Raisin Cake Orchestra

St. Augustine's Raisin Cake Orchestra is as tasty a jazz quartet as one can find in the South, with a line out the door via word of mouth. These elite jazz musicians came together in 2014 to form an ensemble based on the group's love of jazz. Under the baton of keyboardist Scott Giddins, Raisin Cake Orchestra also includes Jim Snyder on the clarinet, John Chapman on the bass, and Benjamin Adkins on the drums. Their live performances feature an endless list of guest performers including a banjo jazz player, which is rare in that genre. The band's setlist includes primarily traditional jazz, swing jazz, Dixie jazz, New Orleans jazz, and harp bop with a little bit of soul and rhythm and blues sprinkled throughout the mix. 

Raisin Cake Orchestra has quickly climbed the rungs of the jazz ladder, having been featured in local and regional music festivals and claiming a semi-regular space at prominent jazz venues in Northeast Florida. Their modern twists on contemporary jazz classics have earned the band a reputation for breaking the jazz norms and rewriting the past. The group's on-stage aura has the craftsmanship of jazz and the lightheartedness of a quartet who is in love with the music they play. For Raisin Cake Orchestra jazz is the ultimate genre, and they bring it to audiences so they can be transfixed by a new take on traditional music.