Posts Tagged ‘Byron Cage’

Direct Flight

Sunday, December 21st, 2014
Sketches of Tokyo-Seoul with Melissa Gardiner (top left)

Sketches of Tokyo-Seoul with Melissa Gardiner (top left)

The Melissa Gardiner Group: Gardiner on trombone and vocals, Byron Cage on drums, Will Gorman on keys, and August Cook on tenor sax, took Christmas music deep into the shed during the inaugural performance for the Tokyo-Seoul music series Saturday night. They added some spice to standards to the delight of a packed dining room that featured musicians, educators and jazz fans.

Guest vocalists for the kick-off included the sassy duo, Angky & Mary Rose, and the sophisticated/sentimental sounds of Gabrielle Gorman (a Nancy Kelly protégé)

Melissa Gardiner Group

Melissa Gardiner Group cooking at the Sushi Bar

The series is scheduled to continue every fourth Thursday thru May.

Salute to a Funky Drummer

Thursday, April 10th, 2014

Congratulations to the Syracuse New Times for the redesign, re-org, and also for recognizing the story behind the music of our friend Drummer Byron Cage. We particularly enjoyed the local connections column (Melissa Gardiner, Alex Boatman and Jesse Collins) that accompanied the article.

FOJ (Friends of Jesse)

Tuesday, February 11th, 2014
Jesse Collins Trio & Friends

Jesse Collins Trio & Friends

We caught the live show from Jesse Collins at Al’s Whiskey and Wine Bar on Sunday night, and they played everything from New Orleans Jazz to Parliament Funkadelic.

It was good to see familiar faces from the pages of SIF such as Byron Cage and Melissa Gardiner; but it was equally fun to experience for the first time Collins (on alto sax), John Delia (clarinet and tenor sax) and the steady bass licks of  Dickie Bureau. At one point during the show, the groove got so intense that Delia blew his clarinet apart (true story).

The crowd seemed to also enjoy the vibe from several of Collins’ original compositions, including his “hula hoop” anthem.

“Free to be Free” is the title of Collins’ new album.

We’re Live

Tuesday, August 13th, 2013
Alex Boatman, Mike Keller & Goose

Alex Boatman, Mike Keller & Goose

This was the first band who played for the 2013 Banding Together benefit for Christine Lafave last night at the Westcott Theater. Shout out to Byron Cage, a former client and well-traveled drummer who is back in the Cuse.

Byron Cage, Drums

Byron Cage, Drums

Sunday Best

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

Musician Byron Cage sent me this video he made in tribute to his father, Pastor J. Alfred Cage.