Nick and Boney James at the Smooth Jazz 94.7 KSSJ Summer Series, photo courtesy Christine White

The beginning of August saw Nick busy with three events almost back to back: First up, Candid Jazz and Conversations at La Dolce Vita in Gary, IN. The night was hot and so were Nick and the band!

Two days later the City of North Chicago Community Day saw some rocky weather, and after three songs Nick and the band were rained out. Despite valiant efforts by the stage crew to keep the water away, it was a losing battle. Mayor Rockingham was able to make sure the fireworks went off as scheduled, though, and they were spectacular. Nick was invited to come back next year, when the weather will hopefully be more cooperative!

The following day it was off to Trenton, MI, for Jazz On The River. Thunderstorms all over the midwest made for some flight delays, but when the van carrying Nick and the band arrived in front of the stage the crowd stood up and cheered....and during his show they didn't stop! The rain had left, and the setting right on the river was absolutely perfect. Thanks go to WVMV Smooth Jazz Detroit and Alexander Zonjic for a really fun gig...it made up for all the craziness getting there with its wonderfully responsive audience!

New updates for August and beginning of September:

The City of Jacksonville Beach, Florida played host to one of the great fun dates of the summer as Nick played to a capacity crowd in their beautiful amphitheatre right on the beach! Nick got a special surprise courtesy of the city's special events planner, Marilyn Matejcek - the date was his birthday and saxman Jeff Kashiwa, who performed on the bill just prior to Nick, came on stage and played Happy Birthday, accompanied by several lovely young ladies carrying a birthday cake decorated with a guitar!

Speaking of birthdays, Nick's hometown station, WNUA 95.5, celebrated its 20th birthday in style on August 22 at Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago. See Article below.

Mother Nature whipped up a very bizarre wind and rainstorm just before Nick and the band were to perform at the Yorkfest Arts Festival in York, PA. The city decided safety came first and cancelled the show. Mayor Brenner and his organizing staff were so gracious, but there was no doubt we were all disappointed. The location was beautiful, a lovely park on a small lake with lots of trees and grassy slopes - it would have been a beautiful evening and we all hope next year there will be no such problems for this historic city's summer celebration!

Our return to Jazz On The Potomac at the Lansdowne Resort in Lansdowne, VA was a huge success thanks to the beauty of the resort itself and the incredible resort staff. The hotel was sold out, and the patios and terraces were packed with jazz lovers as the evening kicked off. By the time Nick and the band finished with a backdrop of a huge silvery moon behind them, everyone agreed it was the perfect ending for this very successful jazz series. Over 50 "Kickin' With Nick" fan club members attended, with fan club President Carrie who came down from Wisconsin for the event and her right hand man in Virginia, Rusty, who organized the fan club meeting prior to the show, receiving accolades all around. Special thanks to Director of Marketing Mark Riddell for the incredible hospitality at Lansdowne.

The next day, after an all-too-brief stop for some home-cooked BBQ with some good friends (Alvin, Cheryl, Gary, Amelia and Kevin), it was off to the Showplace Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD, where Nick, Bobby Caldwell and Norman Brown's Summer Storm closed out the Second International Metropolitan Jazz Festival. Nick had a ball playing in the audience at this event, which had some of the liveliest fans of the summer! Emmett Roberts, CEO/COO of Shortcake Entertainment Group, with the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce in full support, put on one heck of a party. In addition, there was a jam session on all three nights of the Festival, held at the Marriott UMUC Inn and Conference Center - who could ask for more?

The beginning of September found Nick at the Herberger Theatre in Phoenix, AZ, delivering a lecture on the business of jazz and performing with the student jazz band for Arizona State University in the "Jazz Lecture Series". Nick was introduced by pal Marion Meadows who gave the first lecture in the series, and by Dr. Mernoy Harrison from ASU and a champion of bringing music and cultural events to the downtown area of Phoenix. Before his lecture, Nick played with a trio of extremely talented young musicians (Chris Peña on keys, Brady Putzke, bass and Jason Adams, drums), all jazz students at ASU studying with Michael Kocour, Director of Jazz Studies. Special thanks to Hassan Abdul-Kareem for producing this very special event . To see excerpts of Nick performing with the ASU students, visit Nick's YouTube page, link below.

Sacramento, CA was next up, where Nick and Boney James played to a sold-out crowd at the Guzzetta Grove on the property of the Radisson Hotel. The Smooth Jazz 94.7 KSSJ Summer Series event was totally sold out, as Nick and Boney brought the audience to its feet with a high energy evening that left everyone wanting more. Personal note: Program Director Lee Hansen holds a special place in Nick's esteem - when Nick's very first CD came out Lee was program director at WNUA 95.5 Chicago. He and his then music director and now program director at KJCD Smooth Jazz 104.3 Denver Michael Fischer, were the first to play Nick Colionne singles on the air. So thanks, Lee - it was great playing for you "live"!