The Bells of Harmony founder is proof that gospel thrives in a changing music world Over the past 50 years, music has gone through a number of innovations in the way it is written, recorded, distributed and heard. It has held up through a time when musicians would all gather together to record in a single room to a time …

Al’s Wine & Whiskey to host night of entertainment It’s been considered the coldest month of the year. I don’t doubt it considering last February presented all-time cold temperatures for many U.S. cities. One city in New York state averaged just under 11 degrees for the entire month. Yeah, that’s cold. But February is also the warmest month of the …

A Ghanaian musician uses music to bring American and African cultures together David Etse Nyadedzor believes it is important that the messages one expresses through music be positive. In his view, “music is a powerful medium that can carry a message farther than anything.” David, 43, is from Accra, Ghana. He has lived in the United States for about 14 …

Local women praised for inspiring through teaching, music, worship March is set aside as Women’s History Month to show appreciation, love, respect and honor for women and their achievements in areas such as arts, culture, business and politics. Its roots can be traced to the early 1900s when women stood up in solidarity to create a day in which to …

Syracuse welcomes The Mavericks, Kenny G, and The O’Jays and many others to the International Jazz Festival, June 26 – June 30. By Reggie SeiglerA Friendly Five Columnist Imagine creating a festival based on an early 20th Century African American art form and keeping it so fresh and relevant that 40 years later, the festival celebrating this century-old tradition is …

Gregory Sheppard will stage three free shows in Syracuse July 7, 14, and 21, each starting at 7 p.m. By Reggie SeiglerA Friendly Five Columnist Gregory Sheppard left Syracuse quite a few years ago to pursue his career as an opera singer, but he never forgot his roots. Sheppard was raised and educated in Syracuse, lived in its public housing, …

By Reggie Seigler Neva Pilgrim and the Society for New Music produced an opera called “Libba Cotton: Here This Day,” based on the life folk musician Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten, who lived in Syracuse’s South Side. The performance was staged Sunday, Oct. 17, at Tucker Missionary Baptist Church (TMBC), located a couple blocks from a statue and park dedicated in the …

How Gregory Sheppard challenges norms and diversifies the genre If you ask most people what a bass is, they might tell you that it’s a stringed instrument that holds down the low end in popular music. Of course, if the question was written on paper some might say it’s a fish. But since this is a music column, we won’t …

By Reggie Seigler This downtown effort is being led by Jazzfest director to imprint Syracuse basketball icons Frank Malfitano is seeing things. He sees the south east wall of a six-story building at 333 E. Onondaga St. in Syracuse as a huge mural, and he wants us to see it, too.  The mural, he says, will pay homage to four …

By Reggie Seigler City of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh put out a call for individuals and neighborhood groups to participate in his annual Clean-Up ’Cuse Adopt a Block program. Hollis Mathis, vice president of Joined Artists, Musicians & Singers, Inc. (JAMS) answered the call. JAMS is a nonprofit that hosts events directed at creating economic opportunities for diverse community artists. …