A Big Band jump start to the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest

Into every M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest a little rain must fall. So it seems sometimes in the history of this big party to celebrate good music and hopefully fine times in Central New York. On the first night of the 33rd edition of the summer event on the campus of Onondaga Community College, the precipitation…

It’s the weekend to welcome Wynton and Aretha

It’s a huge weekend for music where I live. Wynton Marsalis leads the Lincoln Center Orchestra onto the stage of the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest as the headliner Friday night. If you’ve never had the opportunity to sit in the same place as, oh, a couple dozen of the best jazz players on the planet…

Getting better with age on stage

I was on the phone last night interviewing two guys in the Syracuse music scene I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen play many times. Guitarist Terry Mulhauser and harp-blower and singer Pete McMahon are veterans who’ve played with different bands and a wide array of other musicians. But the cream always rises to the…

There’s still plenty to taste, I’m sure

By noon Friday, thousands roamed Syracuse’s Clinton Square and the blocks surrounding. The two days of the annual Taste of Syracuse is the most popular downtown festival. It’s about people. Click any photo in a gallery for a description. Click the bottom right photo for an enlarged slide show. There are decisions to be made,…

The Rock Hall Induction likes itself a lot now

Of course Joan Jett and Bill Withers and the three guys in Green Day — Billie Joe Armstrong front-man loquacious but Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool equally worthy and chatty — were proud as hell to be up there accepting their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So, too, were Stevie Ray…

Pop goes the memories, says Gary Frenay, and it is good

Gary Frenay, File Under Pop Vocal Northside Records Syracuse music fans know what a cool cat Gary Frenay can be. He’s got nine band lives, too. Well, that number’s a bit of a stretch, but the singer and guitarist has made the Syracuse Area Music Hall of Fame twice with the power pop of the…