NYS Music 20​19

Category: Blues/Jazz

  • Hearing Aide: Joe McCann ‘Chase the Sunset’

    Places, moments and memories seem to be muses for Chase the Sunset, the instrumental guitar-centered album released by Joe McCann on January 1. Hailing from Upstate New York, McCann is a studio based BMI artist and multi-instrumentalist with a love of melodic, ambient and evocative sounds.

    In his first release of original material, McCann explores various ranges of mood and tone. “East Berlin Bridge” features a swaying melody over jazz-influenced chords and rhythms, while “Cool Breeze” explores wavy, echoing guitar effects over a light, almost shoegaze-influenced sound. The moving, soft quality of “Cool Breeze,” along with the sunny, pleasant mood of “Fingerwalk” invites listeners to sit back and momentarily let McCann’s soothing guitar serve as the backdrop to the day’s activities.

    McCann exhibits a clear passion for setting scenes with his music as he places us in a barroom evening with “Double Duty,” or drops us in the middle of a person’s quest for ascension in “Chase the Sunset.” Following this stripped-down debut, it will be interesting to see McCann expand his musical universe with other instruments or even vocals in his next release.

    Key Tracks: Chase the Sunset, Dwell, Cool Breeze

     

     

  • The Dirty Pennies Announce New EP and Release Show in April

    Save the date. On Friday, April 19, the Dirty Pennies celebrate the release of their new EP with a show at the Bug Jar in Rochester. Special guests include Buffalo’s Handsome Jack and indie rockers The Stedwells. Tickets are on sale Thursday, February 21.

    The Dirty Pennies’ much-anticipated sophomore release will be out a couple weeks before the show, on April 2. Entitled ep, the collection will be available over all major music platforms (including Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Bandcamp).

    The new work demonstrates The Dirty Pennies’ ability to create a cohesive sound from blues and surf rock influences. The Dirty Pennies turned to Josh Pettinger and Greg Thompson of Wicked Squid Studios to record and engineer their new songs. The pair took on the herculean task of harnessing the raw energy of this dynamic trio and translating it into a recording that remains true to the feel of the Dirty Pennies’ live shows.

    Visit The Dirty Pennies online or follow on Facebook for updates. While you’re waiting for the new tunes, give their 2017 album Kick Out The Rocks a spin.

  • Rochester’s Steve Gadd Brings Home First Grammy

    Legendary musician Steve Gadd has performed on many Grammy-winning albums, but this year he was awarded the first one for one of his own projects. The Steve Gadd Band’s self-titled album won Best Instrumental Album. The modern jazz band includes Steve Gadd on drums, Walt Fowler on trumpet and flugelhorn, Kevin Hays on keyboard, Jimmy Johnson on bass, and Michael Landau on guitar. 

    Steve Gadd is hailed as one of the most accomplished and skilled drummers of his generation. Born in the suburbs of Rochester, Gadd took up drums when he was seven years old. When he was 11, he sat in with Dizzy Gillespie, launching a lifetime of work with some of the greatest artists of our time. He has performed in studio and on tour with iconic artists such as Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Eric Clapton. He continues to make music in conjunction with other artists and with the Steve Gadd Band. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1984, and the Rochester Music Hall of Fame in 2018.

    Gadd will be touring with Dave Matthews in March and James Taylor later this spring. Steve Gadd Band is on the bill for the Rochester International Jazz Festival and Montreal Jazz Festival. They’re also booked for a three-night stand at Iridium in NYC in June.

  • Hearing Aide: BURLY ‘Self Titled Demon’

    Slow down, stay a while and unwind with something like you have never heard before. Troy, NY natives, BURLY, have created a lush, warm and plain relaxing collection sure to help you let go of the days struggles – sinking into your chair for a spell. You won’t find anything else like it, and it just might be your odd cup of tea you never knew you needed.

