On Friday, March 3, Healdsburg Jazz will present the Marcus Shelby Quartet with guest vocalist Terrie Odabi performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” This will be a celebration of African American music from Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jackson to Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield, and Marvin Gaye.
Concert proceeds benefit Healdsburg Jazz Music Education Programs in the schools. The Healdsburg nonprofit conducts jazz in the schools programs for third through sixth graders in Healdsburg and Geyserville during Black History Month, as well as Operation Jazz Band in April where musicians come to secondary schools to demonstrate the components and instruments of jazz music. Our newest program, started this year is the county wide Student Jazz Combo Competition. More information about our music education programs can be found on the website www.healdsburgjazz.org.
The organization, now in its 19th year, is also preparing the final lineup for its annual Healdsburg Jazz Festival, June 2 – 11, 2017.
Marcus Shelby is a bandleader, composer, arranger, bassist, educator, and activist who currently lives in San Francisco. Over the past 25 years he has built a diverse biography as a composer. His work and music has focused on sharing the history, present and future of African American lives, on social movements in the United States and on early childhood music education. In 1990, Shelby received the Charles Mingus Scholarship to attend Cal Arts and study with James Newton and Charlie Haden. From 1990-1996, Shelby was bandleader of Columbia Records and GRP Impulse! Recording Artists Black/Note. Currently, he is an artist in residence with the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival and the artistic director of the Marcus Shelby Orchestra.
Few vocalists own the stage like Terrie Odabi. When the statuesque Oakland native begins to sing, a hush falls over the audience. They are about to take a ride through the highs and lows of soul music, led by a beautiful singer who packs her shows with heart-pumping energy and poignant memories. Whether it is opening for Average White Band or Lenny Williams, or performing at the Concord Pavilion or the Fillmore Jazz Festival, Odabi’s finely honed instrument is matched by her generous spirit and wit. Odabi performs original stirring blues straight from the soul. Her compelling arrangements create a contemporary sound that support her witty lyrics and compelling voice. She takes pride in her urban roots, appealing to a wide, new audience.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing,” with the Marcus Shelby Quartet and guest Terrie Odabi is on Friday, March 3, at 7 p.m. at the Raven Theater in Healdsburg. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students (K-12) and seniors (65-plus).
Ticket sales benefit the Healdsburg Jazz Festival’s Music Education programs. Tickets are on sale online at www.healdsburgjazz.org and at the
Paul Mahder Gallery, 222 Healdsburg Ave. (Wed-Mon 10-6, Sun 10-5), or by telephone (24/7) at 800-838-3006
and at the door, day of the concert
