This episode, from a Jazz on Film session on the Journey of Jazz cruise, features an engaging discussion about the legacies of Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson with guests Cecile McLorin Salvant, Sullivan Fortner and Kelly Peterson, Oscar’s widow. --- Episode 110 of Jazz Cruises Conversations, is drawn from a "Jazz on Film" session on the Journey of Jazz Cruise. This session focuses on the lives, careers, and close relationship of Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson. The episode featur...

Ravi Coltrane with Marcus Miller Marcus Miller interviews Ravi Coltrane about his musical evolution and the dual legacy of his parents, Alice and John Coltrane. This insightful and candid talk, recorded live on the Journey of Jazz cruise, covers the challenges of growing up under the shadow of a jazz icon and finding one's own voice through the music. Key Takeaways The episode is a conversation between host Marcus Miller and guest Ravi Coltrane, focusing on Ravi's development as a jazz saxop...

Pianist Emmet Cohen sits down with his longtime friend, trumpeter and singer Benny Benack III, for a conversation recorded during the recent Journey of Jazz cruise. This interview tracks Cohen's journey from a college student to becoming a celebrated artist and future host of The Jazz Cruise. Cohen discusses the inspiration behind his acclaimed "Masters Legacy Series" and the creation of his globally popular "Emmet's Place" online concert series. Key Takeaways The episode features an intervie...

In this interview from the recent Journey of Jazz cruise, trumpeter Sean Jones talked with fellow brassman Wycliffe Gordon about his storied life in music. The trombonist talked about his early years playing music in churches, his introduction to jazz, his experience with playing in the McDonald's High School All-Star Band, and his work with Wynton Marsalis in both Wynton's Septet and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Send us a text

This listening party session during the Journey of Jazz cruise featured Niki Haris spinning and talking about several tracks from her album "Lift Thine Eyes." The stellar vocalist talked about the inspiration behind the music and even sang along with the tracks. Send us a text

This interview from the Journey of Jazz cruise was hosted by Marcus Miller, co-host of that sailing, who talked with John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton, longtime co-leaders of the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Their Grammy Award-winning big band performed during the cruise and the two also played with their old friend Diana Krall. Marcus talked with John and Jeff about the group's formation and long 40-year history. And he opened the floor to numerous questions from the...

This episode captures a coffee talk session from the recent Journey of Jazz Cruise, where host Lee Mergner interviews the great pianist Sullivan Fortner ("Sully"). Since Fortner does not enjoy talking about himself, the interview uses prompts featuring names of influential people in his life. Fortner, an adept mimic and great storyteller, shared profound lessons from his mentors and even played the piano for the audience in the mode of Oscar Peterson. Key Takeaways Musical Beginnings: Fortner...

This week's episode, recorded during the Journey of Jazz Cruise on the West Coast, features Dee Dee Bridgewater in conversation with co-host Marcus Miller, sharing stories from her remarkable five-decade career. The interview explores her journey from setting big goals at age seven to her life in Paris, discussing how she overcame adversity and developed the tools to succeed both artistically and professionally. Key Takeaways Early Ambitions & Idols: Dee Dee decided at the age of seven th...

This freewheeling conversation between two longtime friends, bassist Marcus Miller and comedian Alonzo Bodden, took place on the Journey of Jazz cruise that sailed from Vancouver to Los Angeles with stops in Victoria, BC and San Francisco. The two decided to interview each other, with Alonzo asking Marcus about music and Marcus asking Alonzo about comedy. Send us a text

This interview with guitarist Dan Wilson by his friend and mentor Christian McBride was taped during The Jazz Cruise for broadcast on the radio show “The Lowdown: Conversations with Christian” on SiriusXM’s Real Jazz channel. This LEARN session covers their joint history, as well as Dan’s early musical development, playing in church. In keeping with the format of Christian’s show, the two also play some improvised music together. Send us a text

This conversation was recorded during The Jazz Cruise earlier this year, and it featured a conversation between two of our longtime favorite performers – vocalist Catherine Russell and guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli, with Catherine taking on the interviewer role. For the last few years, John and Catherine have been performing together in a project they call 'Billie and Blue Eyes,' spotlighting the music of Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. John talked about coming up in the jazz...

This conversation was recorded during The Jazz Cruise '24 and it features an interview with multi-instrumentalist James Morrison, who talked with the cruise's music director Eric Marienthal about the challenges of playing multiple instruments at a high level. James also discusses his experiences as an airplane pilot, who does in fact fly himself and his bandmembers to many of his gigs. Send us a text

This conversation with saxophonist Mindi Abair, hosted by Talaya of "Watercolors" on SiriusXM, was recorded on the second week of The Smooth Jazz Cruise earlier this year. The two talked about Mindi's storied career and her interests off the bandstand. Send us a text

In this conversation recorded during Botti at Sea '24, as part of the Jazz on Film series hosted by Lee Mergner, we showed a bit of Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, Stanley Nelson's 2019 documentary about the great trumpeter. To talk about Miles' life and legacy, we asked another great trumpeter, Randy Brecker, who has always been a marvelous story teller. Perhaps no other artist lends themself more to stories than Miles Davis. Randy not only put Miles' singular influence in...

This conversation was recorded on The Jazz Cruise earlier this year and it featured a talk with Jazzmeia Horn and Cyrille Aimee, moderated by fellow vocalist Catherine Russell, who is also one of the hosts of The Jazz Cruise. The two talked about their unique musical roots – Jazzmeia's in gospel and Cyrille's in French gypsy music and how they first got into jazz. They also share their creative process for recording and composing. And there's lots more, including questions ...

This conversation with three of our artists was recorded on the first sailing of The Smooth Jazz Cruise earlier this year. It features a talk with Rick Braun, Richard Elliot and Peter White, moderated by one of our hosts, Talaya from Sirius XM. The three old friends talked about the first time they met, mostly going back to the 80s, when fusion was at its peak and Smooth Jazz was just emerging as a genre. Then, Rick talked about working with Sade, Peter explained why almost every Briti...

As part of the Jazz on Film series on Botti at Sea '24, host Lee Mergner showed a bit of the documentary "Still Bill" about Bill Withers. Jose James, who paid tribute to Bill with his album "Lean on Me," then talked with Lee about the great singer-songwriter's music, life and legacy. Send us a text

This conversation recorded on the Jazz Cruise earlier this year is from one of our LEARN sessions held during the day. James Morrison interviewed fellow trumpeters Bria Skonberg and Benny Benack the third. They talk plenty of brass of course, but also about how they balance playing and singing. And the two talk about how their own style and sound evolved. Finally, they take a bunch of interesting questions from the audience. Send us a text

In this episode, two of our longtime cruise hosts and headliners—Alonzo Bodden and Marcus Miller—talk music, comedy and life in a free-wheeling and entertaining conversation recorded on The Smooth Jazz Cruise. Although Alonzo kicks it off as the interviewer, in reality any session with these two longtime friends is bound to go back and forth, with one turning the tables on the other, and with a healthy dose of good-spirited razzing along the way. Send us a text

This conversation was recorded on the inaugural sailing of Botti at Sea in 2024 and it featured an interview with the great vocalist Samara Joy, as part of the Jazz on Film series Lee Mergner hosted that week. Samara talked in depth about Sarah's incredible legacy and about her own evolution as a jazz singer in this candid conversation. Send us a text