NYS Music 2024

Tag: jazz

  • Jazz in the City Visits Historic South Side Syracuse

    The August Jazz in the City concerts returns to the historic south side of Syracuse for a celebration that has become a long tradition. The Blacklites, a local powerhouse soul band formed over 50 years ago, will appear for the 20th time at Jazz in the City, at the same Dunk & Bright furniture location on South Salina Street.

    Mayor Ben Walsh will be on hand along with other dignitaries to award the band with a proclamation recognizing their half century-plus as an urban cultural resource. Walsh said, “The Blacklites have been a staple in the Syracuse music scene for over 40 years. I’m thrilled that they continue to bring high-energy performances for listeners of all ages to Jazz in the City and look forward to recognizing them this year with a proclamation at what will be another can’t-miss event.”

    1Accord Line Dance, a growing “dance for health” group founded by Kristle Lemmones in 2010, will open the show. All will be invited to dance with them until the Blacklites appear on the Leadsafe CNY stage at 7 p.m. on August 8th, to perform a two-hour concert.

    The Jazz in the City “concert fair” events take place throughout the summer in neighborhoods across the city. As a mobile public health effort unique to American cities, they present America’s music surrounded by multiple healthcare and family service providers, plus food and craft vendors.

    Title sponsor Syracuse Community Health provides a team of healthcare professionals as the centerpiece of a healthcare village. As an incentive to be screened and interviewed for individual and family health needs, those going through the SCH tent will receive $5 New York State Lottery scratch-off tickets. Additionally, everyone attending always receives free “goodie bags” filled with information provided by the attending healthcare village providers.

    An audience of over 1,000 is expected at the concert, which has always been one of the biggest draws of the series. It’s become one of the biggest family-friendly social events of the summer, thanks to the generosity of the Bright family, and of course our many other sponsors, led by SCH and Community Bank.”

    Don’t miss Jazz in the City tonight in Syracuse with The Blacklites.

  • Albany Institute of History and Art Presents Summer Music at the Museum

    The Albany Institute of History and Art presents their latest free concert series, Summer Music at the Museum. The series will take place on select Wednesdays throughout the months of July and August and feature a number of local musicians, artists, and restaurants.

    summer music at the museum

    In partnership with the Albany Musicians Association and Motion Picture and Television Fund (MPTF), Summer Music at the Museum returns to the Albany Institute as the 2024-2025 season begins. The series consists of three separate performances, each on a select Wednesday of each month. The concert series began with its first performance on Wednesday, June 26. The next scheduled concert is Wednesday, July 17, from 5:00-7:00 pm, featuring The Art D’echo Trio.

    The Art D’echo Trio is a jazz trio hailing from New York’s capital region. Its members are pianist Dave Gleason, bassist Mike Lawrence, and drummer Pete Sweeney. Formed in 2012, The Art D’echo Trio have performed together in multiple jazz combos since they were teenagers. Eventually, the three musicians formed an official jazz trio, bringing their skills to performances all over New York. Over the years, the trio have played everything, from Latin jazz tunes to their own renditions of classic jazz standards, enthralling audiences everywhere they go. Their one-of-a-kind musicianship is inspiring to both lifelong jazz fans and newcomers to the genre. Now, they head to Albany for a stellar performance at Summer Music at the Museum.

    summer music at the museum
    The Art D’echo Trio – official Facebook page

    The next concert for Summer Music at the Museum is scheduled for Wednesday, August 14.

    All concerts for Summer Music at the Museum are free and open to the public. The Albany Institute encourages attendees to bring picnic blankets or camp out on the lawn of the museum. The venue is located at 125 Washington Ave, Albany. For any updates or additional information, visit AIHA’s website, linked here.

  • Poughkeepsie’s Own Cory Wong Releases Dazzling New Single ‘Quotidian Fields’

    Poughkeepsie-based jazz artist Cory Wong released his newest single, “Quotidian Fields,” on June 28. The second single off of his forthcoming album, Starship Syncopation, “Quotidian Fields” saw Wong collaborate with Metropole Orkest and piano icon Bruce Hornsby. Moreover, this newest single brings a bright, fresh sound to the world of jazz, and creates excitement for Wong’s newest album.

    cory wong

    Known for his solo work with artists including the Dave Matthews Band, Vulfpeck, and many more, Cory Wong has been refreshing jazz since the late 2000s. In like manner, his newest single with Bruce Hornsby and Metropole Orkest, a jazz orchestra based in the Netherlands, is just the latest addition to his laundry list of fantastic collaborations.

