Description

The White Horse Jazz Showcase produced by White Horse Black Mountain & Dr. Bill Bares will spotlight outstanding regional vocalists, UNCA faculty jazz artists, and additional special guests. Every 1st and 3rd Wednesday.
Dr Bill Bares is a Pianist, composer, scholar, and educator. He received his Ph.D in ethnomusicology from Harvard University in 2009. He taught at Harvard, Brown, Berklee College of Music, and the New England Conservatory before taking a job as professor of music and co-director of jazz studies at UNC Asheville.

Brian Felix is widely recognized as an accomplished and versatile jazz keyboardist. He was co-leader of OM Trio, an acclaimed San Francisco-based jazz-rock group that toured internationally between 1999-2004. Brian is active today as a performer and recording artist with his Brian Felix Organ Trio and other groups. Felix’s most recent release, Level Up (Slimtrim Records, 2025), a collection of all-original compositions, has been described as “delightful and eclectic” (Noah Baerman, noahjazz.com) and its title track appeared as All About Jazz’s “Jazz Song of the Day.”

Felix has performed at notable venues and festivals, including the Fillmore Auditorium and Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, the Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge in NYC, and the Aberdeen Jazz Festival in Aberdeen, Scotland. He has shared the stage with well-known musicians such as Joshua Redman, Charlie Hunter, Umphrey’s McGee, Sara Caswell, Billy Hart, Joe Russo, Kelly Sill, and Dave Fiuczynski. Felix is a Professor of Music at UNC Asheville, where he teaches classes on jazz theory and improvisation, music business, jazz ensembles, keyboard skills, the Beatles, and the Grateful Dead.

The lineup is:
Brian Felix (piano)
Zack Page (bass)
Ryan Ptasnik (drums)