Chip is a Lexington artist and sculptor that met Dennis Quaintance in the mid-1980’s when Dennis was planning the first Lucky 32 restaurant in Greensboro. Dennis hired Chip to sketch architectural renderings of the building, as well as paint an art-deco mural for the inside.

Since then, Chip has had a creative role in all subsequent Quaintance projects, including the murals and portraits in the O.Henry. Chip now has an original piece of art in every room of The O.Henry Hotel.

For the full Chip Holton story read the “The Eternal Child Within. The Ubiquitous, Serendipitous Life and Art of Chip Holton” from the O.Henry Magazine or “Painting the O.Henry Hotel” from The News and Record

Read the article on the Draw of Art in Modern Hotels.

Dave Fox

The music of Greensboro, N.C. composer and pianist Dave Fox is forward-looking but firmly grounded in the roots of
American jazz and rock with hints of European classical styles. His output includes solo piano compositions, instrumental jazz, blues, and eclectic pop and rock. A native of North Carolina, Fox has collaborated with a wide range of well-known musicians, including Frank Gratkowski, Melissa Reaves, Eugene Chadbourne, Scott Sawyer, Bruce Eisenbeil, Mike Wezolowski, Wally West, Fred Wesley, Ron Brendle, Greg Hyslop, and Kenny Soule.

“Fox’s approach on keyboards places the music squarely in the creative improvised sector and is anything
but a compromise to popularity. He produces a plethora of diverse keyboard sounds; his attack is
fully liberated, and his solos are well-designed, spontaneous outpourings.”
– Frank Rubolina, Cadence Magazine

While continuing his work with the Dave Fox Group, his well-known jazz quartet, other endeavors include The Meldavians (with Melissa Reaves and Scott Sawyer), The Healing Blues Project and The Draves. In addition, Fox is the regular pianist and music director at Greensboro’s Thursday Night Cocktails and Jazz at the popular O.Henry Hotel of Greensboro. He has produced eleven full-length critically acclaimed CDs since 2004.

Fox holds a Ed.D in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and undergraduate and masters degrees in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. A full-time music professor at Greensboro College for over 30 years, Fox has recently retired from teaching and is devoting his time to writing and performing music, travelling and spending time with his family.

He resides in Greensboro, North Carolina with his wife Molly and their crazy dogs Flossie, Howard, and Charlie. From time to time his grandson Beau Waylon visits.

Matt Kendrick

Matt Kendrick is an award-winning jazz bassist, composer, and educator whose work reflects a rare balance of expressive depth, technical mastery, and artistic vision. Praised by critics for his ability to unite “expressive dreams, youthful enthusiasm and the tug of musical structure in perfect focus,” Kendrick has established himself as a vital voice in contemporary jazz, moving seamlessly across styles from bebop and swing to avant-garde exploration.

A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Kendrick began his musical journey at the North Carolina School of the Arts before continuing his development in New York City, where he performed with a number of forward-thinking ensembles. He later studied with renowned jazz educator Jerry Coker in Tennessee, refining both his performance and compositional skills while also appearing with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Returning to North Carolina in 1981, Kendrick quickly emerged as a central figure in the region’s jazz community.

As a performer, Kendrick has shared the stage with an impressive roster of jazz luminaries, including Marian McPartland, JoAnne Brackeen, Archie Shepp, Ernie Watts, Gene Bertoncini, Jaki Byard, Amiri Baraka, and Craig Harris. Whether leading his own ensembles or collaborating with others, he brings a distinctive voice and emotional clarity that resonates deeply with audiences. His performances—ranging from intimate clubs to major festivals and private events throughout the Southeast—are marked by both sophistication and accessibility.

Kendrick is also a prolific composer, with more than forty original works recorded across multiple albums, including several releases on his own label, Suitcase Music. His recordings have received national airplay and critical acclaim. In recognition of his compositional excellence, he is among the few musicians to have been awarded the North Carolina Jazz Composers Fellowship twice.

Beyond the stage, Kendrick has made significant contributions to film, composing scores for projects such as The Dark Power, Weather or Not, and The Darien Gap, the latter earning second place at the Sundance Film Festival.

Deeply committed to music education, Kendrick served on the faculty at Wake Forest University, where he taught jazz improvisation and electric bass for 25 years. He also taught at High Point University. He was a faculty member of the John Coltrane Jazz Workshop  for 15 years. He also won the Winston-Salem Arts Council’s Arts in Education twice to present his Genius’s of Jazz program to students. Matt is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of musicians through both formal instruction and community outreach.

Kendrick’s passion for education extends into his leadership roles in nonprofit arts organizations. He was Board Chairman for The Camel City Jazz Orchestra.He has serves as Musical Director and former Board Chairman of Carolina Music Ways, helping bring live music and arts programming to K–12 students. He continues his involvement as a board member and co-artistic director of presenting organization, Music Carolina.

At the heart of Kendrick’s career is a deep belief in the power of music to connect, uplift, and transform. Whether performing, composing, or teaching, he remains devoted to sharing that vision with audiences and students alike.

Drew Hays 

Originally from rural southern Ohio, saxophonist Drew Hays has toured throughout the US and in the UK with the New Century Saxophone Quartet. He also has performed with the Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Roanoke Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra and the Piedmont Wind Symphony. He was a founding member of the Piedmont Triad Jazz Orchestra and served as one of the ensemble’s in-house arrangers for seven years. Hays performs regularly throughout Greensboro and the surrounding area with jazz small groups, both as a leader and a sideman.

Hays has performed and given lectures at the World Saxophone Congress, the Jazz Education Network Conference, the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference, the US Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, and the Carolina Saxophone Symposium. He has performed as soloist with the University of Illinois Chicago and the Carthage College Wind Ensembles, the Pride and Joy Saxophone Ensemble, and with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Duquesne University Orchestras.

He formerly served as Department Chair and Professor of Music at Guilford College and as Music Director of the John Coltrane Jazz Workshop in High Point. Each summer, he serves on the faculty of the James Houlik Saxophone Retreat in the mountains near Asheville, NC. He holds a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He lives in Greensboro and works as an Audio-Visual Specialist at Lincoln Financial Group.