When the year began, I intended to write a “Happy New Year” post, but it’s taken me a while, and some time away, to recover from the holidays. We are living through a period of such pain, with a literal war on the streets of Minneapolis and a political convulsion everywhere else. Last week I escaped to Christian McBride’s World at Sea, a jazz festival on a Celebrity ship in the Caribbean.

Many people sign up for a week-long Jazz Cruise every year. I met a woman on her tenth voyage. The music onboard is the focus, not the ports of call. There were concerts than anyone could attend, from Big Band to solo piano ,a panel of pianists of assorted ages (Xavier Davis, Peter Martin, Benny Green, Jose Rodriguez, Christian Sands, Eric King), which I attended and similar groups of horn players. Cecile McLorin Salvant and Angelique Kidjo were the biggest vocal names. It is a singular experience for those who follow jazz, but hard to describe to non-fans.

There are also what I understand are standard cruise amenities: a selection of specialty restaurants and an endless buffet, a casino, a spa, a fitness center and high-end shopping. I went ashore to snorkel on Grand Cayman.. Typically, I would feel uncomfortable in a gathering of elderly affluent Americans, uncertain of their tolerance for people of color. But on the cruise we were out in numbers, maybe half the crowd. We celebrated black musicians. Strangers mingled and talked jazz. For a week, at sea.

Toni Martin Writes