Category: Central NY

Live Music in 2022: Reelin with the Feeling, Don’t Stop Continue

As the spark from one tiny blaze affects various live music re-schedules and new formats to end this year, it becomes important to reflect on how far we’ve come in the past 12 months. As I picked up my matches and was closing the door I had one of those flashes I’d been there before, been there before. 2020 marked the first year of major live music cancellations since Phish’s Curveball Festival in 2018.

However, the show of life must go on. Music finds its way throughout history. We live in the same world where the Vatican once outlawed the saxophone because of its effects. Perhaps the most soulful instrument made its way into the best musicians’ hands across the world over time. In similar fashion, many artists around the state immediately went to the streaming options of performance to not skip a beat. Landscapes and climate also play a big part in what’s capable of music. The summer of 2020 in Upstate New York really showed that distanced live shows were easily doable in these spaces now turned venues.

The Sunshine State started things officially live in 2021. Artists like Dumpstaphunk and Oteil Burbridge resurrected Suwanee’s festival grounds in Northern Florida for a Mardi Gras celebration in February. The North Beach Bandshell in Miami hosted these artists in the spring as well. Both with an option to stream the show or attend it live as we took small steps in reopening this year. The new split screen viewing choice if you will, is something that has almost become the new norm. Do we drive to the show or should we just stay home and stream it?

Oteil Burbridge, Miami Beach, April 2021

The most important thing to come out of this year in live music has been the unexpected artist collaborations. Many of which occurred due to ever changing last minute safety protocol changes backstage. All of the road crew, managers, promoters, and all the people behind the scenes deserve praise handling these alterations so that the show will go on so you could buy a ticket again. A buyer beware mentality has taken on the ticket sales in 2021 with various pending circumstances till the day of the event it seems.

Artists however have been on their musical game at the highest level possible as of lately. Alan Evans told NYS Music in February:

For me it’s like a cleanse, to really look at my life, I can’t just do any old gig , I just take everything away and have time to step back and feel what’s really important. What do I want my life to be about? That’s been a positive for me and I hope it’s like that for a lot of people.
Alan Evans

New Orleans artist Tony Hall had not collaborated with Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds since their Some Devil Winter 2003 tour. While his band Dumpstaphunk was opening for Dave Matthews Band Labor Day weekend at the Gorge some last minute changes came up. A safety protocol factor had forced bassist Stefan Lessard and drummer Carter Beauford to sit out their first gig in over thirty years. DMB’s Keyboardist Buddy Hall moved to drums and Tony Hall, who was familiar with the catalog, picked up bass on the spot for all three nights so that the show went on. No cancellations, just an alternate format. Silver linings at their finest to bring artists like Dave, Tim, and Tony to play together again for the first time in 14 years. Dumpstaphunk even split the bill for DMB’s two sold out tour closing shows at Madison Square Garden.

Robert Randolph and the Family Band also assisted as part of the alternate format at the Gorge Amphitheater Labor Day weekend shows. His entire band took center stage alongside Dave Matthews and Friends. Robert kicked off New York State’s first free musical festival at the state fairgrounds in June. Randolph was part of the blues festival’s new home at the State Fairgrounds this year. Dumpstaphunk was the last to play its old home in downtown Syracuse’s Clinton Square in 2019. Tony Hall and drummer Devin Trescalir hit up Syracuse’s Funk n Waffles after the 2019 festival. Robert and his band took to Syracuse’s newest music club Jus sum Jazz lounge after the gig in 2021. Them changes. Roll with the funk and turn it around now.

Dumpstaphunk, Syracuse 2019

We should also honor the collaborations that the never ending uncertainties of life’s protocol throw at us as well. The Trey Anastasio Band lost founding bassist Tony Markellis this past Spring. Tony still had his final bow of performing on stage in 2020 with his band mates at the infamous Beacon Jams residency. The first of its kind that still showed how good music will find a way to the masses.

Tony Markellis told NYS Music last November regarding an empty Beacon Theater about his fond memories of playing TAB Fall Tour’s of the past to full theaters in Utica. So full that the balcony was “rocking to the beat of humanity.” His groove carries in “Long Lines” to all future cast members of TAB. The Trey Anastasio Band also took on a new saxophone player for their Fall 2021 tour due to saxophonist James Casey’s personal health challenge.

The freshly formed ensemble itself had another onstage audible due to safety protocol. The band had yet another alternate format the last two nights for the tour’s closing shows at Radio City Music Hall. For the first time outside of Phish, and Trey’s 2019 composition with Tony Markellis on Ghosts of the Forest, Syracuse native drummer Jon Fishman joined him at 30 Rock to finish the tour. Jon and Trey’s first time at Radio City since 2000.

