Description

William “Bill” Bares is a musician, scholar, educator and music promoter from Omaha, Nebraska. A trumpeter since age 10, he earned a spot in the McDonald’s All American High School Band and played professionally, switching to piano in his early twenties. He received a BA in political science from Amherst College and worked in the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. before turning to a full-time career in music—which has included residencies in New York, Boston, Miami, D.C., Berlin, and most recently, Asheville, NC.​  He holds a MM in jazz piano performance from the University of Miami and a PhD in ethnomusicology from Harvard University under the supervision of the Quincy Jones Professor of African American Music. ​He taught at Harvard, Brown, NEC, Suffolk University and Berklee College of Music before becoming co-director of Jazz Studies at UNC Asheville, where he conducts research, directs several ensembles and teaches courses on jazz history, harmony and improvisation, and African American music, as well as in the humanities. ​His book, Jazz and the European Dream: A Transatlantic Eternal Triangle, is forthcoming on Routledge Press.  Bares leads or co-leads several groups in the Asheville area, including the acclaimed original music groups The Core and The Asheville Art Trio, as well as straight- ahead groups like the Hard Bop Explosion. He originated the weekly “Sunday Jazz Showcase, Hosted by Dr. Bill Bares” at the Isis in West Asheville, and the monthly “Take Two” at the White Horse Black Mountain. He currently co-leads the Asheville Jazz Workshop at Archetype with his band, the Golden Age Trio. He has played with jazz greats including Sheila Jordan, Jason Marsalis, Greg Tardy, Tim Green, Victor and Roy Wooten, Paul Winter, Sara Caswell, Bob Sheppard, Freddie Bryant, Christian Howes, Jay Clayton, and many others.

Bassist Quinn Sternberg is a new resident of Asheville, NC after spending seven years working as a full time musician in New Orleans. Quinn is originally from Bloomington, Indiana, where he began playing professionally as a teenager and quickly became a staple of the region’s music scene before graduating from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music with a degree in Jazz Studies. He plays both electric and acoustic bass in a wide variety of ensembles and styles. This versatility has made him an asset in collaborations with countless artists as a studio, touring, and free-lance bassist. Quinn’s musical approach relies upon providing functional and supportive bass lines, while still generating intense live energy and creative interaction. This individualistic style has made him a much sought after voice in the South, his native Midwest and beyond. As a composer Quinn draws upon his Midwest musical upbringing, influences from his time in New Orleans, and from contemporary musical techniques. The result is a genre-defying sound that is simultaneously melodic, groovy, and cutting edge. In addition to free lancing and leading his own band, Quinn performs regularly with original artists such as Mighty Brother, Ari Carter Trio, Think Less Hear More, Wrong House, Tansy, Dianella & The Arrows, Michael Mason Trio, and Charlie Ballantine. As a leader he has released four records on his own label, Mind Beach Records: 2016’s “Weird World” and 2019’s “Mind Beach,” and 2022’s “Cicada Songs,” and 2023’s “Walking On Eggshells.”