    The album is laced with jazz, folk and indie influences with poetic lyrics layered over the top of each track. They’re literally poems. The “Infinite Broken” lyrics are lifted directly from one of the non-performing member’s own poems. Lyrically, it’s intriguing. But what really sets this group apart is the instrument arrangement: jazz inspired percussion, airy guitar, breathy saxophone, thoughtful bass and mellowing vibraphone. This ensemble is reminiscent of pivotal jazz groups and it’s warming to see a modern revival of this set up. That being said, the group is still in their grassroots stages, so there is a lot of experimentation happening here. We find rockish songs, ones with a western feel and some that are plain melancholy.

    We start out with “Branches of Blood” and to be honest, the whole song is perplexing. Highly interpretive lyrics, unique instrumentation and odd time signatures and tempos make the song intriguing, and a bit discomforting. But it’s still very good. It’s obvious that everything is done with intention and diligence. The fact that the group can evoke so many emotions within the songs is incredible. It’s a great way to kick off the album, but as stated before, things keep changing.

    Another one of their best is “Happy Birthday 2001,” a song about a “half-remembered birthday party of a high school friend.” Lyrically, it’s pretty comical because we’ve all been to those awkward parties, finding the piano in the basement and “stabbing at the piano keys,” playing video games and “smoking weed out of a corn cob pipe” and “talking to cousins, trying not to seem like a kid”. Beyond that, we find a style that’s high energy and rockish, a much different feel compared to the rest of the album. Yet, it still holds a jazzy feel thanks to the vibraphone and sax. “Happy Birthday 2001” gives an otherwise cringeworthy story, a light hearted and airy feel. It’s just fun to listen to.

    “Kent Lame” brings the vibe down. Way down. We’re told a story about, what we can only suspect, is drugs use and the effect it has on people. “I met crystal hazard… two days with two friends of mine confused on acid.” One can only assume. It’s accompanied by a very fitting tone – a soft bed of slow and deliberate instrumentation. This is the vein of the group and they’ve mastered it.

    This is one of the most interesting albums I’ve heard in a long time. And although BURLY has done an incredible job creating such a unique atmosphere, I would hope to see more work like “Happy Birthday 2001” in the near future. And whatever you do, don’t get rid of that vibraphone.

    Key Tracks: Branches of Blood, Happy Birthday 2001, Kent Lame

  • Upstate Releases City Winery Session Video

    Hudson Valley acoustic septet, Upstate, released their sophomore album, Healing on Friday. Ahead of the release, the band performed at New York’s City Winery. Check out video from that performance below.

    Upstate evolved out of Upstate Rubdown. They employ a blend of jazz, folk, R&B, gospel and rock with gorgeous three-part harmonies and unorthodox instrumentation to produce a unique sound.

    The band is currently on tour with several New York dates lined up. The album is currently available on most streaming services.

    Upstate Tour:

    Feb. 8 – Higher Ground – South Burlington, VT

    Feb.  9 – Space Ballroom – Hamden, CT

    Feb.  10 – City Winery – Boston, MA

    Feb.  11 – City Winery – New York City, NY

    Feb.  13 – Thin Man Brewery – Buffalo, NY

    Feb.  14 – The Haunt – Ithaca, NY

    Feb.  15 – The Colony – Woodstock, NY

    Feb.  16 – Flour City Station – Rochester, NY

    Feb.  20 – Magic Rat Live Music – Fort Collins, CO

    Feb.  21 – Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom & Cervantes’ Other Side – Denver, CO

