out the musician lineup and sent in my deposit. Of the 17 performers listed for 2025, I knew nine personally and had seen five others so I figured the odds were in my favor for a great nine days.
It turned out that there were three late substitutions, of whom two were new but not unknown to me. They were: Duke Heitger for Jon-Erik Kellso on trumpet, Bob Leary for Jake Jones on banjo/guitar, and Phil Flanigan for Paul Keller on bass. Phil was the only one who had not crossed my radar but he did a fine job. In all, there were three pianists, two each on clarinet, tenor, bass, drums and vocals, and one each on trombone, guitar/banjo, trumpet and cornet. The cruise began Friday, January 17 and ended on the morning of Monday the 27th—ten nights and nine days in all.
This cruise has been running for 20 years. I don’t know which line(s) have been the host in the past, but recently it has been MSC Divina, an Italian ship with a capacity of 3500. Only 200 spaces were available for the jazz segment, and I was told about 175 people attended. The music was in a cabaret-style lounge called Black and White on deck Seven Aft (that’s the rear of the ship for you non-nautical types).
The lounge has padded chairs and sofas and small coffee tables around the edges with portable folding chairs in between. Some seats had no view of the stage but at no time were all the available seats filled. In fact, some sets, even in the evening, were very sparsely attended. There was also a dance floor and a raised stage. The dance floor did not see heavy use. At times I could feel a slight vibration from the engines several levels beneath us, so that when seated in one of the lounge seats it felt like those recliners in the mall that you put a quarter into for a 15-minute massage. There was also a slight roll of the ship; evidently the Atlantic is not a particularly calm ocean. Fortunately, we were out of hurricane season.
If you have never cruised before, be aware that embarkation is like going to the airport, only worse. Some security steps can be done in advance, but just realize that no plane holds 3500 passengers (and a crew of half that number or more), so be prepared to hurry up and wait and be shunted through checkpoint lines longer than at any airport. You accept this in the hope that the journey more than justifies the hassles. This cruise went out of Miami, where the above experience is multiplied by the number of ships in port at one time.
I must say, however, that the wait at security when disembarking at stopovers was manageable, and if you didn’t try to go or return at peak times there was often no delay at all. I had my folding bike so I could go exploring in ports and was never hassled about it. In fact, it generated much curiosity from other passengers. I put it in a large nylon duffel bag to get it on board but didn’t use the bag again until I got back to Miami. I kept the bike in my stateroom which had enough space for it.
Cruise members had been mailed their ID badges ahead of time, and I ran into several of them going through check-in, although none I knew from festivals or concerts. At the buffet lunch shortly after boarding I met a couple musicians I knew and two or three trippers I had seen at other events. Ultimately I saw perhaps ten acquaintances in all.
There was a hospitality event on departure afternoon in the Black and White lounge where the complete music schedule was handed out. Each day went something like this: evening sets of 60 minutes each, 50-minute afternoon sets from 1 or 2 to 5 on at-sea days, and morning jam sets for those who signed up in advance and brought their axes; that included vocalists. There were about 20 jammers. On port days there were also afternoon jams for anyone not going ashore. On the last at-sea day the jammers gave a one-hour concert—not professional but fun to watch. On the first full day at sea there was a one-hour open bar social for everyone who had paid the (much) higher price for the jazz contingent of the cruise. This was to be a meet-and-greet with the musicians, but only a few of them showed up.
The jazzers all ate dinner at 6 PM daily in a separate section of one of the dining rooms, with everyone assigned to the same table and companions each day, with six or eight people per table. At my table we six were all singles—either unmarried or without their spouse. I knew two of them from the New York Hot Jazz Camp. This was evidently done to ensure that everyone made it to the evening music session by 8 o’clock. Despite assigned seating, no one was prevented from going instead to the buffet or any of the specialty restaurants that charged extra for a presumably higher-end meal. Breakfasts and lunches were not subject to this restriction.
Now, about the music. The 17 performers were slotted into groups ranging from trios to sextets, sometimes with vocalists added. The two bassists and drummers were the busiest, one of each playing in every set. I found, in general, that the smaller groups played in a more modern vein—say, ’50s-early ’60s style—than the larger groups that had a ’20s-to-’40s feel. If you read this column regularly you know that I prefer the latter. While I cannot say there were any weak links among the musicians, some were clearly not trad players.