The two night run in Rockefeller felt almost entirely composed by the improvisational material one seeks at any show. How fitting was it that James Casey special guested for the encore on the deep cut “A Life Beyond the Dream” off Ghosts of the Forest only album? It was also Trey’s last performance on his Manhattan island for 2021 after his lonely trip the year prior. Phish has moved their four night New Year’s eve shows at Madison Square Garden till 4/20/2022.

Instead Phish will play a live stream from the 9th cube with its Bat Cave like location to be unveiled on New Year’s Eve. TAB members Russ Lawton and Ray Paczkowski with guest Rob Compa of Dopapod are playing Phish headquarters Nectars in Burlington, Vermont on New Years Eve to live crowd. Trey treated a newly renovated SPAC to a socially distanced three night run of acoustic shows in June and even reunited with Oysterhead for the first time in 20 years on July 4. Mike Gordon’s December 2021 shows in New York were acoustic with Leo Kottke for their first tour in more than 16 years.

Everything feels right since Phish’s last 4/20 show was with the Dave Matthews Band in Virginia in 1994. DMB and Phish crushed “You Enjoy Myself” into “Somewhere over the Rainbow” during the holiday show. The first time Dave Matthews heard Leroi Moore’s saxophone he played Somewhere Over the Rainbow against the Charlottesville bars cash register that Dave was tending at. A week prior to that show coincidentally was Phish’s last New York City April performance on 4/13/1994. What New York venue? The Beacon Theater of course. Ghosts of the Forest closed their tour in the Bronx on 4/13/2019. This could feel like the turn of the dial from Sirius XM’s DMB channel 29 to Phish’s channel 30 on any given day this year. Devon Allman played his father Gregg’s birthday at the Beacon this past December that honored his spirit as well.

Leroi Moore

As we start 2022, we still need to keep rocking to the beat of humanity. Don’t forget about the shows that the cosmos hold above for all of us around the world. They’ve never stopped in all of their live performance history. Jimi Hendrix mentioned it under New York skies during his Woodstock 69 performance. “The Sky Church is still here as you can see.”

Last December Jupiter and Saturn formed “Christmas Star” the first visible “double planet” in 800 years. This December the longest lasting partial lunar eclipse in 580 years formed the Beaver Moon. Not to be confused with the comet in Leonardo Dicaprio’s new film Don’t Look Up. There is Comet Leonard that has been viewed above at the end of this year moving 150,000 mph through space. We need to keep the same momentum with the world’s love for art and music in the new year. Legendary Little Feat’s track “Skin it Back” said it best…

So it seems that the world keeps on turnin’ but so what I don’t doubt it, It just keeps on the move.
Little Feat

December 31, 2021
The Wooks are “Flyin’ High” and Coming to Syracuse and Brooklyn in April

Award-winning bluegrass band The Wooks embark on a tour in Spring 2022, bringing their traditional and unconventional form of bluegrass with them to New York. They’ll make stops at Funk n Waffles in downtown Syracuse, and the Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn this coming April.

The Wooks have established a distinctive sound through original songwriting, exceptional musicianship, and outside influences ranging from jam bands to Southern rock. Their third album, Flyin’ High, due out in February 2022, offers a refreshed lineup of the group, even though its members have been crossing paths with each other at music festivals for years.

Band member CJ Cain (guitar, vocals) started the duo in 2014 in Kentucky, with a lineup that now includes Harry Clark (mandolin, vocals), George Guthrie (banjo, vocals) and Allen Cooke (dobro), with the latter three musicians based in Nashville. Various bass players stay in rotation on the road, filling out the ensemble’s driving sound.

Love songs that stand-the-test-of-time tend to come from unlikely origin stories, and until The Wooks’ founder CJ Cain wrote the song “Flyin’ High,” not one of them has been inspired by the crash landing of a buddy’s World War I bi-plane. The resulting tune is a story of two different couples, real folks from the small town of West Liberty, Kentucky, where Cain’s father grew up, that falls somewhere perfectly between the sound of The Band, Van Morrison, and The Wooks’ ever-evolving signature style.

He had bought this plane at a good price and would soon find out why. He lost oil pressure and had to take her down in front of his family who had gathered in the yard to watch him buzz the farm. Luckily he made it out.
CJ Cain

Rather than repeating the formal studio experiences for past albums, The Wook recorded Flyin’ High over two sessions in Nashville in the home studio of bluegrass guitarist Jake Stargel. As a producer, he brought an easygoing vibe as well as acoustic expertise to the project, which is the band’s first full-length album since the fall of 2018. After Tony Rice’s death in December 2020, Cain wanted to honor his legacy in some way, so he cold-called Bill Wolf to see if he would master the album. Wolf wrote back, asking to hear it – and then elevated Flyin’ High to the next level.

