Jam Cruise 18 Announces Special Sets

Jam Cruise 18 organizers confirmed the hosts for the Jam Room, Jazz Lounge and Pickin Lounge on January’s trip as well as those performing piano sets in the Crystal Atrium. The musical adventure at sea departs Miami aboard the MSC Divina January 7 and returns January 12, 2020.

The Jam Room is one of the key elements of Jam Cruise — a space in which musicians aboard the boat can come together for unscheduled and often unplanned collaborations. George Porter Jr., Roosevelt Collier, Karina Rykman, Robert “Sput” Searight and Joe Marcinek will each host the Jam Room for one night of JC18. More recent additions to the Jam Cruise arsenal are the Jazz Lounge and Pickin Lounge, more intimate affairs with a similar concept of giving musicians a place to perform on their own terms. Steve Kimock, Eric “Benny” Bloom, Kevin Scott, Casey Benjamin and Sylvester Onyejiaka will each host the Jazz Lounge for a night, while Jay Starling and Torrin Daniels & Mihali will have turns hosting the Pickin Lounge.

The ship’s Crystal Atrium lobby serves as the home for the trip’s piano sets. Located in the middle of the ship at the bottom floor which allows vantage points for multiple levels, the piano sets come towards the beginning of each evening and shine a light on Jam Cruise’s talented pianists. As always, Ivan Neville will perform a set with the lineup rounded out by Robert Walter, Aron Magner, Kenneth Crouch and the pairing of Dominique Xavier Taplin and Vaughn “V.Keys” Henry.

All of the special sets come in addition to performances from The Claypool Lennon Delirium, Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz, moe., Galactic, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Lettuce, Lotus, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Turkuaz, OG Garage A Trois, Dumpstaphunk and dozens more. While cabins are sold out, head here to join the waitlist.