Downtown After Dark is award winning journalist Russ Tarby's weekly take on the best and brightest of happenings inside and outside of Downtown Syracuse. Each week he adds best bets too.
Bio:
Central New York journalist Russ Tarby has been writing about entertainment, crime, sports and politics since the 1970s. His reviews and feature stories have appeared in newspapers such as the Village Voice, the Dallas Observer, the Auburn Citizen and the Syracuse Post-Standard.
For 12 years, he worked as music and books editor for the Syracuse New Times and while there he won several Syracuse Press Club awards including a Best Feature Story award for 'The Sweet Man,' his 1998 profile of 95-year-old jazz trombonist Spiegle Willcox.
In 2000, he was named music writer of the year for weeklies with a circulation of less than 55,000 by the international Association of Alternative Newsweeklies.
Tarby was a member of the steering committees which founded the Syracuse Area Music Awards(Sammys) and the Syracuse Walk of Fame.
He has been a member of the Jazz Appreciation Society of Syracuse's Board of Directors since 1993.
In 2007, Tarby edited "Into The Deep," a book by Dr. Andrew G. Hodges about the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway on the island of Aruba.
Tarby now works as a free-lance writer and editor. He compiles two weekly columns, Downtown After Dark for the Syracuse City Eagle and Livin’ in Liverpool for The Review, both published by Eagle Newspapers.
He can be reached at 457-1517, or via e-mail at russtarby@netscape.net.
Upstate jazz legends featured on Friday’s double bill
rtarby, Thu, October 29th, 2009
Downtown After Dark is where Russ Tarby highlights happenings of special note in and sometimes out of Syracuse, the heart of CNY.
“We’re showing off two of the finest exponents of jazz who just happen to live in our region,” said CNY Jazz Arts Foundation Director Larry Luttinger. He’s talking about Friday’s double bill pairing the multi-talented Syracuse saxophonist Joe Riposo with Ithaca guitarist extraordinaire Steve Brown.
Riposo and Brown will showcase their own compositions in concert with the CNY Jazz Orchestra, directed by trombonist Bret Zvacek, at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at the Carrier Theater at the Mulroy Civic Center at Oncenter, 411 Montgomery St., downtown.
Tickets cost $19.50, $24.50 & $27.50 ($5 discount for CNYJAF donors with discount card and students with ID) by calling the Oncenter box office at 435-2121.
Local jazz geniuses
Themed “Legends of Upstate New York,” Friday’s concert marks a new direction for the CNYJAF concert series.
“Our region is responsible for many major names in jazz, and we feel they’ve been overlooked by the public at large,” Luttinger said.
He could be talking about a whole bunch of accomplished jazzers who came up hereabouts, cats and kittens such as Sal Nistico, Nick Brignola, Sam Noto, Sy Simpson, Vincent Falcone, Danny D’Imperio, Phil Flanigan, Anna Marie Genovese, Calvin Custer, Tony Leonardi, Nancy Kelly, Jeff Stockham, Karen Oberlin and Tony Riposo, Joe’s older brother.
“They’re all household names among their colleagues across the world, but not seen in public as much as they should,” Luttinger said. “This is because of their strong commitment to higher education.”
Riposo and Brown will bring their original compositions and arrangements to the event, and they will perform with the prize-winning CNY Jazz Orchestra separately, and together in a concert-closing finale.
‘Triple threats’
Both guests on the double bill are nationally known “triple threats” in the jazz world, not only players, but as writers and educators as well. Joe Riposo the performer has been seen for decades in bands behind Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, the McGuire Sisters, Harry Connick Jr., Diane Schuur and Natalie Cole and many others.
As an educator, he is now director of jazz studies at Syracuse University and has served as North Eastern Coordinator for the International Association of Jazz Educators. A well-published composer, Riposo is the author of the acclaimed book, Jazz Improvisation: The Whole-Brain Approach and last year he produced another book, Be Bop Scales.
On Nov. 21, 1997, Riposo was inducted in the Syracuse Area Music Awards Hall of Fame along with his brothers Tony and Mike. In 2008, he received the 2008 Jazz Educator of the Year Award presented by the CNYJAF. Most recently, Riposo received the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra musicians’ award for Outstanding Music Educator of 2009.
Clinic precedes concert
Guitarist, composer and arranger Steve Brown has just retired from his long-held position as professor of music and director of the jazz studies program at Ithaca College. He has performed and/or recorded with Chuck Israel’s National Jazz Ensemble, Chuck Mangione, the Full, Faith and Credit Big Band, Bobby Watson, Jimmy Smith, Gerry Niewood and others. His latest projects have included commissions for the Hal Galper Trio, the U.S. Airmen of Note and the Celebration of the Arts Jazz Festival (COTA Cats), featuring himself and Phil Woods. His most recent CD releases as a guitarist/arranger under the leadership of Steve Gilmore include two compact discs on the Jazz Mania label and two discs under the leadership of drummer Danny D’Imperio on V.S.O.P.
Both Riposo and Brown will coach select area student musicians in an educational clinic at 3 p.m. Friday in the theater. The clinic is free and open to the public; 479-5299.
Hege conducts Beethoven
One of Ludwig van Beethoven’s most memorable pieces of music was written 200 years ago.