While their origin stories are diverse, all four members of The Wooks have forged a common bond that honors individuality and innovation. But with minimal shows to road-test the material on Flyin’ High, Cooke speaks for the band when he says he’s eager for fans to discover these new songs—on the album as well as the stage. “This band is definitely not a band that is set on keeping things to the way they sounded on the record,” he says. “We’re all about keeping these songs fresh and new-sounding as shows go on.

The Wooks are ambassadors for Can’d Aid, a nationally recognized nonprofit that rallies volunteers from all walks of life to build thriving communities; through their work with Can’d Aid, they’ve performed and donated instruments to schools and underserved youth.

The Wooks 2022 Tour Dates

2/24 – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
2/25 – Huntington, WV – The Loud
2/26 – Lexington, KY – The Burl
3/1 – Atlanta, GA – Eddie’s Attic
3/2 – Birmingham, AL – The Nick
3/4 – Asheville, NC – Isis Music Hall
3/5 – Nashville, TN – Station Inn
3/9 – Awendaw, SC – Awendaw Green
3/10 – Raleigh, NC – Pour House
3/12 – Roanoke, VA – Martin’s St Patty’s Street Fair
3/13 – Richmond, VA – The Camel
3/16 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
3/17 – Washington DC – Pearl Street Warehouse
3/18 – Farmville, VA – North Street Press Club
3/19 – Round Hill, VA – B Chord Brewing
3/30 – Ferndale, MI – Otus Supply
4/1 – Newport, KY – Southgate Revival House
4/2 – Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant
4/5 – Syracuse, NY – Funk n Waffles
4/7 – New Haven, CT – Cafe Nine
4/8 – Boston, MA – The Burren
4/9 – New York, NY – Jalopy Theater
4/10 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Saint
4/13 – Philadelphia, PA – City Winery
4/14 – Lancaster, PA – Zoetropolis
4/15 – Grove City, PA – Big Rail Brewing
4/16 – Thomas, WV – The Purple Fiddle

December 21, 2021
Dark Star Orchestra to Perform at The Stanley in Utica on St Patrick’s Day

Legendary Grateful Dead tribute act Dark Star Orchestra will play in Utica at The Stanley Theatre on March 17, 2022. This follows the group’s pair of shows to ring in 2022 at The Palace Theatre in Albany on December 31, 2021 and January 1, 2021.

Performing to critical acclaim for over 20 years and over 3,000 shows, Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead live concert experience. Their shows are built off the Dead’s extensive catalog and the talent of these seven fine musicians. On any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead’s 30 years of extensive touring or use their catalog to program a unique set list for the show. This allows fans both young and old to share in the experience.

View this show and more Grateful Dead shows from across the years in New York State with our interactive map below!

By recreating set lists from the past and developing their own sets of Dead songs, Dark Star Orchestra offers a continually evolving artistic outlet within this musical canon. Honoring both the band and the fans, Dark Star Orchestra’s members seek out the unique style and sound of each era while simultaneously offering their own informed improvisations.

In addition to appearing at some of the nation’s top festivals, Dark Star Orchestra hosts its own annual music festival and campaign gathering, titled the “Dark Star Jubilee,” currently in its eighth year where they headline all three nights and are joined by a mix of established and up and coming national touring acts. Beyond the shores of the United States, the band has taken its internationally-acclaimed Grateful Dead tribute to the beaches of Jamaica in the dead of winter for the past six years, with their event appropriately titled ‘Jam in the Sand.’ Featuring an ocean-side stage, Dark Star Orchestra sets up camp to perform shows for four nights along the tropical sands of an all-inclusive resort, selling out the event each year for hundreds of lucky attendees.

For us it’s a chance to recreate some of the magic that was created for us over the years. We offer a sort of a historical perspective at what it might have been like to go to a show in 1985, 1978 or whenever. Even for Deadheads who can say they’ve been to a hundred shows in the 90s, we offer something they never got to see live.
keyboardist and vocalist Rob Barraco

Fans and critics haven’t been the only people caught up in the spirit of a Dark Star show. The band has featured guest performances from six original Grateful Dead members: Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Vince Welnick, Tom Constanten and even toured with longtime Dead soundman, Dan Healy.

The Stanley Theatre has always adhered to all recommendations and guidelines from Oneida County in regards to COVID-19. With this said, the theatre will require any applicable mandates at the time of the performance.

