32nd Atlantic City Boat Show

NEWS & VIEWS

Plus new DrewToonz cartoon, Sean Rowe and his Anti- label debut 'Magic,' and jazz series to debut at Redding's restaurant in Atlantic City in February.

By AC Weekly Staff

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Jan. 27, 2011

If all this snow and frigid temperatures has you dreaming about summertime fun out on the water, you can head somewhere to fuel — or perhaps fulfill — those dreams. The 32nd Atlantic City Boat Show takes place at the Atlantic City Convention Center Wednesday, Feb. 2, to Sunday, Feb. 6. Find the boat of your dreams among hundreds of the newest boats and shop for the latest marine gear. From luxury motor and sailing yachts to sport fishers, performance boats, inflatables and personal watercraft, there are boats for every lifestyle, activity and budget. The Marine Marketplace, a 93,000 square feet. “show within the show,” features 440 booths showcasing all the latest in marine technology, engines, accessories, nautical gifts, and more. You can also check out the Miss Geico, one of the fastest racing powerboats in the world, confirmed by its five world championships, five national championships and as the holder of four world speed record runs. The show hours are Wed.-Fri., Feb. 2-4, 11am-8pm; Sat., Feb. 5, 10am-8pm; Sun., Feb. 6, 10am-5pm. General admission tickets: adult, $12; ages 15 and younger free with a paid adult admission. For more info, go to acboatshow.com. — Lori Hoffman

Soul Food with a Side of Jazz

Apparently Redding’s Restaurant was not satisfied with having merely brought Atlantic City its most authentic soul-food establishment of the new millennium last September. Now chef Carl Redding is bringing in soul food’s most appropriate embellishment — live, world-class jazz. Dubbed the JazzAlive! Series, the first event will be on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at Redding’s (corner of Pacific and Kentucky avenues) and will feature Joey DeFrancesco, who has been hailed as “finest jazz organist on the planet.” “I am thrilled that Redding’s Restaurant is able to bring such top quality live jazz to Atlantic City, and I am doubly thrilled that master jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco is the artist who will be kicking off our series,” says Redding, also known as the Godfather of Soul Food. “So strap on your jazz chops and get ready to be served up a succulent jazz soul buffet.” DeFrancesco comes from a musical family, having shown a strong interest in the organ at age four. At age 16 he signed a recording contract with Columbia Records, and was largely responsible for the resurgence of the Hammond B-3 organ’s sound in popular music. DeFrancesco toured in Europe with jazz great Miles Davis in the late 1980s, and formed his own quartet at age 18. He is currently working on a new release that features the music of Michael Jackson, entitled Never Can Say Goodbye. “In one of the largest entertainment meccas in the country, the one genre that has been neglected has been top-shelf jazz,” says music series and Grammy award-winning producer Joe Donofrio of Brigantine. “It’s my goal to present some of the world class artists at Redding’s.” — Ray Schweibert

Raves and Faves

Sean Rowe

‘Magic’ (Anti-)

Not just another bearded bard living out in the country and recording modern-day indie music, Sean Rowe has been working towards and waiting for this moment for many years, toiling as a singer-songwriter. Magic, his major label debut was officially released this month on the Anti- label. It could easily become the best album of the year and it’s not even close to spring. Rowe’s extraordinary set of songs shows off his truly deep and unique voice — a mix of classic Springsteen, Greg Brown, latter-day Gil Scott-Heron and a sprinkle of Leonard Cohen sensibility and sorrow. It all blends perfectly with the poetry that are his lyrics. Buy now; so you won’t be sorry later.