Piano Man

The late Dave Brubeck, a guest at three Syracuse Jazz Fests, made the art form accessible to the masses

During the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors, President Barack Obama recalled seeing honoree Dave Brubeck in concert in 1971 in Honolulu. Obama reflected in his remarks, “You can’t understand A

The Path to Peace

The Syracuse Community Choir celebrates 27 years of peace and social justice songs

Since 1985, the Syracuse Community Choir has been delivering messages of peace and social justice through the power of song. They utilize the voices of the community—young and old with diff

The Symphony Strikes Back

The sound of silence ends as the former Syracuse Symphony Orchestra returns with a new name and structure

When the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra announced plans to file for bankruptcy in April 2011, the bad news shook up all of Central New York. The 79-year-old organization had a rich history, but suddenly no future. Musicians dispersed and SSO patrons were left with non-refundable tickets, sadness, confusion and anger at the collapse of the organization.

Hop on Pop

Jazz pianist Marco Benevento will branch into new musical territory during his Thursday gig at the Westcott

Anyone under the false impression that jazz music is inaccessible or only performed by stuffy players obviously isn’t familiar with Marco Benevento. This 35-year-old keyboard king is technically talented and creatively rich, but in no way personality-deprived. Just as his music is layered and varied, so is the man behind it.

Frisco Foursome

The Stone Foxes will blend old and new musical genres for their upcoming Salt City show

People get it wrong about the music industry today: Beneath that superficial layer of so-called Top 40 “hits” on the radio (Taylor Swift’s songs about her exes, Ke$ha’s garbage about getting wasted at age 17), it’s not all crap. Hundreds of bands are bubbling under the radar, presenting music lovers with new reasons to believe that rock’n’roll will never die.

IDLE CHATTER

Down on Brown Concert ducats are expensive these days (thanks, Ticketmaster!) so it’s refreshing when a band tries its hardest to reconcile the experience with the price of admission. The Za

Techs and Violins

Instrument repairmen Tom Hosmer and Harry Eibert master the art of making strings sing

An instrument is a work of art. When Tom Hosmer holds up a violin and starts explaining the curve, the wood, the seams, the thickness, the weight, the...

And The Band Plays On

Local musicians recreate Robbie Robertson and company’s Thanksgiving 1976 rock’n’roll goodbye

On Thanksgiving Day, 1976, The Band made perhaps the grandest farewell in rock’n’roll history. They took the stage for one final concert at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco and u

IDLE CHATTER

Spin Doctors Armory Square’s Sound Garden has gone old school in hopes of attracting new clientele. On Oct. 4, the record store, 310 W. Jefferson St., rolled out a fully stocked used vinyl

IDLE CHATTER

Sandy Saddens Springsteen Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s current tour has been all about ghosts. The title song of Wrecking Ball (Columbia) refers to the demolition of the old Giant