An eclectic string quartet, plus one

Pianist extraordinaire Michael Jefry Stevens makes his first White Horse Black Mountain appearance of the new year in the company of Quartet Davis, a boundary-pushing young string quartet from Oberlin, Ohio. They’ll combine forces on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m. to perform arrangements of traditional and contemporary works. Tickets are $10 advance/$12 door. 

Quartet Davis is dedicated to exploring a wide range of musical traditions. While the members come from different musical backgrounds, they ultimately integrate their fluency across a range of musical styles with a strong foundation in ensemble work. The styles they draw from include traditional Nordic folk music, jazz, blues, R&B, bluegrass and bossa nova.

The quartet formed shortly before embarking on a U.S. Embassy-sponsored tour of Amman, Jordan in January 2017, where it performed with the Jordan Orchestra and taught lessons and workshops at local schools. The quartet enjoys collaborating with other musicians and composers, and recently had the honor of performing Fabian Almazan’s Alcanza suite with Linda May-Han Oh, Camila Meza and Henry Cole. Quartet Davis' members include Molly Tucker and Camille Vogley-Howes on violins, violist Emily Edelstein and Karl Henry on cello.

Stevens, a Black Mountain pianist/composer whose career spans 40 years of playing with important figures in jazz, performs with numerous ensembles under his own direction and is a sought-after accompanist. His ability to play many styles of music keeps him busy with live performances in the Asheville area as well as in Europe.

Stevens been such a frequent and popular visitor to the White Horse stage that owner Bob Hinkle has joked that the piano bench should sport a plaque with his name on it.

Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 advance/$12 door.