Day 4
Fun Day At Sea
Sea days should be relaxing since we’re at sea, right? Wrong!!
Decisions, decisions! What to do with a plethora of activities that appeal to any palate? “You can get with this or you can get with that, the choice is yours”! Artists Q&A, panel discussions, daytime concerts, card game tournaments, outdoor sports games, $2 mimosas, wine tasting with African American Wineries, African Ancestry presentations, workshops, or why not sleep in?!
First up, the Business of Music panel discussion. It was refreshing to learn that Capital Jazz invited these highly-regarded soul Website representatives and esteemed musicians to share their perspectives on the topic. On the panel, SoulTracks’ L. Michael Gipson, SoulBounce’s Kimberly Hines, saxophonist, Mike Phillips, and singer/songwriter and host, Eric Roberson. I was excited about the entire SuperCruise experience that awaited L. Michael and Kimberly since it was their first time attending.
Like SoulBounce and SoulTracks, but on a slightly different scale, my former company, ONUTSS all had a common goal, and that was to shine a light on indie artists. ONUTSS proudly supported them by hosting listening parties where most of the time, the artists were in attendance and performed a song or two. This was the perfect panel for L. Micheal and Kimberly to sit at the table and share their thoughts/opinions.
The discussion was captivating; everyone in attendance was engaged and prepared with relevant questions to follow up on towards the end (although there were plenty of distractions from other cruisers anticipating the NFC football game) 🙂
The Player Makers Bar and Arcade were brimmed to the walls’ edges with New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams fans!
On the way to my cabin, I passed by Raul Midon’s Q&A at The Schooner bar and stopped long enough to hear Bluey offer to collaborate with Raul in the near future; stay tuned for this music lovers; I’m sure it will be a stunner!!
Getting ready for the big event as I used the light from my photography equipment and the garbage can for the mirror to apply my makeup🤗
I PREDICTED THE BLACK PANTHER THEME!
Since Capital Jazz’s usual travel time of the year was switched to January, they needed a theme where folks would keep their creative juices flowing. In the past, we traveled around Halloween so you can imagine the costumes that cruisers showed up and out wearing at that time!
My Crusin Cousins!
The Judges: Reggie Reg, Stepp Steward, Ingrid B., and Michael Colyar
Scenes from the competition for best costume
I was thrilled for Down to the Bone’s appearance despite the fact that I’ve seen them perform more times than I can count… I don’t think the main theatre was suited for their performance although it was good if the majority of the audience were not familiar with them. DTTB was begging people to get up and dance to their funky jazz grooves, but no one was having it! They were waiting for Incognito! My experience with DTTB is that they’ve always provided a party atmosphere, mostly on NYC cruises around the city where their fans know how they roll! They don’t need to request real fans to shake a leg because their happy feet are already thumping on the dancefloor!
Chantae Cann was a guest on the 2013 SuperCruise and like Jarrod Lawson, I’d never heard of her. They were both on the Soul Session stage and that’s where I discovered their brilliant gifts. I was disappointed I missed their shows that year but happy as hell I got the chance to redeem myself!
As I continued to follow Chantae, I stumbled upon her video with Snarky Puppy from their Family Dinner album, featuring her song
Free Your Dreams. I fell in love with it and the whole video vibe! check it out here.
I can’t help myself! I love them!
Incognito is one of my favorite bands, and I have seen their show countless times, yet I debated on whether I should see it one more time. Well, that debate was short lived. I always enjoy them each and every time!
Their album catalog spans over 40 years and I need to understand, in general, why artists don’t vary their setlist more. Will somebody kindly explain this to me🤔 There are so many great songs I want to hear live but then again, I’m only one person…
By now, it must be evident that The Soul Session hosted by Eric Roberson is one of my favorite SuperCruise musical experiences! You never know which artist will participate or what ERRO might say or do, and you damned sure don’t want to miss this! Solo artists as well as group members of featured bands, etc., take the stage and perform their favorite cover song. All the artist needs to do is tell the Jerry Brooks band what to play and it’s a done deal!
If you viewed the video below just in case you were wondering, Kenny Lattimore hit the hell out that high note at the end of EWF’s Reasons! And dammit I missed it on camera; I thought it was still recording…
Claude McKnight sang El DeBarge’s All This Love and admitted he was terrible with lyrics. Check out his background singers, assisting him and snickering at the same time😁
I didn’t get his name, however, a singer from the Secret Society band saaaang Luther’s A House is Not a Home. I didn’t get the woman’s name who sang Gladys Knight’s Neither One of Us either; however, you can hear Eric say it at the end of the song, I just couldn’t make out what he said.
Spur of the Moment, resident Capital Jazz band finally had their own show. Although I missed it, I was happy for them. I was however corrected when I mentioned it to one of the band members, who said they always have their own show when they do the tribute shows, that didn’t take place this year. I always look forward to them…
A quick look back!
Stay tuned for Day 5
This dude right here, had the ladies on the edge of their seats with just a bit of word artistry to advertise the late show! This piece is a smidge of what was to come later on that night with Ingrid B. and her lineup spoken word artists.
The Sight of Sound by Sista Suga 