Tickets for Dark Star Orchestra in Utica will go on sale on Monday, December 20 at 10:00 a.m. and can be purchased through Ticketmaster, or by calling The Stanley Theatre Box Office at 315-724-4000.

December 20, 2021
Bobby Weir and the Wolf Bros. Announce March Tour, Landmark Theatre Show

Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir will embark on a 13-city Spring tour as Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros. The tour kicks off at the Ryman Theatre in Nashville, and wraps up on March 30th at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse.

Weir will be joined by Don Was, Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti, with special guests The Wolfpack, along with Barry Sless on pedal steel for this tour. Weir previously played the Landmark Theatre in 2014 and 2018 with the Wolf Bros., as well as performances with Ratdog. The group were scheduled to tour in 2020 but had the concert delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros. are also gearing up to release their forthcoming album Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live In Colorado, which will be their first-ever vinyl collection of recorded material. The LP will be released on Feb. 18 via Third Man Records.

Pre-sale began on Wednesday, December 15 with general on-sale planned for Friday, December 19.

Bob Weir & Wolf Bros Spring Tour

Mar. 9 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, Tenn.
Mar. 10 – Orpheum Theatre – Memphis, Tenn.
Mar. 14 – Orpheum Theatre – Wichita, Kan.
Mar. 15 – Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland – Kansas City, Mo.
Mar. 17 – Riverside Theater – Milwaukee, Wis.
Mar. 18 – Chicago Theatre – Chicago, Ill.
Mar.19 – Brown County Music Center – Nashville, Ind.
Mar. 21– Palace Theatre – Columbus, Ohio
Mar. 24 – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium– Asheville, N.C.
Mar. 25 – Tivoli Theatre – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Mar. 26 – Durham Performing Arts Center – Durham, N.C.
Mar. 29 – Roxian Theatre – Pittsburgh, Pa.
Mar. 30 – Landmark Theatre – Syracuse, N.Y.

December 17, 2021
Lil Cease performs at Alien Opera House, Reflects on the Moment

The Alien Opera House hosted a Sunday farmer’s market with live music throughout the day on Sunday, December 12. The holiday festive green Sunday on the north side featured performances by Lil Cease, Ryan Mackie, Ebb n Flow with Mozay Calloway, Joe Driscoll, and DJ R Hop. Sound beats by Scott Gagnon.

The Sunday matinee headliner was the Frank White Experience with special guest Lil’ Cease of the original Bad Boy Record label. The ensemble consisting of Deyquan Bowens, Thomas Carter, Danielle Mitchell, Jay Lock, Emanuel Washington and Skribe Da God laid down a live studio session vibe to the music of Notorious B.I.G. Skunk City’s Emmanuel Washington held down the neo-soul beats on drums for the holiday event. He even had Byron Cage carry the groove on the kit for the encore.

Lil Cease has been in the studio for countless legendary sessions with Brooklyn artist Notorious B.I.G. He took some time before his set at The Alien Opera House to speak with NYS Music about the surroundings:

Matthew Romano: There’s a lot of artists here today all inspired by having you in the building on this 12 21 Sunday. Do you remember a specific session that just came out of nowhere to form something significant?

Lil Cease: Yea that happened to me while working with producer Harry Fraud and French Montana. It was the first time I started recording records on the spot. I would write my rhymes right there and they’d have the music ready to go. We cut a track in two hours tops. You got to take advantage of the moment, ya know? If I went home and messed with it I’d try to refurbish it and wouldn’t be the same. I did my best records like that. Sometimes you gotta take the energy of something around you and run with it. BIG used to do that with songs all the time, he would listen to people and conversations around him and bring it to the booth. We’d be in the studio smoking and he would just go record on the spot… Plans to leave, throw the keys to Little Cease (uh-huh) Pull the truck up front, and roll up the next blunt. It’s like yo we just did that… (laughter)

Writing about your surroundings is really powerful.
Lil Cease

MR: What kind of funk music is an influence on you?

LC: I mean I listen to a bunch of stuff. Is Earth Wind and Fire considered funk? I mean it’s all just music. I listen to music. Once I started learning to DJ I realized how music works. You want to say every rapper is a jazz artist? I have sampled jazz music before. It’s just beats that play, they run, Like Rain Dance.. that’s Crush on You! I didn’t know we sampled other people’s music, I was fifteen years old just thinking the producer made the beat. After I heard the original I said damn we should have left the horns in it.

