Like the historic home museum where it takes place, the Music at the Casa concert series perennially has one foot in the present and one in the past. In the 1930s, Casa Feliz, the picturesque Andalusian farmhouse built by architect James Gamble Rogers II, was the site of music nights and poetry readings hosted by its then-owners, industrialist Robert Bruce Barbour and his wife, Harriet Howell Barbour.
Today, the Winter Park landmark keeps that tradition alive with an ever-expanding schedule of local performers whose vocal and instrumental stylings are perfectly suited to the setting. (Recitals are conducted either in outdoor settings or indoors in the Polly & Thaddeus Seymour Parlor.)
The latest installment in the series—set for Thursday, May 21, at 6:30 p.m.—features soul/jazz vocalist Solomon Jaye, with accompaniment by keyboardist John Olearchick.
The Texas-born, Orlando-based Jaye promises a program that’ll run the gamut from George Gershwin to Stevie Wonder. Gershwin’s “Summertime” and Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” hint at a warm-weather vibe that’s either reinforced or—depending upon your perspective—rejected by Bill Withers’s elegant lament, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which is also on the setlist.
Either way, the material on offer will be multigenerational—just right for an environment that’s steeped in tradition yet perpetually on the move. (In 2000, you may recall, Casa Feliz avoided the wrecking ball when it was transported intact from its original location on Interlachen Avenue to its current setting on the Winter Park Golf Course.)
“As much as possible, I like to blur the line between soul and jazz, so there’ll be a healthy amount of both in my show,” says Jaye. He’ll also include a smattering of original compositions and offer a few glimpses of his skills as a tap dancer—another of the talents that have kept him in demand as a touring and cruise-ship performer.
As always, wine by the glass will be available for purchase. Tickets are $15, and buying in advance is recommended due to limited space.
Now overseen by Betsy Rogers Owens, executive director and granddaughter of the architect himself, the Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum is a faithfully renovated architectural jewel that visibly bucks the region’s apparent predisposition to embrace the new and neglect the old.
Just as the community gathered a century ago to stay abreast of the lively arts, Owens and her team hope that patrons of Music at the Casa will emerge with a newfound appreciation of not only the venue itself, but of the need to preserve the shared history it represents.
Because to paraphrase a particularly wise man, there ain’t no sunshine when it’s gone. Casa Feliz is located at 656 Park Avenue North, Winter Park. For more information, call or visit the website.
