October 3rd - 7th 2006
Reviewed by Steve Daniels
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For over 15 years now the organizers of the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise
have provided a week-long January party and music-fest from Florida to various
Caribbean ports. Responding to popular demand (the Florida cruises sell out 6
months ahead of departure), they inaugurated the first Pacific cruise in October
2006. I was fortunate to attend.
As on the previous two cruises on which I sailed, the ship (Holland America line) was massive, clean, and comfortable, with plentiful, tasty food and all the amenities one could desire. (Yes, it has a gym, and a coffee bar.) That wouldn’t be enough by itself to get me on a cruise, though...but the music did! Each cruise has 19 or 20 different acts, running the gamut from acoustic country blues to R-&-B to Chicago to West Coast jump to rock to soul. There is music from about noon to 3 or 4 AM every day, with at least 2 different acts performing simultaneously at different venues on the ship, so at any one time there is almost always something appealing to one’s taste. In addition, there are musician, songwriting, and photography workshops, professional-amateur jam sessions, and unannounced spontaneous gatherings at several piano bars. Oh, yeah, there are parades and theme nights for you party people. For those of us focussed on the music, we can’t cry the blues. Janiva Magness with her sweet and strong pipes led a hot band featuring guest guitarist Kid Ramos. Doug MacLeod played his usual dazzling solo acoustic sets, |
spiced with poignant or sidesplitting
anecdotes. The Tommy Castro Band rocked the house, and the Harmonica Blowout with Mark
Hummel, James Harman, and Kim Wilson was mighty fine. Those were my favorites, but
others may have preferred Irma Thomas, Larry McCray, Deborah Coleman, Taj Mahal
(who sails on every cruise!) or the multiple other acts who performed at least twice
during the voyage. (To review the performers, go to
www.bluescruise.com.)
For me the highlight of the 4 days was a serendipitous late night stop at a piano bar featuring Leon Blue (who has appeared in Santa Barbara in years past) tickling the ivories. Intending only to pass through on the way to another show, I was mesmerized by the music and sat down with the 2 or 3 other people there. Within 15 minutes the bar was packed and remained standing-room-only for the next 90 minutes as Blue jammed with a guitarist, bassist, and drummer from various other bands who just happened by. It was magical; on the blues cruise, such sublime spontaneity happens almost every day, unpredictably but reliably. My only complaint about the cruise: too short! Four days wasn’t enough...but take heart: the Pacific cruise, already scheduled for October 2007, will be 7 days long, as are all the Florida cruises. (The January 2007 Florida cruise has long been sold out; reservation information for the October 2007 and January 2008 cruises is available on the cruise Web site.)
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relationship with the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. S.D.]