Photo by Ryan Mackie

Lil Cease joined the experience on the spot for a live “Crush on You” at the Opera house in 12 21. The Frank White Experience also brought “Machine Gun Funk” and “Dead Wrong” among many other B.I.G record classics to the masses. Deep Cuts like “One More Chance” and “Sky is the Limit” really hit hard in the Sunday crowd. Whatever art you dabble in you can guarantee to have a meeting of the minds at this space on Syracuse’s north side. You never know what what will happen in the Alien opera house world. Stay Tuned.

We Love Ya”ll Syracuse. The Vibe here is great. RIP B.I.G. Life is short, lets try and bring some peace in this world. Love and appreciate Ya’ll
Lil Cease

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gIn9InatFY

Photo Gallery by Ryan Mackie

December 17, 2021
Dave Hanlon Trio at the 443: Cookbook Fish Recipe interview

Dave Hanlon brought his power jazz trio to the 443 Social Club & Lounge on Friday, December 3rd with Ron France on bass and Ed Vivenzio on keys in tow. The trio delivered a Blue Note style-esque performance of their take on classic funk jazz compositions. Twenty seven pieces were on the set list to be exact. All performed with the same on the spot fervor that all good jazz is created in.

The group put their spin on greats by Thelonius Monk, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan and a rock block of Joe Sample cuts. The trio did a classic two set & encore performance for the candle lit table crowd at 443. Without a doubt the 443 is Syracuse’s most intimate room for those looking to really listen to the notes coming off the bandstand. Dave Hanlon shared the 2005 and 2015 SAMMY awards with Phish drummer and Syracuse native Jon Fishman.

Fishman was inducted as a lifetime achievement award recipient in 2015 and he naturally introduced Dave Hanlon into the Hall of Fame at The Dinosaur BBQ & Eastwood’s Palace Theater in 2005. A 13 year old Fishman once took lessons from Hanlon. Jon brought the sheet music Hanlon gave him at their first lesson to the induction ceremony. “Can you believe that? I flipped out.” Dave Hanlon still has various projects he dabbles with as we approach the end of this year. He took some time to talk with NYS music at Syracuse’s Blue Note style room, the 443, for a chat.

Matthew Romano: Steve Gadd spoke of the Ridgecrest Inn in Rochester where he could watch legendary drummers perform up close. With the same as my proximity to you on the bandstand at 443 tonight. What were some memories of live music you attended in New York State that you can remember as an influence that started to instill a groove in you?

Dave Hanlon: Mahavishnu Orchestra & Ravi Shankar at Syracuse University quad. Billy Cobham on drums absolutely blew me away in 1972. Wait not the quad… it was SkyTop field on SU Campus.

MR: What about on the gigging side and educationally?

DH: My first kit was from Stagnitta music and I used a trash can for the snare drum. I took a couple lessons at Stagnitta music but it was at Auburn Community College with Dick Howard were I took my first lessons. From there I went to Detroit to finish college and started playing out in bands. Not studying music, just gigging. Back to Syracuse I was part of a big regional band called DOVE. It was a great rock and roll experience. After that ended I went to New York City to study at the percussion center with Norman Grossman. There I met Jim Chapin for a few lessons. Chapin is notable for his independence jazz drumming book. So that combination was a huge influence. I’d take the train to New York for class during the day and then to Buddy Rich’s club at night. I’d sit and watch him play with his six piece band. Next I went to Los Angeles. It was big as I did a clinic with Louie Bellson who originated the double bass drums. At 28, I did a show at the Los Angeles Percussion school as a guest, not a student. I performed with him in front of 250 other drummers. It was the highest pressure situation I’ve ever found myself in but a dream come true.

When I came back to Syracuse I formed my first solo funky five piece jazz band. In 1976 we got a 13 month residency at the “Spirit of 35” on Carrier Circle where Joeys is now. It helped really give us time to hone our skills balls out ya know? All instrumental. We even had Edgar Winter come sit and play a whole set with us after a show he had in Syracuse. The promoters brought him to hear us. It was well before cell phones and the word still got out so it went to the standing room only in 15 minutes. It was definitely the most memorable moment there.

In 1977 I joined the band CRAC and their original album All For You was re released in 2020 by King Underground Record Company out of England on Vinyl. From there I recorded with Duke Jupiter out of Rochester on two of their albums on Mercury Records. Duke Jupiter made its way in to Rochester music hall of fame in 2014. In the 1980’s I formed the first cookbook band which was all instrumental that had a year long residency at the Lost Horizon. Ava Andrews joined me on vocals for the next version of the cook book and she remained an original member with me for 34 years. Funky Jazz Band formed in 2016 as fresh five instrumental. The trio out of it works well for a lot of other style rooms. Diana Jacobs Band out of Auburn I collaborated with in 2018 that has a full horn section, we just released “Love Each Other, Love Our World” the day after Thanksgiving this year. The CD just made its way to Soundgarden with streaming options available soon.

