Melissa Gardiner and her band marches on!
These days a party’s just not a party until Second Line Syracuse meanders on through. They did just that during the Festival of the Fantastical Follicle last Friday. When they show up it’s always Mardi Gras or Carnival!
Mike Heagerty kept time for the band as they descended to the lobby.
Dan Fields tried to blow the roof off the Landmark.
Here are some more photos of the live music scene.
Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival
Michael Kelly, Empire Brewery Co.
Gregory Collins, channels the Godfather of Soul at Funk & Waffles
Melissa Gardiner’s name and her band were synonymous with live music in 2015, everywhere from the State Fair, SU, Tokyo Seoul, Sitrus Lounge, Le Moyne Plaza (above), and even the streets of the Near Westside.
Brother Num at The Dinosaur
Maxwell Brown, 315Drumline
Spicy: Syracuse guitar legend Marcus Curry got in the mix at the Sitrus Lounge last night with vocalist Ronnie Leigh. They even did a birthday tribute to WAER FM-88’s Eric Cohen. Next month the series will feature a Wil Gorman and Melissa Gardiner reunion.
Second Line Syracuse
We salute Melissa Gardiner and her mates for taking Second Line from concept to execution,and now award-winning recognition. They were named Best Jazz Band in the latest Syracuse New Times Best of Syracuse survey. Here’s the band showing some reggae flavor during one of their neighborhood visits from the summer:
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.
Melissa Gardiner, Will Gorman and Ronnie Leigh, along with Byron Cage (not pictured) served up a hot set at Tokyo-Seoul last night.
We got to see a few generations of musical performers at Melissa Gardiner’s gig at Tokyo-Seoul last night. Her MG3 band, along with veteran vocalist Ronnie Leigh, made for a sweltering combination.
Leigh, who is the equivalent of a made guy in the music scene here (our version of Tony Bennett), has been around for years and has multiple SAMMY Awards. But don’t let his musical mileage fool you however, because he still had enough in reserve to close the show with a Fats Waller cut (“Aint Misbehavin”) that had the ebbing energy of a strong summer storm.
Our take-away question is this: has anyone recorded these sessions (which began in December)? They would make a great compilation CD.
Jake Ford was called up to share the Tokyo-Seoul stage with MG3 on Thursday.
You have to be secure with your art & abilities to let someone share your stage. We thought it big-hearted for Melissa Gardiner and her new power group,MG3 (Gardiner, Gorman & Cage), to shine some light on guitarist Jake Ford last night. Ford sat in briefly during the MG3 + Ronnie Leigh show at Tokyo Seoul.
This is only our second time seeing the Third Thursday’s series, but generally when it comes to the Syracuse scene, established musicians are quick to show love to up-and-coming talent.
We thought we’d share our first glimpse of the Jazz at the Plaza series, coordinated by the Central New York Jazz Arts Foundation. The turn out on Wednesday was great, but we hope the Le Moyne College location doesn’t replace the usual Jazz in the City block parties.
Brother Num brought the rub-a-dub vibe to the Dinosaur on Friday evening.
Shout-out to trombonist Melissa Gardiner for sending out a reminder about her sitting in with the reggae artist Brother Num.