“Trombonist Melissa Gardiner was named the 2019 Syracuse Area Music Awards Music Educator of the Year. The 30-something brasswoman is the youngest educator ever so honored, and deservedly so. Not only is she an instructor at Syracuse University, Cornell University and Le Moyne College, but she also teaches in less formal settings. Every Sunday afternoon, for instance, Gardiner leads the house band at Funk N Waffles at a weekly jazz and gospel jam session, where she offers young musicians a priceless opportunity to hone their chops onstage alongside seasoned professionals. The Julliard graduate maintains a private teaching studio locally and has also taught in the MANOS Makes Music program for dual-language preschool students.”

“Syracuse’s Melissa Gardiner, MG3, win international jazz competition...On May 19, local multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and bandleader Melissa Gardiner made a major announcement: Her trio, MG3, featuring Gardiner on trombone, drummer Byron Cage and Willerm Delisfort on organ, had just won the Bucharest International Jazz Competition at EUROPAfest.”

"How a Syracuse trombone player ended up jamming on stage with Dave Matthews Band...Gardiner traded licks with Ross and the others in "Jimi Thing." Then they called her back for the horn line in "Lying in the Hands of God."

“Second Line Syracuse, an eight-piece brass band led by slide trombonist Melissa Gardiner, won the 2017 Syracuse Area Music Award for “Best Jazz” recording for its self-titled CD released last October. Melissa also lent her trombone talents to two other Sammy-winning albums, Jess Novak’s Best Pop winner “Inches from the Sun” and the Best Jam Band, Root Shock. Over the past few years Melissa, who left Liverpool to study at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and The Juilliard School in NYC, has emerged as one of the busiest and best musicians in Central New York. She leads several jazz combos, is a member of the CNY Jazz Orchestra, teaches at Syracuse and Cornell universities, and hosts a weekly youth-oriented jam session every Sunday afternoon at Funk’N Waffles downtown. Melissa’s community commitment knows no bounds. On Feb.18, she debuted the new Unity Street Band, an open, multi-level community band that plays for good causes. She works tirelessly to reconnect ja”

“With a combination creativity, emotion, and technical prowess, Melissa Gardiner of Local 78 has established herself as a premier jazz trombonist. She’s also kept herself versatile, but focused on her goal – making music her life...“I keep my eyes on the prize,” she says. And for those looking to succeed the same, she advises, “Do your homework. Know the tradition of the music you’re playing. Know the theory and technique and then use it as a tool to make your own identity. Then stay true to yourself. Respect the tradition. Then respect the innovativeness of yourself. Don’t just be a robot.””

“As an active and influential member of Syracuse’s jazz scene, Gardiner creates and seeks events for enjoying live music...Gardiner feels a responsibility to provide younger musicians in the community with the same support and opportunities that she had. She teaches lessons and is the first female jazz instructor at Syracuse University.”

“If you close your eyes on any lazy Sunday afternoon while taking in the live performances of local and guest jazz musicians at Funk ‘N Waffles downtown, it’s not difficult to imagine yourself in New Orleans — even if only until a door opens and the bitter cold wind whips through your daydream of soulful melodies. Local Syracuse trombonist, bandleader, composer/arranger and Syracuse University instructor of jazz trombone Melissa Gardiner created these weekly Jazz Jam events in May 2015, and they’ve been drawing jazz fans on Sundays since. She has been busy creating other opportunities to bring live jazz music back to where she believes it belongs: the community. “It has always been my goal to bring people together through music,” she said. “Music is a universal language, and represents a powerful and effective way to include people from all walks of life and incite positive change within any community.””

“Gardiner lives a little more than a block from the Father's Day melee that left one man dead, two injured and a neighborhood in upheaval on Syracuse's Near West Side. After the shooting and the police raids that followed, you could feel the fear and the tension on the streets, Gardiner said. Gardiner, a musician, had planned to start a community drum circle in Skiddy Park the following Sunday, June 26. But maybe it would be better to postpone it? "It wasn't a question," she said. It seemed clear to her that the neighborhood needed the music then more than ever, she said.”