MR: What great studio sessions have you recorded on?

DH: I love being a part of Studio Jams with producer Tom Emmi in Philadelphia. The concept is to get different musicians together completely unprepared, roll the tape and see what they come up with. We might pick a song from another artist and put our own stamp on it. It’s educational and entertaining. I’ve done 15 of them. They do it all over the country. I was able to do Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man at Sub Cat Studios in Syracuse that got over 2 million views and counting. Everyone donates their time to simply give back to the music. It’s a really beautiful thing. He arranged a series for fallen artists titled “Lest We Forget” as well so that their musical groove can live on.

MR: What is your angle over time on dealing with the composition & improvisation world that we dabble in daily. Those moments that can’t be recreated concept ya know?

DH: The creative process is key especially for jazz musicians who are supposed to be free to create. The preparations for studio jams are like night and day. You just go for it and you don’t even know it’s coming. You’re in the moment. But Lest we forget that also takes a lot of preparation because you got to know that tune the best you can on behalf of that fallen artist. Always different, you know what I mean?

DH: The trio and five piece funky jazz band are also examples. There’s the head, bridge and the solo section of the tune. For the most part for consistency you want to stay in the groove for the song but when solo times open up your creative freedom kicks in. Staying in the context of the song can help you work on your creativity. One of things drummers have at their command, I’f they have that command… is dynamics. We don’t have that many notes to deal with. Dynamics give us a much greater vocabulary. My approach to music is to become the best as I can be in my sense of dynamics within the context of music and the song. It creates tremendous tension and release. When you go to a concert there’s dynamics that people don’t realize they respond to.

When there’s a solo section and the whole band just brings it down from this really loud piece to almost silence. Whats the response? The audience loves it. The effect musically is very powerful
Dave Hanlon

MR: It is powerful. That Jon Fishman Radio City show I sent you from October has a moment like that during “In Rounds”. You’ve got this five piece playing a song for the first time in their third ever live set in Rockefeller. Everyone’s bouncing off ideas. Ya know? 27 minutes into it the funky groove turns to air on Radio City’s great proscenium arch, before falling back to bring it home.

DH: Yea that was a beautiful concert. That’s the beauty of when musicians are listening really to each other and not themselves. That won’t happen otherwise. I wasn’t aware of that percussionist. He was excellent. That was my first time seeing Jon perform with a percussionist and they played off each other remarkably well.

MR: Steve Gadd played with Cyro Baptista on Paul Simon’s Rhythm of the Saints and was unfamiliar with Phish. I’ve seen Jon perform live with percussionist Gionavvi Hidalgo for a cover of Little Feats Waiting for Columbus album on Halloween in Atlantic City. He has a great live version of Surrender to Air from the Academy in New York City with Oteil Burbridge and Sun Ra Orkestra

DH: It was great to be able to reunite with him at Studio jams of all places after 37 years in August of 2015. We spent the afternoon while he had time in between shows in Philadelphia. We just did five songs off the cuff with three other guys. Its Your Thing (Isley Brothers), Hottentot (MMW with Scofield), Freeway Jam (Jeff Beck), Ode to Billy Joe (Bobby Gentry) and Cantaloupe Woman (Grant Green). Yea we had those lessons but this was our first time playing together. It was just like being with an old friend. It was really cool. Jon’s a down home guy, there’s no air to him. He’s just a cat that wants to play. He also happens to be in one of the most popular bands in the world.

It was great to see Fish at a Charlie Bertini’s Apple Jazz Band gig. I played at Little York Pavilion in Preble, New York. That ensemble played the Southern tier for thirty years.
Dave Hanlon

Dave Hanlon Trio (Ron France-bass & Ed Vivenzio- keys) The 443 Social Club and Lounge, December 3 2021

Set 1: Cold Duck (Eddie Harris & Les McCann), Ruby (Ray Charles), Chain Reaction (Diana Ross), Fe Fi Fo (Wayne Shorter), 7 Steps/ Song Father ( Miles Davis), Carmel (Joe Sample), Randy Uptown, Round Midnite (Thelonius Monk), Sermonized (Joe Sample), Blue Bossa (Joe Henderson), Human Nature (Micheal Jackson), A Child is Born (Thad Jones & Mel Lewis Orchestra), Spain (Chick Corea)