    After all, Cory Wong’s “Quotidian Fields” gives us a glimpse into his mind. In the early stages of the single, Wong and Hornsby used samples and previously discarded tunes to brainstorm their ideas. When Hornsby sent Wong the piano riff heard at the beginning of the single, he knew that it was the perfect symbol of what he envisioned in his mind: a grandfather clock in the middle of the desert with mountains in the background. Hornsby’s piano tunes represent the clock, as something classic, elegant, and easily recognizable. The additional guitars and bass represent the mountain ranges in the background: something strong, powerful, and grounding that doesn’t take away from the grandfather clock standing before it. As a result the orchestra parts, mainly brass and drums, are meant to represent the desert, where the whole landscape is.

    Additionally, the arrangement and orchestration are inspired by a lot of classic American classical music. Inspiration from American classical composers like Aaron Copeland, George Gershwin, and Leonard Bernstein is obvious, as the single moves forward to a rising crescendo, then transitions into a full orchestra that still manages to uphold the elegance of Hornsby’s original piano riff.

    Cory Wong officially begins his tour in October. In addition to his Fall Tour, Wong will be performing two shows at the 2024 Caroga Lake Music Festival from July 30-31. He will also be part of the Caroga Arts Collective on Wednesday, July 31, where a raffle for a limited edition Fender guitar will be held. Moreover only 100 raffle tickets will be sold at $100 each and can be purchased HERE.

    Below are Cory Wong’s official Fall Tour dates. For more information and tickets, visit his official website.

    CORY WONG FALL TOUR DATES 

    OCT 29 – ST. LOUIS (The Pageant)

    OCT 30 – NASHVILLE (The Ryman)

    OCT 31 – NASHVILLE (The Ryman)

    NOV 1 – ATLANTA (The Eastern)

    NOV 2 – CHARLOTTE (The Fillmore)

    NOV 4 – RICHMOND (The National)

    NOV 6 – WASHINGTON DC (The Anthem)

    NOV 7 – BROOKLYN (Kings Theatre)

    NOV 8 – PHILADELPHIA (The Met)

    NOV 9 – TBA

    NOV 11 – TBA

    NOV 12 – TBA

    NOV 14 – PITTSBURGH (Stage AE)

    NOV 15 – TORONTO (History)

    NOV 16 – DETROIT (Royal Oak)

    NOV 17 – COLUMBUS (Kemba Live)

    NOV 20 – INDIANAPOLIS (Egyptian Room)

    NOV 21 – MADISON (The Sylvee)

    NOV 22 – CHICAGO (The Salt Shed)

    NOV 23 – ST. PAUL (The Palace)

    NOV 24 – ST. PAUL (The Palace)

  • Rochester Jazz Vocalist Nancy Kelly To Perform In Buffalo Series

    Renowned jazz vocalist Nancy Kelly will inaugurate the Jazz at Richardson Jazz series in Buffalo on Aug 16. Her performance will be inside the Richardson Hotel as part of the “pre-fall” preview performance. Thus Kelly will sing alongside a band including saxophonist Jerry Weldon, organist Dino Losito, and drummer Carmen Intorre, Jr. 

    Nancy Kelly began her career in her hometown of Rochester.

    Namely, Kelly started her career in her hometown of Rochester, NY studying piano, clarinet and voice at the Eastman School of Music. She became a house singer at Jewels, a jazz venue in Philadelphia. Currently, she often appears in other iconic venues such as Birdland, The Blue Note and The Rainbow Room all in NYC. 

    Moreover, she performs in clubs in Los Angeles, Miami and even around the world including France, Switzerland and Turkey just to name a few. She’s released chart topping recordings and in 2020, she was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame. 

