Last month Jacobs Music Center celebrated their 20th anniversary in the hamlet of Highland. Proprietor Dennis Jacobs’ shop is located at 1 Milton Avenue and is well known to both professional and beginning musicians in the area. He believes that one is never too old to learn how to play an instrument.

 

In a recent interview with the Southern Ulster Times, Jacobs spoke of his long musical journey from his hometown of Utica, New York to the founding of his shop in Highland, commenting that, “The people of Highland have always been good to me.”

 

As a young man, Jacobs learned the dual skills of selling and construction from his father and uncles and found that, “I just like dealing with people; you are helping them and you are providing a product and a service that is quality that is coming from a place of passion, a place of love and something you believe in.”

Jacobs has always been involved in music.

 

“When I was a teenager I got bit by the jazz bug and was drawn to the sound and if you can play jazz you can play anything.” He began studying guitar at nine and mastered all 10 positions on the instrument within a year. He also started fixing and selling instruments while also performing solo and in bands in the Utica area.

 

Jacobs began focusing more seriously on music when he started taking lessons and studying music theory and harmony with guitarist Carmen Caramanica (1945-2023) and saxophonist J.R. Monterose (1927- 1993), both Utica-based jazz musicians, whom Jacobs acknowledges were major influences in his early musical life. He attended Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica where he studied non-musical subjects such as business, marketing and liberal Arts, followed with a stint at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse. But at 29, upon the recommendation of a friend, Jacobs enrolled at SUNY New Paltz in 2000, where he continued his studies in music theory and composition for three years.  

 

Jacobs also plays a regular gig on the first Friday evening of the month at the Hudson Ale Works at 17 Milton Avenue in Highland and usually has an upright bassist join him. He has held that spot since they opened in 2017. He calls it a “nice synergy” since his music shop is just down the block.

 

Jacobs describes his store as a, “full service music center” Besides selling a wide variety of acoustic and electric guitars, he also sells/rents drums and percussion instruments as well as band instruments. He offers lessons for beginners and professionals on guitar, drums, ukulele, violin, viola, piano, flute, electric bass, saxophone and clarinet. He urges people to shop locally, reminding them that it is often no more expensive than shopping online and more importantly, that you are investing in your hometown.   

 

“I love everything about the business of selling and fixing instruments and when I do instrument setups, I make them play like butter because playability is everything,” he said, adding that he backs everything up that he sells or services.

 

Jacobs said moving into 2026 he is sticking to his tried and true formula of treating people the right way in business and taking care of their service needs.

“I look at this as a passion of mine. It has been a pleasure serving the community for all these years and my future plan is to keep providing the best top level service and quality that I can for all ages and at all levels,” he said. “When I see a parent come in and buy an instrument for their daughter or son and they see them strum their first chord, that’s a beautiful moment; they’re sharing what life is all about.”

 

More information is available at jacobsmusiccenter.com or by phone at 845-691-2701.