‘West Coast Cool’ of Cheryl Bentine and Mark Winkler added to M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest lineup

One TBA at the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest has officially become WCC. The addition to the national lineup for the July 4 date of the three-day, free-admission festival at Jamesville Beach Park has been announced by executive director and founder Frank Malfitano. Manhattan Transfer vocalist Cheryl Bentine will team with lyricist, vocalist and hipster Mark…

Lunch with an old student reveals great dreams for a new beginning

Keep in touch, I told my smiling students that final day of Music Journalism classes. I meant it. We’d just spent a Le Moyne College semester exploring the glory of words and music together. I hoped they’d gotten as much out of our collective efforts as their teacher had. I was the one who shined…

To save The Sound Garden in Syracuse, go to college

Listen to the people. Do not force The Sound Garden to shut down its Armory Square store. News accounts in the Syracuse morning daily told of a crowd of 50 or so folks that gathered in front of City Hall in support of the record store. The nub of the matter is an ordinance that…

Time to check in on “American Idol” and “The Voice” before they butt heads at 8 p.m.

Call it the Singing Show Showdown. The three singers left on this season of “American Idol” perform for the spots in the coveted finale. The FOX cameras were rolling as Kree Harrison, Angela Miller and Candice Glover traveled home to face stunning adulation, too. The hometown visits have proved to be one of the most…

Hi, bud! I see you like your new location

Two weekends ago, we lovingly placed our new flowering Robinson Crabapple tree in the hole I’d dug in our front yard in Eastwood. Last night, my dear wife Karen burst through the door upon her return from work with one of those emphatic sentences that gets both a question mark and exclamation point. Did you…

This motorcycle club supports the military, good friends sharing a great day

Our Saturday afternoon walk took us past the green bar on New Court Avenue. Three Fat Guys was hopping on this sunny spring day. I told Ellie B, aka Dogamous Pyle, to be good as we approached from the north. Motorcycles lined the Syracuse street. Motorcyclists were everywhere, black leather catching the sun just right…

On this Kentucky Derby Day, I’ll raise one in memory of Brian Held

Brian Held adored horse racing. My dear friend was the first person I knew that actually owned a horse that ran in pursuit of prize money. The animal had the catchy name of Tax Credit. Taxi, as I came to call the beautiful beast from afar, didn’t run for the roses. No, this horse wasn’t…

Up in the Jamesville Beach Park sky, 22 balloons; on the stage, classic rock

Expect an invasion of music lovers from the Lilac City on Friday, June 28. Rochester rocker Lou Gramm is headlining the first of three nights of the 34th annual Syracuse Ballonfest in Jamesville Beach Park. Organizers announced details of the June 28 to 39 event this morning on a grassy field at the park. Honored…

A Robinson crabapple appears headed for a cheerful life in Eastwood

I look out the picture window this glorious May 1 morning and admire the new addition to our front lawn. A tree grows in Eastwood. A Robinson crabapple, to be exact. Two Januarys ago, we lost the olive tree that had graced our front yard since we moved in. It was an interesting-looking specimen, for…

Is April 30 too early to give up on the Mets?

It’s a long season. So true, for so many things. But today I come to talk about baseball. Tomorrow it’s May. One month will be in the books for baseball fans everywhere. I root for the Mets. Let’s Go Mets has been echoing through my brain since I started appreciating the thrill of victory and…