Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Thursday, December 12th, 2013
Jazz Central Holiday Reception
The annual holiday party at Jazz Central continues to be a great after work mixer (and not just to get a taste of Judy Murphy’s meatballs).
The intimate theater provides a great opportunity to catch up with all those folks you’ve seen through the year at jazz shows sponsored by the CNYJAF (from Sitrus, Jazz in the City and the Cabaret series as well as the Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival).
A few years ago, despite a snow storm, we caught an impromptu piano performance by Cookie Coogan, Chris Jones and Jeff Stockham. Last night the mood was just as festive with Dave Solazzo providing the musical ambiance.
Jazz Patrons: Assemblyman Sam Roberts, Lanessa Owens and Mike Atkins attended the party.
Tags:Chris Jones, CNYJAF, Connective Corridor, Cookie Coogan, Dave Solazzo, Holiday, Jazz Central, Jeff Stockham, Music, Sam Roberts
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Tuesday, December 10th, 2013
Our Reality, the Lyrical Phenom
You can have Justin Bieber; you can have Katy Perry, you can have Miley Cyrus; and you can even have Daft Punk. What excited us most this year in music was the return of our friend, Michael “Our Reality” Childs to the stage. We got to preview the Our Reality album at the beginning of 2013. He spent most of the summer touring. It has been 20 years since we’ve seen him perform, and we finally caught him ripping up the stage and kicking knowledge to a younger generation at the Westcott Theater last night. Ironically, Childs was on the bill with fellow West Coast Hip Hop heads Blackalicious.
Tags:2013, Adult contemporary hip hop, Blackalicious, Hip Hop, Music, Our Reality, Rap Music, Year in Review
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Monday, December 9th, 2013
Gift of Gab
The Westcott Theater served up a dose of West Coast positivity with the anticipated arrival of Blackalicious in Syracuse last night. The group was founded in the 1990s by Tim Parker (aka Gift of Gab) and Xavier Moseley (aka DJ Chief Xcel). Gift of Gab had a health scare with kidney failure last year, so it was good to see him back on stage.
The duo was joined on stage by the Portland team Lifesavas, made up of Vursatyl and Jumbo the Garbage Man (who wore a “Less Drama, More Music” t-shirt).
Their hour-long set included the first Blackalicious single “Swan Lake” and some new material, including the song “Blacka,” from their upcoming album (due out in March).
In the mean time, check out the East Bay Funk from this song.
Openers for the show were Our-Reality and Chaz Ultra.
Vursatyl from the Lifesavas
Tags:2013, Blackalicious, Chief Xcel, Hip Hop Culture, Life, Lifesavas, Music, The Westcott Theater, Vursatyl
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Saturday, December 7th, 2013
Erika Lovette: A holiday treat at Sitrus
Singer/songwriter Erika Lovette was a great choice to close the Jazz @ Sitrus series along the Connective Corridor on Friday evening. We’ve seen Lovette perform for what seems like decades, though she is quite young. For this audience, she showed her range and versatility by belting out some old school classics such as Aretha, George Benson and Otis Redding.
Tags:2013, Connective Corridor, Erika Lovette, Holiday, Jazz @ Sitrus, Music, Sheraton Hotel, Syracuse
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Saturday, November 23rd, 2013
Kirsten Tegtmeyer and Bill Horrace (Lemon Elefant) played a gig at the Community Folk Art Center on Thursday.
Lemon Elefant (Bill Horrace and Dave Solazzo) have become the de facto band for the Connective Corridor. They’ve played in nearly every venue and even on the street and aboard buses once or twice.
No matter who sits in with them lately, the sound and the fury of their interaction creates combustible tones. It’s like watching a modern version of Mingus and Monk.
For their latest gig, they welcomed in drummer Kinyatta King (the drummer an MBA) and singer Kirsten Tegtmeyer. The audible aroma they stirred up got caught in the coffered ceiling of the gallery and then slowly descended like a morning fog.
Lemon moved the crowd with cuts by Michael Jackson (Human Nature, Smooth Criminal) and some of their own compositions during the one hour show, but the audience was equally impressed by the strong vocal display of Tegtmeyer on Maroon5’s This Love.
The collective did an encore Friday night for Jazz @ Sitrus (Sheraton Hotel).
Tags:2013, Bill Horrace, CFAC, Connective Corridor, Dave Solazzo, Jazz, Kinyatta King, Kirsten Tegtmeyer, Lemon Elefant, Music, Th3
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Thursday, November 21st, 2013
Thanks to Kofi Jacque, aka One Black Voice (at the former OnaJava), who was an early supporter of the SIF venture.
Tags:2013, folk, Guitar, Kofi Jacque, Music, OnaJava Cafe, One Black Voice, Throwback Thursday
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Tuesday, November 12th, 2013
To the delight of thousands of students, Macklemore brought his tour to the Carrier Dome last night. The opening acts were Talib Kweli and Big K.R.I.T. Kweli recently launched the radio station Radionomy. The next stop for Macklemore, best-known for his hit “Thrift Shop,” will be Madison Square Garden in NYC.
Tags:2013, Carrier Dome, Heist Tour, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Music, Radionomy, Talib Kweli, Thrift Shop
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Monday, November 11th, 2013
Shawn Wayans, Finesse Mitchell and Marlon Wayans at Syracuse University.
Shawn and Marlon Wayans (aka the Wayans Bros.) along with Finesse Mitchell and newcomer Spoken Reasons played a show at Syracuse over the weekend. In addition to their 1990s sit-com the Wayans Bros. are also film producers and directors.
Saturday’s show was a fundraiser for the Syracuse Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. The fraternity historically brings some great comics to campus (such as D.L. Hughley and John Witherspoon).
And in case you are in the mood for a family reunion, it was also announced recently that the first generation of Wayans Bros. (Damon and Keenan) will team up with Shawn and Marlon next year to do a series of stand up shows.
Spoken Reasons at Syracuse University: Making a name for himself.
Tags:Comedy, D.L. Hughley, Finesse Mitchell, Phi Beta Sigma, Spoken Reasons, Syracuse University, Wayans Brothers
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