    Feb.  23 – WinterWonderGrass – CO – Steamboat Springs, CO

    Feb.  24 – WinterWonderGrass – CO – Steamboat Springs, CO

    Feb.  27 – WTVP – Peoria, IL

    Feb.  28 – Martyrs’ – Chicago, IL

    March 1 – The Refectory Restaurant and Bistro – Columbus, OH

    March  2 – Riverdog Retreat – Wakeman, OH

    March 3 – Club Café – Pittsburgh, PA

    March  7 – Weinberg Center for the Arts – Frederick, MD

    March 8 – Richmond Music Hall – Richmond, VA

    March  9 – PURPLE FIDDLE – Thomas, WV

    March 10 – The Grove – Fayetteville, WV

    March 12 – Eddie’s Attic – Decatur, GA

    March 14 – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC

    March 16 – Free Range Brewing – Charlotte, NC

    March 29 – WinterWonderGrass – CA -Olympic Valley, CA

    April 6 – Chautauqua Auditorium -Boulder, CO

    Aug.  2 – Arise Music Festival – Loveland, CO

  • 2019 BRIC House Sessions

    BRIC House Sessions is back for another year with its Thursday night concert series. BRIC House has featured world-class artists that reflect the diversity within Brooklyn. Celebrating 40 years of pioneering the arts and media in NYC as well as one of the leading presenters free cultural programming in Brooklyn. The BRIC organization presents and incubates work by artists and media-makers that reflects New York’s diversity and reaches hundreds of thousands of people each year.

    With BRIC House being its main venue, it houses a public media center, a major contemporary art exhibition space, two performance spaces, a glass walled TV studio and work spaces for artists. It also is the space for the Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park and has BRIC TV, radio and Brooklyn Free Speech media. It’s lead sponsor and supporter is the innovative entertainment and retail destination company City Point, which is 1.8 million square feet of retail, residential, office and entertainment complex at the epicenter of Downtown Brooklyn.

    So far this year headlining artists Son Little with special guest singer-songwriter Melissa Laveaux and guitarist Christopher Paul Stelling performing in Fort Greene on Feb. 28. Then on March 7 they have the Electro Arabic act 47SOUL who party with a message, with the female fronted, neo-beat deconstructionist Underground System to open. You can check out other artists performing on their website. Tickets can be purchased online at BRICartsmedia.org.

  • John Mayer Announces Solo Tour, Kicks off in Albany

    Grammy Award winner, John Mayer, announced the dates for his upcoming North American tour Monday. The tour will begin once Mayer finishes his duties with Dead & Company this summer.

    John Mayer soloBeginning on July 19 at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY, Mayer will perform at 27 other venues, including Madison Square Garden, NY on July 25 and 26.

    Each North American concert will auction off two pairs of front row tickets that will allow fans to experience a meet and greet prior to the start of the show. The proceeds from the tickets will go towards the Back To You fund: an organization that donates money to causes such as healthcare, education, and charities related to talent development.

    Tickets to Mayer’s tour will be on sale through Ticketmaster beginning Feb. 1 at noon. Presale tickets are available Jan. 29 at 10 a.m.

    Furthermore, American Express card holders may begin purchasing tickets on Jan. 29 through Jan. 31.

    Tour Dates:

    July 19 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY
    July 29 – Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI
    July 22 – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA
    July 23 – Capital One Arena – Washington D.C.
    July 25 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
    July 26 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
    July 28 – PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, PA
    July 30 – Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ON
    Aug. 2 – Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
    Aug. 3 – Schottenstein Center – Columbus, OH
    Aug. 5 – Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, MN
    Aug. 6 – Fiserv Forum – Milwaukee, WI
    Aug. 8 – Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
    Aug. 9 – Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC
    Aug. 11 – State Farm Arena – Atlanta, GA
    Aug. 12 – Bankers Life Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
    Aug. 14 – United Center – Chicago, IL
    Aug. 31 – Snomass Mountain – Snowmass Village, CO
    Sep. 2 – Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
    Sep. 3 – Engterprise Center – St. Louis, MO
    Sep. 5 – American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
    Sep. 7 – AT&T Center – San Antonio, TX
    Sep. 8 – Toyota Center – Houston, TX
    Sep. 10 – Talking Stick Resort Arena – Phoenix, AZ
    Sep. 11 – Viejas Arena – San Diego, CA
    Sep. 13 – The Forum – Inglewood, CA
    Sep. 14 – The Forum – Inglewood, CA

  • Syracuse label, L.R.S. set to release album by Baldwinsville HS pep band

    Plan Bee, the Baldwinsville HS Pep Band, is celebrating its 10th anniversary Saturday Jan. 19 at the Palace Theater in Syracuse with a performance and release of its first full-length LP, Bee Sides.The album is being released by Syracuse label L.R.S. Records.

