Utica Jazz Hero
After the esteemed Mississippi Rag folded in 2006, The American Rag was the only remaining monthly periodical devoted exclusively to hot jazz, ragtime and swing. But in 2015 it was preparing to cease operation, too. In stepped Andy Senior, an American Rag contributor, who single-handedly saved the publication from termination, changing its name to The Syncopated Times and proceeding to publish a much-improved monthly celebration of classic jazz.
Although he had written two unpublished novels and countless pages of poetry and songs, Senior had no significant prior journalism experience when he bought the California-based American Rag seven years ago. He relaunched the newly named-paper in February 2016, publishing it from his home in Utica, New York. Starting with that initial edition, Senior has produced a newspaper on schedule 12 times a year, expanded the staff of qualified writers and broadened coverage of the hot jazz scene.
He has added eye-catching color to the paper’s layout while growing its circulation internationally. TST coverage includes interviews with musicians, lists of upcoming festivals, recent obituaries, historical articles and reviews of biographies and CDs with a special focus on the popular music of the 1920s – ‘30s Jazz Age.
Senior does it all for TST, functioning as publisher, editor, advertising director, layout manager, music critic, reporter, essayist, subscription supervisor and business manager. The 59-year-old publisher – a former self-employed piano technician – also writes a monthly column called “Static From My Attic.”
While Senior’s achievement is largely his own, he deserves credit for recruiting talented young associate editor Joe Bebco. As publisher he has also strengthened the editorial staff and grown the TST’s online presence. The monthly’s SyncopatedTimes.com websit brings late-breaking news to its readers.
A longtime member of the Jazz Appreciation Society of Syracuse, Senior (who is a competent pianist and guitarist) has amassed an impressive collection of 78 rpm recordings from the early-20th century, an obsession that began in early childhood. From 2005 to 2015, he hosted a radioblog of vintage music titled Radiola, often using his own record transfers/restorations of material waxed from 1900 to 1940.
While that program gained Senior a cult-like following of like-minded listeners, he now dedicates himself almost exclusively to The Syncopated Times.
“It monopolizes my time and energy,” he’s said. “It turns out to be my life’s work.” In the engaging and informative newspaper he carries on his stated life mission, to celebrate “music that shimmers with wit and levity and beats with the pulse of life.” As the savior and sustainer of a platform that continues to shed light on a glorious musical legacy, report on its lasting legacy and contemporary efforts within an enduring foundation, Andy Senior is truly a Jazz Hero.– Russ Tarby
