“Night and Day” with Martha Bassett and Wesley Charles

Wesley Charles (McCleary-Small) is a Greensboro, North Carolina–based vocalist, educator, and performing artist whose work spans jazz, blues, choral music, opera, and musical theater. A native of Asheville, he moved to Greensboro in 2013 to study Choral Music Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, earning his Bachelor of Music degree in 2018.

Wesley has become a familiar presence in the Triad jazz community through performances with local jazz ensembles and appearances in the acclaimed O.Henry Hotel jazz series, where he performs selections from the Great American Songbook, swing, Brazilian jazz, and classic vocal repertoire. His musical background also includes operatic productions, chamber ensembles, musical theater, and collaborations with jazz and blues groups throughout the region.

In addition to performing, Wesley is an accomplished music educator and currently serves as Director of Vocal Music at Penn-Griffin School for the Arts in High Point, North Carolina. He has also contributed to numerous community arts initiatives, including “This Community Sings” and the annual ACOBE (A Celebration of Black Excellence) Festival, celebrating artistic excellence through music, visual arts, education, and culture.

Martha Bassett has been making music in North Carolina and beyond for over 20 years as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Based in Winston-Salem, her band has included many of the region’s finest players. Her most recent project is The Martha Bassett Show, which features national, regional, and local artists, as well as her own music. TMBS is now in its 6th season and is broadcasted weekly on 88.5 WFDD on Saturdays at 7pm, with live shows at the Reeves Theater in Elkin, NC. Martha has been singing with Music Carolina’s jazz ensemble since 2007. 

Federico Pivetta is a versatile pianist with a unique mastery of both classical and jazz styles. As an active accompanist, chamber musician and teacher, Mr. Pivetta has made numerous recital appearances with his wife, flutist Debra Reuter- Pivetta. Mr. Pivetta is an active freelance musician and also maintains a private teaching studio. Federico earned his Bachelor of Music degree at the UNC School of the Arts, where his teachers included Eric Larsen, Anne Epperson and Barbara Lister-Sink. 

Violinist Jacqui Carrasco has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico and Russia, and in styles as diverse as Argentine tango, jazz, and avant-garde new music. As violinist of the Triad-based and award-winning Lorena Guillén Tango Ensemble, she will be concertizing in Buenos Aires this fall. Her many recordings include contemporary chamber music on the Nonesuch, Koch, Albany, Mode, CRI, Braxton House, and Navona record labels, as well as the Lorena Guillén Tango Ensemble’s recent streamed album “Exótica flor.” Since 1999, she has taught as a Professor of Music at Wake Forest University, and she currently also serves as Chair of the Music Department. From 2008-2017, Ms. Carrasco was the co-director of the Music Carolina SummerFest. 

Ken Wilmot is an accomplished trumpet player and active freelance musician throughout North Carolina and the Southeast. He is a current member of both the Winston-Salem and Greensboro Symphonies, as well as the Camel City Jazz Orchestra. A founding member of the Giannini Brass, Ken has recorded six albums with the ensemble. He also serves as Director of Artistic Operations at the UNC School of the Arts. Ken holds both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Music in trumpet performance from the UNC School of the Arts, where he studied under Ray Mase.

Matt Kendrick is an award-winning bassist, composer and recording artist from Winston-Salem. He studied European classical bass at the UNC School of the Arts and Jazz Improvisation with Jerry Coker at UT Knoxville. Matt Kendrick has appeared on bass with: The Marian McPartland Trio, Ernie Watts, Gene Bertoncini, Archie Shepp, Jaki Byard, Amiri Baraka (aka Leroi Jones), Craig Harris, Dick Hyman, and JoAnne Brackeen. He also won the North Carolina Jazz Composers Fellowship twice. 

John Wilson has been exploring his love of music in bars, clubs, concert halls, dance studios and recording spaces for nearly thirty years. A graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts and the Manhattan School of Music, John has served as percussionist for a variety of organizations including cruise ships, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and Music Carolina.