This weekend, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra presents Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, written between 1809 and 1811, featuring internationally acclaimed pianist Jon Kimura Parker and conducted by SSO Music Director Daniel Hege.
The program includes Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, popularly known as the Emperor Concerto, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2.
The Emperor Concert, so named because of its powerful, heroic themes, was the last work which Beethoven performed himself on Nov. 28, 1811, at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. Soon after, the great composer went deaf.
The SSO concert starts at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31, at the Crouse Hinds Concert Theater, at the Mulroy Civic Center at Oncenter, 411 Montgomery St., downtown. Ticket prices range between $15 and $70; 424-8200.
By the way, this season marks Dan Hege’s tenth with the SSO, and we’re lucky to have him here!
Grilling at the Gridley
They’ll soon be grilling at the Gridley Building.
Longtime Syracuse restaurateur Dan Klamm plans to reopen Prime Steak House in downtown’s historic Gridley Building, on Hanover Square.
In August, Prime Steak House closed its operation at 311-313 N. Geddes St., on the city’s West End.
Succulent steaks will remain the cornerstone of the menu, but Klamm said he’ll also serve chicken and pasta dishes. While the Geddes Street venue was open for dinner only, at its new location Prime Steak House will serve lunch as well.
Several restaurants have operated out of the Gridley Building over the years, such as Sterio’s Landmark, the Melting Pot, Reggio’s, Appetito and Tsunami.
The doctor is in
The Gridley Building – known for its distinctive clock tower – was built in 1869 as the original home of the Onondaga Savings Bank. In 1974, the building was saved from demolition by Quinlivan Pierik & Krause, who bought and renovated the building, then located its architectural firm there.
In 1990, Quinlivan Pierik & Krause left the building and relocated to 450 S. Salina St. In 2000, the building was bought by Gridley Place, LLC, a group including Syracuse anesthesiologist John Piper, Buffalo architect Douglas Scheid and Boston businessman Kenneth Hinckley.
Klamm apparently reached an agreement last week with Dr. Piper, who hopes to buy out the building’s other owners. Piper will be among the partners in Klamm’s steakhouse.
Russo on Radio LPL
Liverpool Public Library has instituted its own online radio station, and it’s dedicating well-deserved airtime to local musicians.
This month, Radio LPL’s Local Artist Spotlight program features pianist Andrew Russo everyday at 1 and 7 p.m. A Grammy-nominated performing artist, Russo talks with Radio LPL director Annette Friedrichs about participating in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, attending the Julliard School of Music and serving as artist-in-residence at Le Moyne College. This Spotlight includes selections from Russo’s recordings as well as a live performance of “Maple Leaf Rag.”
To listen, visit lpl.org and click on Radio LPL.
Frank at Froggy’s
El Kabong guitarist Frank Rhodes hosts an open mic every Wednesday at Froggy’s, 3898 New Court Ave., on the North Side; 437-2725. Performers plug in between 7 and 11 p.m.
Every Wednesday, it’s always something new,” Rhodes exclaimed. “I’ve sent a few messages to a couple of guys from years ago that I would like to see show up, like some of the guys from The Works. We’ll see if they come.”
If you’re an open mike junkie, you could make Frank’s session between 7 and 11 p.m., and then hop over to Shifty’s 1401 Burnet Ave., where the legendary Wednesday night jams rock on until 2 a.m.
Coffee House Riot recalled
On Jan. 1, 1844, the Coffee House Riot broke out between the Salt Pointers of Salina and the villagers of Syracuse. A Pointer named Blake was shot and killed.
Learn more about the violence that occasionally broke out during the early years of the Town of Salina when Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department historian Jon Anderson presents a program on history of policing in the town at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at Liverpool Public Library, 310 Tulip St., at the corner of Second Street (Route 370), in the village’s business district.
Anderson’s talk will cover salt-industry constables, policing the canal-ways and the 1844 Coffee House Riot. The free program is part of the Town of Salina Bicentennial Celebration; 457-0310.
Casale presents Orleans
Speaking of longtime bass guitarists, Mike Casale, who now lays down the bottom for Bobby Green & A Cut Above, will celebrate his 60th birthday in a big way.
He’ll host a concert featuring Orleans at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov 15, Upstairs at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, at 246 W. Willow St., downtown. Also featuring Geek Romeo, Mike’s duo with guitarist Terry Vickery, the concert will benefit the Spina Bifida Center of Central New York at Upstate University Hospital. Tickets cost $25 with all proceeds going to the local clinic. No more than 200 tickets will be available for this special benefit performance.
For tickets, call Mike at 420-3274.
Russ is traveling to the left coast for a sabbatical - send your info to city@cnylink.com.
CATEGORY: General Entertainment
TAGS: Upstate NY jazz legends,Lary Luttinger,CNYJAF concert series,CNY Jazz Orchestra,Sal Nistico, Nick Brignola, Sam Noto, Sy Simpson, Vincent Falcone, Danny D’Imperio, Phil Flanigan, Anna Marie Genovese, Calvin Custer, Tony Leonardi, Nancy Kelly, Jeff Stockham, Karen Oberlin,Joe riposo,steve brown,Daniel Hege,Gridley Building,Dan Klamm,Prime Steakhouse,Quinlivan Pierik & Krause,Mike Casale,Tony Riposo
