A return to OCC for Corea sounds great forever

The last time Chick Corea played on the campus of Onondaga Community College some three years ago the American jazz legend was on a huge stage with one of the world’s biggest band’s headlining an enormous free jazz festival. Yes, that night in June 2011 was hugely memorable for all that saw that tingling set…

A good time on the rolling hills

My posts Saturday and Sunday about the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest concentrated on the music. Big time, big fun for the 32nd edition of the free-admission event. For my weekly community blog for Syracuse public media site waer.org, I commented about how the return this summer to the rolling hills of Onondaga Community College brought…

Funk Trombone, Good Voodoo, Guitar Noir, New Voice

The first day of the 32nd edition of the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest was all that in the headline above plus a shining sun, silvery moon, cheering thousands and a damned good beef quesadilla. From night to day: Headliner Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue drew the big free-admission crowd forward and into the aisles and…

Two days of music, capped by Mr. B.B. King

I recall being pretty excited placing the call to a certain Riley King. Goes by the initials B.B. Stands for Blues Boy. And B.B. King comes on the phone, starts talking, and I knew why I liked that job writing about music for the big daily so damn much. In fact, the American blues legend…