Christopher Smith enters J&B Coffee Co. with the energy of a person coming home. There appears to be a little bounce in his step, as if walking through the coffee shop’s doors relieved some of the tension in his shoulders. He smiles widely as he approaches the counter and checks in with the two baristas working hard to keep the customers well caffeinated.
After placing his order, Smith strolls to the side of the counter where a barista pulls a double shot of espresso. They start trading jokes about a drum part to a song Smiths’ ensemble is practicing.
“This is Anthony, a drummer in my ensemble,” he says, nodding toward the barista. “He’s a doctoral student in percussion and a wonderful, sweet guy.” Smith has been coming to J&B Coffee Co. for 25 years, since he and his wife first moved to Lubbock in 2000. He says it was the community-focused vibes and acoustics that kept him coming back – he is, after all, a professor of musicology at Texas Tech University’s School of Music and the director of the Vernacular Music Center (VMC).
We head toward the back room, Smith confidently leading me on a path he’s probably walked hundreds of times before.
“It’s good coffee and nice people,” Smith says, as we settle at our table. “If you’re here at J&B, you’re here because you value what this place is, whether it’s the coffee, food, space, acoustics, baristas or location. And for me, it was kind of all of those.”
Smith’s research is focused on American music in all periods and genres and 20th century European classical music. Specifically, he’s interested in what he calls “vernacular music.” His work and the mission of the VMC is to provide a home for in-depth interdisciplinary research, and the study and teaching of music and dance from around the world. The center offers graduate and undergraduate level courses and ensembles, giving students a chance to explore and inhabit the material.
Smith and I talk about his work and why community-building is so important to him.