Charlie in the Courtyard!

Charles Smith Piano Charles is a dedicated pianist and jazz musician. Completing studies at Arizona State University in 2017, he soon after experienced a demand for the musical, managerial and inter-personal skills he had cultivated there. Answering the call to pass on his knowledge, Charlie teaches his own private students and is a substitute teacher in high school and middle school classrooms. (He’s learned that classroom management for teens is not a skill that one walks away with from a jazz-performance degree!). In his free time, Charlie helps with “Friendly Fridays” - a weekly activities program working with people diagnosed with autism and catastrophic head injuries. This program is held at First Place, a transitional housing facility for people with disabilities. Always looking for ways to bring music to the community, Charlie stays busy as a freelancer in Phoenix and across the valley. His favorite engagements are at the Nash, Arizona’s premier jazz venue. As a special guest artist, he’s shared the bandstand with Joel Frahm, Cyrille Aimée, Darcy James Argue, Ben Wendell and Jeremy Pelt.