Two musical acts are back by popular demand at First Coast Cultural Center.
The University of North Florida jazz duo of Raymond Clines and Corbin Schmid will take audiences on a journey of jazz standards and improvisations on Oct. 11. Then, on Nov. 1, Arvid Smith will captivate audiences with the exotic sounds of the sitar, Balinese harp, other stringed instruments and vocals
Wine and light refreshments will be served, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., and seats for each event are $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers.
According to Silvia Romero, senior director of operations, these musicians have a talent for generating excitement and incorporating audience participation during performances.
“The connections made with the audience are engaging and unforgettable,” she said.
“There’s a lot of back and forth between us and the audience,” explained jazz pianist Clines. He added that his favorite part of performing is getting to connect with his audiences.
Clines, who is a senior majoring in mathematics, began playing piano in second grade, focusing on the classics, and he switched to jazz in college.
“Hearing jazz music and the emotions it conveys, and creating that for others, is a big influence,” he said.
Clines and bassist Schmid, who is a senior jazz studies major, have a set list for Oct. 11 that includes the following favorites: “All of Me,” “All the Things You Are,” “Body and Soul,” “The Girl From Ipanema,” “My Favorite Things” and “Someday My Prince Will Come.”
Meanwhile, Smith will carry audiences away to exotic places on Nov. 1 with a potpourri of vocals and stringed instruments, including his beloved sitar, an Indian instrument made from a gourd.
A very well-known local musician and self-proclaimed lover of many music genres, he started playing the sitar at age 53 and discovered it expanded the tonal color of many songs.
“Music from different parts of the world has a connection,” Smith said. “The tonal makeup of that music lends itself to a solo on one of my stringed instruments.”
At present, Smith plays in three different bands and covers genres from bluegrass and folk music to semi-jazz and rock and roll. He never gets tired of investigating different voices and attributes his longevity in the field to his desire to create and grow as a musician.
“I’ve always seen something that’s over the next hill, musically,” he said.
Concertgoers will also be able to view the Best of JAM (Juried Art Member) exhibition featuring naturescape paintings, photography and glass sculptures. This exhibition runs through Jan. 2, and will be on display, along with items from many other artisans, during the popular Holiday Shoppes event on Nov. 22 and 23.