Set 2: Maputo (Bob James & David Sanborn), Ricky Don’t Lose that Number (Steely Dan), Hippies on the corner (Joe Sample), Bottswanna Bossa (David Benoit), Aja (Steely Dan with Steve Gadd), Watermelon Man (Herbie Hancock), Christmastime is here (Vince Guaraldi), Spellbound (Joe Sample), Girl From Ipanema (Stan Getz and Joeao GIlberto), Jellybeans & Chocolate (David Benoit), Pointciena (Ahmad Jamal), If you want me to stay (Sly Stone), Sudden Samba (Neil Larsen)

Encore: Freedom @ Midnite (David Benoit)

Dave Hanlon Drum Kit

December 13, 2021
Vanessa Collier Storytellers Gig at the 443 Social Club

Vanessa Collier was an absolute stand out at the 2021 New York State Blues Festival grand return to the State fairgrounds this past June. She treated Syracuse’s most intimate venue, the 443 Social Club & Lounge to a blue note-esque performance on Thursday December 2nd. Club owner Julie B Leone told NYS music that it was their fastest show to sell out in under 24 hours.

Photo by Steve Moore

Vanessa Collier gave a two set and encore performance to match everyone’s delight at the 443. Vanessa serves up three courses of art as she is a saxophonist, vocalist, and songwriter. She whipped up table side sax solos at the 443 while taking a stroll through the crowd. The 443 social club creates an ambience much like the “storytellers” series that many artists have been a part of. Vanessa told the crowd about her various family influences on certain numbers. She had Syracuse’s Byron Cage on drums and William Gorman on keys. Andrew Cane from San Diego on bass and Shemekia Copeland’s guitarist Arthur Neilson from Brooklyn.

Photo by Steve Moore

Her four album names should help give some insight on the kind of grooves they laid down at 443, Heart Soul & Saxophone, Meeting my Shadow, Honey Up, and Heart on the Line. She kept the spontaneity in the show vibrant by switching to steel guitar for a cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “Blender Blues”.

Vanessa credited stories like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Greek Myth of Icarus to the crowd as an inspiration before performing her original “Icarus” off her Honey Up Album…

It’s a song about little Icarus when he is just dreaming of taking that flight and its sort of a song to everybody to chase your dreams and never let anybody tell you that you can’t do something
Vanessa Collier

Vanessa took some time after the gig to post up at one of the 443 social club tables for a talk with NYS Music about music & her history,

Matthew Romano: Is there a memory of a show you’ve played or attended in New York state that sticks out as a meaningful experience? J.V Collier told me he used to go to where Jaco Pastorius slept in Central Park for inspiration.

Vanessa Collier: For sure, that’s a great question. I remember it being special because it was my very first gig opening for Bruce Katz at The Falcon in Marlboro, New York. Things come full circle. It was my first time seeing his guitar player Chris Vitarello and now I’ve played with him a bunch in my band. So we keep it going, it’s connected.

MR: It is connected. Bruce Katz used to play with Gregg Allman at our Blues Festivals like you did this year. I couldn’t help but notice a song you played tonight titled “If Only” The sentiment seemed very familiar with the “when I get this..then that will bring happiness” concept that a lot of people fall to. The sax solo at the end had a Leroi Moore like tone too. Would you mind talking about that tune?

VC: Sure, my whole thought process behind the new record was to try and write story songs. Some of them are based on true things, some are not. This one is close to me. I’ve had a person in my life who’s constantly unhappy and nothing is ever enough ya know what i mean? It was inspired by this person and just a reminder to always live life to the fullest and to live with what you got to find a way to be happy.

MR: I know exactly what you mean. With this on the go lifestyle all you have is the moment. Hard to sacrifice that time to be unhappy.

VC: Amen.

MR: My third and final question here at 443 is about two books that we have in common, Questlove’s Creative Quest and The Devil’s Horn: The Story of the Saxophone from noisy novelty to king of cool. What’s cool that sticks out to you from those two great reads?

VC: That’s killer. I respect Quest’s love and knowledge for the music. It’s not a surface level thing with him. It’s all life. He knows every groove from every single song he’s heard. From a DJ perspective and then a drummer angle is great. I know I was gonna re read it again when i get into a new record.
The thing I love about the devil’s horn is that I didn’t know Adolphe Sax’s story as much. Ya know that he almost died so many times and they murdered his assistant thinking it was him. To me what I loved is that the saxophone has this history of challenge and yet it still brings out something beautiful. I love that the inventor of the sax was that way too . He went through a lot of struggle to create this beautiful instrument.

MR: I love how the saxophone survived the Vatican when they tried to outlaw it because of its effects. What’s the oldest room you’ve ever played in?

VC: We’ve played a lot of converted churches that are now venues. So those are always awesome with just the acoustics in the room alone.

