CNYJO returns for a rare public performance

They enjoyed the vibe at the Oneida Scholastic Jazz Fest so much that the members of the Central New York Jazz Orchestra decided it was time to make their music for the public of Syracuse again. The cool ensemble will play at 4 p.m. Sunday at Jazz Central at 400 E. Washington St., Syracuse. The…

Photo 101: Finding solitude a third of the time

Day five of Photo 101 brings from Cheri the combination of Solitude and The Rule of Thirds. This first Friday in March being a day for a big three: Picking up the monthly prescriptions from my friend Jen at Dougherty Pharmacy 35 miles down the road in Morrisville, writing a magazine feature story and attending…

Ranch house in Syracuse, N.Y.

Photo 101: Finding bliss in The Little Bitty

Assignment No. 4 in Photo 101 is Bliss. Open up the door a little wider, Cheri. What brings me happiness in life? Much, hopefully. Great grown daughter Elisabeth. Love to write, for this blog and the freelance opportunities elsewhere. Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle. My dear wife Karen on a line of her own. And…

Photo 101: Water everywhere, including the kitchen sink

No matter the assignment on this third day of Photography 101, I was determined that my post was not going to include one flake of snow. And then comes the word. Water. Horizontal view of water. Vertical view of water. Perspective included, reminds instructor Cheri about lesson two, because this month’s instructions are meant to…

Syracuse music, with The Works

And the winner is … Friday night, 13 best-of category recipients will be announced at the Syracuse Area Music Awards annual ceremony at the Palace Theatre. There also will be shiny black trophies handed out for the Brian Bourke Award for best new artist, hall of fame inductees (including Chris Goss of Masters of Reality)…

Josh Batstone gets his shot, and chooses Adam Levine

The singer from the Syracuse area picked the LA coach. It took the fourth show of blind auditions before Josh Batstone, the teenager from Fulton, a snowy burg some 20 miles northwest of Syracuse, got his first camera time on this season eight of NBC singing competition “The Voice.” I was ready with my iPad…

Photo 101: A State Street runs through Syracuse

Assignment No. 2 in Photo 101 is titled Street. It’s a challenge to our perspective. My Tuesday life took me from my dear wife Karen and I’s Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood to a half-business, half-pleasure trip that ended on State Street, a busy thoroughfare in downtown Syracuse. After I’d filled…

A Palooza of a time for Donna Colton

The community came through for Donna Colton on Sunday. DonnaPalooza was a sweet and vibrant success at the Westcott Theater in Syracuse, from the rich music that filled the air from the volunteer bands and musicians on stage to the buzzing fans and friends who hugged, talked, ate, drank and wished well to veteran Syracuse…