    Markedly, Jazz at Richardson is the “central hub” for jazz within the buffalo music scene. It is JazzBuffalo’s collaboration with the Richardson Hotel and the Douglas Development Corporation, inviting artists to perform indoors and outdoors at the hotel. JazzBuffalo or Greater Buffalo Jazz Society, mission is to make more performances like this possible. The non-profit organization has continued to build a new jazz audience since it was founded in 2011. 

    To purchase tickets to the star-studded performance, you can purchase tickets on eventbrite.

  • Jazz Icon Max Redko Offers Piano Master Class at Kaufman Center

    On Tuesday, July 2, jazz piano visionary Max Redko will offer a master class on new developments in jazz theory. Attendees will learn and discuss new techniques and theories from an incredibly gifted and highly acclaimed professional. For all those who wish to attend, the master class is located in Manhattan’s own Kaufman Center at 7 pm.

    max redko

    The basis of Max Redko’s master class is the art of improvisation. Redko believes that the musical structures, especially for jazz, are incredibly antiquated. For decades, musicians learned that jazz is composed according to a specific standard. Rules about chord progressions, rhythm, and meter created a “norm” for the genre. Deviation from this standard was actively discouraged.

    While musicians obviously hold these practices in high regard, these old-fashioned techniques prevented them from being able to create newer, fresher music. Musicians have stuck to what is reliable, instead of taking the risks essential to the art of jazz. Reliance on the “correct” theory forced jazz musicians to play pre-composed music learned by heart, which steered away from the core meaning of the genre—improvisation.

    Redko’s master class plans on changing these ideas entirely. As the author of the Theory of Harmony of Music, Max Redko made a name for himself through his revolutionary theories in the world of jazz. Redko was the first who explain how to harmonize any note using all existing methods. His theory challenges ideas of the past and offers musicians an opportunity to embrace the spontaneity of jazz while giving the player complete autonomy.

    Every time you listen to a pianist, you hear music that
    characterizes past times, mainly retro style, while art must reflect modernity. The world
    needs new quality!

    Max Redko

    For more information on Max Redko, his classes, and private lesson information, visit his website here. Sign up for the master class using this link.

  • Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” Certified 5x Platinum

    Ahead of the release of the live album LOUIS IN LONDON, the RIAA has announced that Louis Armstrong’s legendary track “What a Wonderful World” has been certified 5x Platinum, marking the original recording’s cumulative US sales of more than 5 million since its first release in 1967.

    To coincide with this milestone moment, Verve Records is releasing the official performance video of the track, along with a live recording of his GRAMMY-Award-winning Hello, Dolly!

    Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World
    left to right: Jamie Krents – President, Verve and Impulse; Wynton Marsalis – President of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation / Managing and Artistic Director at Jazz at Lincoln Center; Jackie Harris – Executive Director of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation; Ken Druker – Senior Vice President, Jazz Development at Verve and Impulse; Oliver Schrage – Senior Director, Marketing and Jazz Development at Verve and Impulse

    Recorded at the BBC in 1968, Louis Armstrong’s live rendition of “What a Wonderful World” marked his last great live performance. He had done the recording just weeks after the song hit #1 on the UK’s top charts, and afterward, it became the biggest song in the country for that year. Along with his biggest hit, Armstrong had recorded an entire concert in London with the BBC.

    An iconic figure who transformed the world of music, Louis Armstrong continues to be honored by the Recording Academy and celebrated worldwide. Born in New Orleans, Louis Armstrong rose to prominence in the world of jazz and eventually moved to New York City. He quickly became an iconic figure at The Cotton Club, the most famous jazz club in Harlem. He lived the rest of his life in New York City and was buried in Flushing Cemetery in Queens.

    The Louis Armstrong House Museum, located in Queens, holds hundreds of collected items that document his life, both in and outside the world of music. The upcoming album includes insider-exclusive liner notes by Armstrong’s biographer and Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Ricky Riccardi.

    The posthumous live album Louis In London contains 13 live performances recorded in London in 1968. In addition to the live recordings, the collection features six previously unreleased tracks, including “(Back Home Again) In Indiana,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “Ole Miss,” and “Blueberry Hill.” The album will be released on July 12, 2024.

    The Louis in London album will be available for purchase and download on July 12, 2024. Pre-orders are available here.