There were several themed sets during the week, such as a Roaring ’20s costume contest at which Banu Gibson led a seven-piece band that exclusively played tunes written in the 1920s. Banu, of course, contributed vocals. This was right up my alley. Banu’s set was followed by a “clarinet caucus,” with not two but three horns. This set was led by Allan Vache and included Dave Bennett on reeds, joined for several numbers by Allan’s wife Vanessa, who acquitted herself admirably.
One set Thursday evening, led by pianist Mike Francis, was titled “New Mexico Swing” and had me curious as to what might ensue. But other than the first tune that was played in a Latin style, nothing in the set had anything to do with New Mexico other than the fact that Mike lives there.
Friday night featured two very strong sets. Duke Heitger led a New Orleans-themed set with a septet and added several vocals by Banu Gibson, whom I’ve long been very fond of. One of the tunes she sang was “The Jazz Me Blues,” which I had never heard with lyrics. The second set, led by trumpeter Davy Jones, was equally good and brought in an excellent second alto in Sheridan (Dan) Hitchcock. Dan was brought along by fellow Nashvillian (not Nash-villain) Danny Coots in the hope that he’d be allowed to sit in at some point. Apparently this is not normal procedure but somehow an exception was made, and we all benefitted from it. Dan turned in several great solos in addition to his ensemble performance, and was brought in again in several sets the next day. At 31, he has a great future if he remains in the field.
The following day was the last entirely at sea. In the morning the 20-some jammers put on a concert under the direction of former Buck Creek Jazz Band clarinetist John Skillman. I was not expecting a professional-level performance, although some individuals showed great prowess. Still, it was a fun hour. Then after lunch two jammers joined in a set titled New Orleans Nighthawks with the pros. That turned out to be the only truly trad set of the afternoon, although the trio set led by Kris Tokarski on piano was very tasteful and enjoyable. I have liked Kris on the previous occasions I’ve seen him, but this one introduced me to yet another facet of him.
There were three sets on the final Sunday afternoon. I skipped the first one, the Yve Evans Gospel Hour. Yve had led a similar set the previous Sunday where I got enough spiritual renewal to last a long time. It was not at all overbearing on religion and was at times entertaining but once was enough. It seemed as though Yve was winging it, looking up stories on her phone as she went along. The other two sets, while not traditional, were very good: a 4-person piano set (Yve was the fourth pianist and turned in a great performance) and a trio led by Bob Leary on guitar.
The finale Sunday evening featured Houston Person’s quartet and a jam led by festival director Allan Vache. Houston, now 90 or 91 and with some mobility limitations, is still capable of virtuosic music.
If you’re still here, I’ve now bored you with almost 1600 words but haven’t addressed the question you probably want answered: would I do this again? My answer: maybe. I would need a stronger presence of traditional jazz. As I wrote above, some of the musicians, as good as they were, were not steeped in the classic idiom. It did not occur to me, before plunking down my money, to search out videos on the web of those I had not seen before. Lesson learned.
But another enticement for this cruise was the itinerary. I had never been to the Caribbean and this was a chance to visit a number of islands in a convenient and relatively inexpensive way. I am not a beach person but I was interested in seeing this corner of the world, mainly the areas that typical tourists don’t, which is why I brought my bike.
But I was not prepared for the poor cycling conditions I experienced, and I’ve biked in every US state, Canada and half a dozen European countries. I came to realize that these islands are mostly Third World and would be even worse off if not for tourism. There—I hope I’ve answered your question, and thanks for asking. Oh, and yes, I did like the ship even if it was a little too big for my tastes.
Bill Hoffman is a travel writer, an avid jazz fan and a supporter of musicians keeping traditional jazz alive in performance. He is the concert booker for the Tri-State Jazz Society in greater Philadelphia. Bill lives in Lancaster, PA. He is the author of Going Dutch: A Visitors Guide to the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Unique and Unusual Places in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and The New York Bicycle Touring Guide. Bill lives in Lancaster, PA.