MR: There is two floor opera house near here that is an old theater church now used for music & art in Syracuse’s Little Italy you should play next.

VC: Yes, please.(laughter)

Gallery by 443 Patron Steve Moore:

December 9, 2021
Caroga Lake WinterFest Returns December 16-19

World-class musicians from the Caroga Lake Music Festival will return to Fulton County over December 16-19 to celebrate the holiday season during WinterFest. Performances are slated for the towns of Caroga, Johnstown and Gloversville.

Among the four scheduled performances over December 16 to 19 will be musical festivities featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Bach, Corelli, holiday sing-along favorites and more. See below for a schedule of Caroga Lake Music Festival WinterFest events in the Mohawk Valley.

Encore! Jazz Sessions: A Low-Key Christmas

Thursday, December 16 – 7:00pm – Nick Stoner Inn, Caroga Lake – Tickets: $15

Featuring Grammy Award-winning bassist Geoff Saunders and friends

CLMF WinterFest at Paul Nigra Center

Friday, December 17 – 7:00pm – Paul Nigra Center for the Creative Arts, Gloversville – Tickets: $15 (Livestream available)

CLMF WinterFest at St. John’s Johnstown

Saturday, December 18 – 7:00pm – St. John’s Episcopal Church, Johnstown, NY – Free Admission

Donations appreciated and split between Caroga Arts and One Church Street. Livestream available via St. John’s Episocpal Church facebook page

Holiday Sweets & Suites! – Featuring Caroga Arts Ensemble

Sunday, December 19 – 4:00pm – The Glove Theatre, Gloversville – Tickets: $10 per person, $30 per family of four

Special guests Suliman Tekalli (violin) and Mathieu Cognet (piano) performing Tekalli’s original virtuosic arrangement of The Nutcracker Suite.

December 9, 2021
Binghamton Philharmonic presents “Home for the Holidays” on Dec. 11

On Saturday, December 11 at 7:30pm, the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra will continue its 2021-2022 Season with “Home for the Holidays,” a concert of symphonic holiday favorites, including The Polar Express, selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, and Festive Sounds of Hanukkah.

Jazz singer Ayana Del Valle will perform holiday classics, including “O Holy Night,” “The Christmas Song” and “Feliz Navidad,” and lead the audience in a Christmas sing-along. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be available for photos at 6:30pm in the lobby, and Nancy Wildoner will perform a pre-concert holiday organ recital at 7:00pm.

The Binghamton Philharmonic is a professional orchestra tracing its roots to 1949, when Fritz and Marie Wallenberg started a chamber orchestra in Binghamton. The Wallenberg family founded the Binghamton Symphony in 1955, and later merging with the BC Pops in 1996, to form the Binghamton Philharmonic. With a dedication to providing the Southern Tier with performances of live music by artists and making great music accessible to all through innovative, The Binghamton Philharmonic offers engaging and affordable programming within and beyond the concert hall.

The schedule for Binghamton Philharmonic “Home for the Holidays” on Saturday, December 11 includes:

6:30-7:30pm: Photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus

7-7:20pm: Organist Nancy Wildoner plays the Robert Morton IV/24 Theatre Pipe Organ

7:30pm: Home for the Holidays concert, starring Ayana Del Valle

The performance is located at the Broome County Forum Theatre, 236 Washington St. For more information visit the Philharmonic’s website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViRo2ZJDp3M

December 6, 2021
New York State Blues Festival Announces 2022 Dates, Celebrating 30 Years

The New York State Blues Festival will celebrate its 30th Anniversary over June 16-18, 2022 at Chevy Court inside the New York State Fairgrounds. Once again, the three-day event will be packed with local, regional, and national acts on stage, with plenty of room for dancing throughout the grounds. As always, admission is free.

The festival first began in mid-summer 1992 as the Central New York Blues Festival featuring talented local musicians in downtown Syracuse’s Armory Square, as well as live music inside the historic Hotel Syracuse. Looking ahead to 2022, this popular festival will acknowledge its history while looking ahead to future growth at its new location.

The New York State Blues Festival is one of the largest free blues events in the Northeast. This annual three-day musical celebration, showcases a collection of regional and national artists from multiple genres, all with roots steeped in tradition and vision, and arranges them for a continuous river of music.

The mission of the NYS Blues Festival is to preserve, protect and promote blues music and culture. The Syracuse festival entertains while educating on the role of the blues in the development of popular music in the US and around the world.

Visit the New York state Blues Festival’s website at nysbluesfest.com and stay tuned for updates!

December 2, 2021