2013 JazzSea Farewell Caribbean Cruise

After 30 years of organizing cruises for "trad" jazz enthusiasts, Bob and Carol Neumann, of "JazzSea Cruises", chose to retire with this wonderful 14 day cruise to the southern Caribbean. With 4 jazz bands on board, as well as Dick Williams' "Jammers", and my "Banjos Aweigh" group, we honored the Neumanns with a farewell cocktail party - as well as 14 days of music and touring!

The cruise saw 8 islands in the 14 days:  starting from Ft. Lauderdale on January 4, 2013, we visited St. Thomas, St. Bart's, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Bonaire, Curacao, and Half Moon Cay (Bahamas).
With good weather and relatively calm seas, this final cruise was a real treat.


Here is my wife, Nida, in Grenada.









 St. Lucia's famous mountains








I performed a solo concert in the main Show Lounge, with Karla West accompanying me on piano. I accompanied Karla on her Ragtime show which we performed in the piano bar.

Most days, I conducted rehearsals and jamming with "Banjos Aweigh" in the Half Moon Room then we performed many evenings by the Lido pool.
























 I  enjoyed playing as a sideman with some of the bands, including a put-together band which we called the "Wheezers and Geezers"- lots of fun!

Wheezers And Geezers

It's possible that some smaller organized tours might be organized to keep the trad jazz enthusiasts and the banjos and jammers happy, but there is no word yet as to what might happen.