FROM BACH TO BEATLES

Can you imagine a full orchestra playing in your living room? This is what you get from world renowned finger­style guitarist Richard Smith and his wife, versatile cellist Julie Adams – and they serve so much more.

The combination of Richard’s fretboard fireworks and Julie’s warm tone and ly­rical style will melt your heartstrings, have your toes tapping and your jaws hanging open. Their ever growing repertoire comprises a wide variety of music from classical Bach to Beatles pop. It includes Scott Joplin Rags just like Sousa marches, Chopin, Mozart and fiddle tunes. It ranges from jazz standards to Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed and to Django Reinhardt gypsy swing, not to mention their intriguing originals. Ri­chard and Julie deliver both, lightning fast barn-burners and beautiful ballads, occa­sionally spiced with gentle and witty vocals.

Their rich artistic backgrounds led Richard and Julie to an exciting musical rendez­vous. Soon they released their duet debut “Living Out a Dream”, followed by their second album “Seems Like Old Times”. Audiences delight in the eclectic mix of Julie’s emotional depth and Richard’s flaw­less technique, when they embark on a journey through clever arrangements, swa­ping melodies, countermelodies, rhythm and bass lines, and earning them rave reviews around the world. They are truly soul mates – in life and in music!

About Julie

Julie Adams is one of the most di­verse cellists on the music scene today. Raised in Dayton, Ohio, and classically trai­ned at Interlochen Center for the Arts and the Cincinnati Conservatory, she has won many competitions and played in the most diverse musical settings. She has performed with orchestras in Chicago, Columbus, Day­ton, Cincinnati and Vero Beach and also branched into folk music, playing a significant role on Glenn and Holly Yarbrough’s album “Family Portrait”. Julie then teamed up with guitarist Muriel Anderson for the duet CD “The­me for Two Friends” and toured extensively throughout the US. At home, she is a sought-after session player and has been featured on top ten albums as well as major film scores such as the soundtrack of “Bridget Jo­nes's Diary” in 2001 and Suzy Bogguss' contribution “Oh! May the red rose live al­ways” to the Grammy winning CD “Beautiful Dreamer: the songs of Stephen Foster” in 2003.
 

What the critics say

“Richard Smith's fingers move so fast across the guitar strings that they're virtually a blur, but the music is pristinely clear … The heroes' hero ...”
Kyra Gottesman, Chico Enterprise-Record, Chico/CA

“Julie Adams' eloquent cello solos deserve special mention.”
Andrew Porter, The New Yorker

“The unlimited lightness of guitar playing … Smith masters everything with an ef­fortlessness, that makes all music go straight to the heart.”
Lippische Landes-Zeitung, Detmold/Germany

“Strings of gold on guitar met strings of pearls on cello ... Richard Smith and Julie Adams rang the satisfaction chime at 20, on a scale of one to ten.”
Jean Bartlett, The Pacifica Tribune, Pacifica/CA
“A dazzling display of musicianship … Richard and Julie play classics, jazz, pop and country with a feel that places them up there with the musical greats.”
Champion Newspapers, Southport/United Kingdom

“Wow. That seemed to be the consensus of the audience after Richard Smith and Ju­lie Adams performed ...”
Sandy Holtz, The East Oregonian, Pendleton/OR

“When they play together, it'll melt your heart – and blow your socks off.”
The Chattanoogan, Chattanooga/TN