Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Rick listened to all the big Bands growing  up. “I knew all the top 40 stuff of the 60s and early 70s and loved the Tijuana Brass but Basie, Ellington, Goodman and Herman really sounded great!”  Rick graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Music Industry Studies.” Rick has performed professionally with the likes of Clark Terry, Ernie Watts, Herb Ellis, Joe Temperly, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Billy Taylor, and the Unifour Jazz Big Band. Rick is also an Adjunct Instructor in the Jazz Department at ASU.

Zack Page has been performing as a professional bassist since the early ‘90s. His work with various jazz ensembles, theater companies and the cruise industry has taken him to all 50 U.S. States, the Caribbean islands, Australia, South America, Europe and the Far East. In a jazz setting, Zack has had the good fortune to play and/or record with Billy Higgins, Marvin Stamm, Eddie Daniels and Babik Reinhardt, the son of gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Following time spent in LA and New York City, Zack relocated to Asheville nine years ago. Here in WNC, Zack enjoys a busy freelance schedule with many of North Carolina’s finest musicians. “One Leg Up, Asheville’s gypsy jazz band, is my main project. I also play with The Page Brothers Quartet, The Core, Alien Music Club, Wendy Jones Quartet, and many other groups. Zack is currently adjunct faculty at UNCA (Asheville).

Michael Jefry Stevens - Pianist, Composer and “Steinway Artist,” Michael Jefry Stevens has been active on the international jazz scene for the past four decades. He has composed over 400 works for both large and small ensembles.  

Michael has released over 100 CDs featuring his own music and has performed and recorded extensively with many of the top names in Jazz, including Dave Liebman, Oliver Lake, Dave Douglas, Leo Smith, Matt Wilson, Han Bennink, Mark Feldman, Steve Wilson, Walt Weiskopf, Valerie Ponomarev, Cecil Bridgewater, Jeanne Lee, Dakota Staton, Pheeroan AkLaff, Charles Moffett Sr., George Schuller, Dame Evelyn Glennie, and many others.  In 2021 he received a $10,000 Doris Duke Foundation Performing Artist Recovery Fund Grant administered by the New York Community Trust Fund and grants from the North Carolina Arts Council and Buncombe County’s Mountain Bizworks. He received his Master of Arts degree in Jazz Performance from Queens College (CCNY).

Bryan McConnell was one of the most in demand double bass players on the West Coast for over 30 years.  Over the years he has had the opportunity to work with the following jazz greats:

John Handy, Bobby Hutcherson, Phil Woods, James Moody, Harold Land, Bruce Forman, Richie Cole, Ernie Watts, Red Halloway, Kenny Drew, Jr., Bud Shank, Laurindo Almeida, John Faddis, Mose Allison, Charles McPherson and others. Earlier in Bryan's career, while working as the house bassist and musical director at Storyville Classic Jazz Club in San Francisco, 1995-1997, Bryan organized non-profit jazz clinics, volunteering his time and expertise teaching bass and jazz improvisation in the local community. Bryan also served as a clinician for Jazz Masters, a non-profit organization created by Bruce Forman, dedicated to making music available to needy children. 

Violinist, educator and composer, Christian Howes was voted #1 in the Downbeat Critics Poll (“Rising Stars/Violin”), named among the top three jazz violinists in the JazzTimes critics poll, and nominated for Violinist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. He received the Residency Partner Award through Chamber Music America, earned a USArtists grant through the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and was invited by the U.S. State department to teach and perform as a cultural ambassador twice, in Ukraine and Montenegro.  His release on Resonance Records, “Southern Exposure” earned recognition in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Downbeat, Jazz Times, as well as a six-night run at Lincoln Center.  His release, “American Spirit” was named among the Best Jazz Albums of the Year″ by the Huffington Post. Howes is the founder of “Creative Strings“, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to expand music education through the creation of online curriculum, conferences, and visits to schools teaching improvisation, contemporary styles, and related subjects. He endorses Yamaha violins and D’Addario strings. 

Todd Wright is in demand as a saxophonist and often serves as a clinician leading workshops of jazz improvisation. In addition, Wright adjudicates at contests and festivals. He is the director of Jazz Studies at Appalachian State University. As a studio musician, Wright can be heard on numerous recordings. His own debut recording, Begonia, was released in 1995, and Christmas Time Is Here followed in 1998. In 2001, Reflections, a duo collaboration with New York recording artist Frank Kimbrough at the piano, was released. Wearing the hat of both a performer and educator, Wright was chosen for the Outstanding Teacher Award in the School of Music for the 1996-1997 school year. In 1998, he was presented with the prestigious Aegis Community Service Award by the Appalachian Black Faculty and Staff Council. In addition, the North Carolina Arts Council awarded Wright with a music fellowship in recognition of original compositions by North Carolina jazz composers. Wright has performed with jazz greats Jon Faddis, Clark Terry, Richie Cole, Louis Bellson, Bill Watrous, Peter Erskine, Benny Golson, Herb Ellis, James Williams, Billy Taylor, Nick Brignola, Donald Brown, Eddie Daniels, Duffy Jackson, Marvin Stamm, and many others. He has also shared the band stand with entertainers such as Joe Williams, Rita Moreno, The Fifth Dimension, and Patti Page.