Smooth Jazz News - October-November-Decemeber - 2024

1 0 | S M O O T H J A Z Z N E W S radio show host, who o ered exciting adventures in locations I’d never visited before. From Catalina Island for his JazzTrax Festival, to an overnight train trip from San Diego to his Winter into Spring Music Festival at the Sunriver Resort in Oregon; and the Big Bear Lake JazzTrax Summer Music Festival, where everyone rode a chairli up 8,000 feet to the dusty slopes of Snow Summit to be treated to magni cent views and musical performances. I remember when Mindi Abair was a sax player for other artists. When she began branching out into a solo career, she invited me to lunch. A erward we sat in my car in the parking lot of an Oceanside, California, restaurant, and listened to her yet-to-be- mastered rst release on my car’s cassette player. Since then, she’s made her own way in this genre. And, now, a er nding her soulmate, husband Eric Guerra, she’s merged their collective love of food, wine, travel and music into their successful WineandJazz. com adventures, including the launch of Mindi Abair’s Wine and Jazz New Year’s Eve in Coronado, California, sponsored by Kathy Payne, co-founder of Payne Pest Management. Payne is another friend I’ve made. She and her late husband, Willie Payne, were advertisers. en, throughout meals and smooth jazz travels together, we discovered that we were raised in the same Paci c Beach Navy Housing neighborhood and attended the same schools. Payne has not only been a friend and generous advertiser with Smooth Jazz News , she is also a major donor, sponsor and supporter of concerts, festivals and independent artists. Marcus Anderson was an emerging sideman when I rst saw him perform, and noticed that he had the “it” factor. His talent has taken him to the head of the late Prince’s horn section, then touring with Brian Culbertson and other artists, and becoming a genre attraction with his own band. Plus, he’s staged his own festival and launched a co ee brand, featured at Marcus Anderson’s Jazz AND Co ee Escape in Durham, North Carolina. All the while being an amazing father to two daughters. Mutli-instrumentalist Vincent Ingala was in high school when we met. Now, he’s 31 years old, with a solid career, an entire management team, a new home and a ancée! And, while Ingala was a toddler, Dave Koz’s mother Audrey was baking cookies and dropping them o at radio stations for program directors, along with a cassette tape of her son’s music, when he launched his solo career. Today, he’s the most successful mogul in the smooth jazz universe with sold-out cruises and Christmas tours, creating the most cherished memories for his fans. He’s also the most generous philanthropist and cheerleader for other musicians and artists. During that same time, Renee’ and Mark Carter were hosting local concerts to promote their Destin, Florida-based radio station, e Seabreeze 106.3 Smooth Jazz. ese events eventually became a weekend festival held in a condominium complex’s courtyard then moved to various venues, before nding a permanent home in Panama City Beach, Florida. e Seabreeze Jazz Festival has evolved into an 8,000-plus-seat event that sells out each year before the gates at Pier Park even open. It’s the most sought-a er ticket on the smooth jazz circuit. Friendships extend up the East Coast, where Debbie Pinsky distributes Smooth Jazz News to the DMV region (Washington, DC; Maryland; Virginia), including the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest in Reading, Pennsylvania. ese are just a fraction of the friends I’ve made and the advertisers who have supported us throughout this venture. But it also requires a team of professional writers, editors and graphic designers and sta to keep us going. JoAnn Armke was our original graphic designer who created the logo and template layout for Smooth Jazz News . Although she’s semi-retired and living in Texas, she continues to pitch in and help with editing, layout review and headline writing. Gina Mancini is our main designer, and North Carolina-based Stephani Rosenstein subs for Mancini when she is away. Our award-winning journalists, Ken Capobianco and Marcia Luttrell handle the main features and artist interviews. Editors Brad Sondak , Barbara Knox and Paula Fitzgerald make sure that the copy is clean and tidy before going to press. And, Craig Collier , our operations and distribution manager, makes sure that every subscriber, advertiser and festivalgoer at the events we attend receive a copy of Smooth Jazz News . A perk of this work has been my many sublime jazz vacations over the years. Glamorous excursions aside, the time spent at concerts and festivals is a mere sliver of the weeks and months of long hours I work in the o ce creating the magazine and managing the business. e largest part of my day is dedicated to the income-producing activity of selling ads. is leaves little time for interviewing artists, which I assign to our highly talented journalists. Advertisers provide the budget that pays for the writers, editors, graphic designers, distributors, sta , phones, internet, o ce supplies and all of the other expenses that keep this business running. So, without advertisers there would be no Smooth Jazz News for our readers, for whom I am also wildly grateful. In this spirit of gratitude, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has ever advertised with us, especially those who ran ads in 2024. ey are listed on page 9 in alphabetical order. To celebrate our years of success, we’re inviting them to our 25th Anniversary Brunch Party & Jam Session at Spaghettini in Seal Beach, California, on Jan. 19, 2025. Our favorite party band, DW3, whomwe met on one of the rst smooth jazz-themed cruises in the early 2000s, will perform in the lounge and will be joined by some of our special guest artists. We’d love for you to join the fun. Tickets are available, but seating is limited, and this event always sells out. Cheers to 25 years! To purchase tickets to the Smooth Jazz News Anniversary Brunch Party & Jam Session at Spaghettini, located at 3005 Old Ranch Pkwy., Seal Beach, California, visit www.spaghettini. com or call 562-596-2199. continued from page 8