From Staff Reports 

BLACK MOUNTAIN — The Asheville Jazz Orchestra with guest vocalist Wayne Powers will perform at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at White Horse nightclub in downtown Black Mountain.

“Dedicated to advancing and preserving the big band jazz tradition, the 17-piece Asheville Jazz Orchestra is Western North Carolina's premier big band,” an event promotion stated. “Whether they are playing a swing dance, club date or formal concert, the AJO is the hardest-swinging band in Asheville.

“Wayne (Powers) is a well-known personality on TV, radio, theater at clubs and festivals. His first breakthrough on network TV was playing the cop on ‘Laverne & Shirley.’ He starred in two seasons of ‘13 East’ on NBC.

“His own big band, The Hoi Palloi, especially known as stalwarts of the West Coast club scene, recorded Wayne's debut LP, ‘Plain Old Me’ with him,” the promotion noted.

Well known as a voiceover artist, Powers voiced "The Bud Man" for Budweiser and the "talking wonderbird" for Windex. He was a radio host on WBT Radio (a 50,000-watt station) in Charlotte for five years and then hosted his own morning show, “The Wayne Powers Show.”

Growing up, Powers’ neighbor was none other than comedian Jonathan Winters. The two retained their friendship and Winters attended many Hoi Palloi performances. He even wrote the liner notes to “Plain Old Me.”

Since its founding the AJO has been directed by Dr. David Wilken. In addition to directing the AJO, Wilken also plays trombone and composes much of the orchestra’s material.

For tickets, visit WhiteHorseBlackMountain.com, or call 669-0816.