Better late than never, we celebrate Black Music Month with some photos from performances in and around Syracuse over the past decade.
What’s Next?
DJ Bella on the wheels at Nikao.
Walton Street Alley is the location for the Downtown Get Down this summer.
Cuse Culture Magazine co-founders Victoria Coit and Vanessa Campbell (right) made a presentation during their kick-off event last night.
Here are some of the photographs from the Cuse Culture Magazine launch party,which was held at the Nikao Events Company.
Nikao Proprietors Tina and Ken Hills with Coit and Campbell posed in the courtyard of their urbane establishment.
Fashion execs Lakisa Renee & La Shaun Jones (LSK Modeling and Events) take a selfie with local basketball star Mika Adams-Woods.
Sophisticated ladies at Nikao
Cuse Culture Photographer Vanessa Campbell with E. Smith (aka Smitty).
Ricky Encarnacion played with Heaven Report at the 2011 Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival (Clinton Square).
We heard this week that the Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival, which is schedule for late July, will once again expand to Sunday afternoon. We saw Ricky Encarnacion the last time the festival extended to three days. What a treat.
Means of Production: Change is inevitable. What was once a work field has become a mixed-use business, arts and residential district. We wonder if they sang work songs back when they took salt production literally on the Near West Side.
Rabby came to Syracuse from Bhutan 4 months ago.
Second Line Syracuse, an interactive, roving community jazz band is the brainchild of musician & composer Melissa Gardiner. Sunday afternoon the group marched thru the streets of the Near Westside to the delight of neighbors and passersby.
Competition obviously makes for plenty of invention.
We finally got to see the Second Line Syracuse project (winner of the Salt City Dishes prize) up close yesterday, and we were impressed. We hope their dedication to the craft (they marched in the rain) is a reflection of the shape of jazz to come here in the city. Maybe they will show up at the Downtown Syracuse Arts Festival or a street party near you soon.
Jam session in the streets.
Second Line Syracuse: Strollin’ on Tioga Street.
Ronnie Leigh, live at Tokyo-Seoul (with MG3)
Our performance of the week goes to Ronnie Leigh and Melissa Gardiner’s MG3. Below is a clip from their final number (Aint Misbehavin‘ with Leigh on vocals), which is so rich and velvety it gets stuck between your ears.
Thanks again to Byron Cage for the invite.