Pavel Wlosok Quartet
Performing live in the corner at Little Jumbo, 241 Broadway, Five Points, Asheville. No cover. Pull up a seat.
Admission no cover · ever
Pavel Wlosok brings his quartet to the corner for an evening of contemporary jazz played by musicians who have all, in their own ways, arrived in Asheville by circuitous routes. Pavel himself came from Ostrava via Texas, a Czech pianist who landed at the University of North Texas in 1995 with one backpack and has spent the decades since building one of the more quietly remarkable careers in American jazz. He is joined by Jacob Rodriguez, a San Antonio-bred saxophonist whose credits run from Michael Bublé's Grammy stages to Ambrose Akinmusire's Brooklyn sessions, and drummer Ryan Ptasnik, whose road has wound from Wyoming high school band rooms to a stage built of two pickup trucks at the base of Pik Lenin in Kyrgyzstan.
Expect originals alongside deep-catalog interpretations, the lyricism of Pavel's writing anchoring music that moves with the unhurried authority of players who trust one another and the form. These are serious musicians in a room that encourages seriousness to loosen up, the creature watching from its corner, the weird art doing its weird art thing on the walls.
Part of Little Jumbo's curated jazz series. Free to attend.
A Czech pianist who arrived in Texas in 1995 with one backpack and fifteen hundred dollars in savings, Pavel Wlosok has spent the decades since building one of the more quietly remarkable careers in American jazz. He was sixteen when the Velvet Revolution opened the borders of his country, and the music that had been rationed behind the Iron Curtain came flooding in all at once, classical and bebop and everything after. You can still hear that absorption in the way he plays, a pianist who moves between Moravian folk inheritance and post-bop language as though the distance between them were a rumor.
His resume reads like a who's-who of the last forty years of the music: Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Ingrid Jensen, Kenny Wheeler, Paquito D'Rivera, Dave Liebman. He holds the Gil Evans Fellowship, given to a single composer-arranger each year. He has been a professor of jazz at Western Carolina University since 2002 and had a piece premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2007. He records in Sylva, tours Prague and Krakow each summer, and teaches the next generation of Southern Appalachian jazz players the rest of the year.
None of that tells you what it's like to hear him. Pavel plays with the unhurried authority of someone who has nothing to prove and a lot he still wants to say. His touch is lyrical without being sentimental, his harmonic language spacious, his lines built with the architectural care of a composer who also happens to improvise. This performance is part of Little Jumbo's curated music series and is free to attend, the creature watching from its corner as ever.
Born in the dance band DNA of Wichita Falls, Texas, Steve LaSpina transformed family musical heritage into a New York City bass legacy that spans four decades and reads like a who's who of jazz history. From Chicago's South Side clubs to Manhattan's most prestigious stages, LaSpina's upright and electric bass have provided the rhythmic backbone for legends including Stan Getz, Jim Hall, Mel Lewis, and Chet Baker. This is bass playing as musical archaeology, where every walking line connects present moments to past masters, where each note choice reflects decades of studying with giants like Ray Brown while forging his own path through the modern jazz landscape. LaSpina doesn't just play bass—he translates the entire history of American music into four-string conversations, proving that the best rhythm section players aren't just timekeepers, they're time travelers who can make any room feel like it's connected to every jazz club that ever mattered.
Micah Thomas is the heartbeat behind the kit, driving rhythms with the raw power and precision that echoes through Asheville's mountain valleys. With sticks in hand and an instinctive groove that won't quit, Micah commands the drums like a force of nature—equal parts thunder and finesse.
Rooted in the diverse musical landscape of Western North Carolina, Micah's drumming spans genres with effortless versatility. From tight, pocket-driven grooves that anchor funk and soul to explosive rock fills and the intricate patterns of progressive beats, their playing is both technically masterful and deeply musical. Whether laying down a steady backbeat or unleashing creative polyrhythms, Micah knows exactly when to hold back and when to let loose.
Drawing energy from Asheville's vibrant live music scene and the wild spirit of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Micah brings an infectious enthusiasm to every performance. Behind the drums, they don't just keep time—they create momentum, build anticipation, and turn every song into a journey worth taking.
Tyler Kittle received his degree in jazz studies from Western Carolina University. Before joining Mind Vs Target in July 2008, he was member of the popular touring Afro-beat group, The Afromotive. He has played throughout the US and Europe with various groups and under various leaders. He speaks seven different languages and draws his inspiration from music from all over the world.