BLACK VIOLIN to Return to Florida Theatre with Special Guest Braxton Cook

The Florida Theatre has announced the return of Black Violin with special guest Braxton Cook on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at the historic Florida Theatre in downtown Jacksonville. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 26, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Buy them at www.floridatheatre.com or the Florida Theatre Box Office at (904) 355-2787. Ask about the VIP/Meet & Greet package available for this show.

To most people, jazz, hip-hop, funk, and classical are musical genres. But to revolutionary music group Black Violin, they're nothing but ingredients. After graduating from high school, both Wilner Baptiste (Wil B) and Kevin Sylvestor (Kev Marcus) were granted full music scholarships to college, Florida State and Florida International University, respectively. Combining a daunting array of musical styles and influences to produce a Signature Sound that is not quite maestro, not quite emcee, the two classically trained violinists, Kev and Wil, alongside their DJ, are redefining the music world, one string at a time.

When the Grammy-nominated classical-meets-hip-hop duo Black Violin set out to record their sixth album, Full Circle, they were searching for a new direction, a fresh approach. The group enlisted longtime collaborator and LA-based producer Phil Beaudreau (Dr. Dre, Justin Bieber, The Game, Lalah Hathaway), who worked with the group on their 2019 Grammy-nominated album, Take the Stairs. The result is Full Circle, Black Violin's richest and most varied collection to date. With indelible melodies, boom-bap rhythms, rich orchestration, and lyrics full of hope and persistence, the songs reveal the range and depth of a project that the members call “more a movement than a brand.”

Black Violin has always been about taking things further, exceeding expectations, and challenging conventions. The duo has steadily built a devoted following and a diverse touring base— culminating in such triumphs as two sold-out shows at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, and appearances on the Today Show, CBS Mornings, and PBS Newshour—while occupying a musical lane that's entirely its own.

While Full Circle illustrates the group's creative expansion, Baptiste and Marcus have also committed to extending the impact of Black Violin, and all that it represents, beyond the music in a substantial way. In 2019, the duo launched Black Violin Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth by working with them in their communities to provide access to quality music programs that encourage creativity and innovation.

To learn more, visit https://blackviolin.net/.

Braxton Cook is an American alto saxophonist and singer-songwriter. He has toured with jazz musicians Christian Scott, Christian McBride, and Marquis Hill, and performed with Jon Batiste, Mac Miller, and Rihanna.

One can hear Cook breaking through on Not Everyone Can Go, a mix of jazz and R&B that feels indebted to similar hybrids of yesteryear. Musically, the album conjures images of bright evening sunshine, when the temperature begins to cool. Not quite Quiet Storm, instead, Not Everyone Can Go dabbles between the margins, which won't surprise those who've followed Cook to this point. Across albums like Somewhere In Between, No Doubt, and Who Are You When No One Is Watching?, he's made a career of blurring the lines between genres, landing on a sound that isn't one thing, in particular. While that's made his music tough to pin down, that also makes it all the more intriguing. That you can't label it just R&B or just jazz lends to the music's attraction.

To learn more, visit https://www.braxtoncook.com/.

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