    Record sales and the performance, which also includes appearances by ’90s tribute act My So-Called Band and Matthew Blake & the Blues Dragons, will help defray costs for the Baldwinsville Marching Band’s trip to the 2020 Rose Bowl Parade.

    The pep band’s origins are owed to band director, Casey Vanderstow. Describing the creation of the band, Vanderstow stated, “A lot of these students are in our field band program. When that ends in the fall, there is indoor drum line, and winter guard, but there wasn’t anything for brass and woodwind players who wanted to keep playing. So this band was formed for students to continue playing, and it has grown over the past decade.”

    The band also acts as the Carrier Dome’s house band when the Syracuse University pep band is off for the semester break. Below is some video of their performance of “Land of 1000 Dances” at Syracuse’s game versus Old Dominion on Dec. 15 of last year.

    Vanderstow modeled the band on his alma mater, Syracuse’s popular pep band, the Sour Citrus Society, and they now boast a repertoire of more than 60 songs ranging from classic rock to top 40 music.

    Plan Bee’s partnership with L.R.S. Records began three years ago, with an idea to record a vinyl LP with digital download. Over that time, L.R.S. recorded the band at various venues, including basketball games, at the Onondaga County War Memorial and at the band’s annual summer appearances at Baldwinsville’s Paper Mill Island Amphitheater.

    The album will feature arrangements of songs by the White Stripes, Daft Punk, the Beastie Boys, Elton John, Aerosmith and others.

    Tickets for the show are still available through the Baldwinsville band website and range from $15 to $50.

    _________________________________________________________________________

    Editor’s note: This article was corrected to reflect Saturday as the proper day of the event.

  • Blues Music Award Nominations Announced

    The 40th Anniversary Blues Music Award nominations have been announced by The Blues Foundation. Nominees in twenty-five different categories will converge in Memphis on May 9th 2019, at the Cook Convention Center for the award ceremonies and artist performances.

    Several Blues Music Award nominees appeared in Central New York venues within the past year, including The Westcott Theater, Funk ‘n Waffles, Wakely’s, the New York State Blues Festival, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, and the Chenango Blues Festival. The nominated artists that appeared at these venues are

    Larkin Poe – Band of the Year,

    Samantha Fish – Contemporary Blues Female Artist, and Contemporary Blues Album – Belle of the West,

    Danielle Nicole – Contemporary Blues Female Artist, and Instrumentalist – Bass,

    Rick Estrin – Contemporary Blues Male Artist,

    Christoffer “Kid” Andersen – Instrumentalist – Guitar,

    Bruce Katz – Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award,

    Toronzo Cannon – Contemporary Blues Male Artist,

    and Johnny Rawls – Soul Blues Male Artist, and Soul Blues Album, I’m Still Around.

     

  • Rock’n in the New Year with The Marcus King Band

    The Marcus King Band played their last two shows of 2018 as openers for As the Crow Flies at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Playing to a full house, the band’s set featured songs from their latest release Carolina Confessions, released on October 5th, an album which has found itself on many best of lists for 2018.

    In addition to Marcus King on lead guitar and vocals, the group includes drummer Jack Ryan, bass player Stephen Campbell, trumpeter/trombonist Justin Johnson, saxophone player Dean Mitchell and keyboard player DeShawn “D’Vibes” Alexander. Special thanks to Jeff Raspe and 90.5 The Night for logistical assistance with this shoot.

    The Marcus King Band
    The Marcus King Band
    The Marcus King Band
Built in Breakdance