Jazz Singer Nnenna Freelon Performs At Marines Memorial 3/8

Herbie Hancock calls her "a wonderful song stylist," Melba Moore says that "She's a reincarnation of Ella Fitzgerald," and Aretha Franklin proclaims "If you're looking for good entertainment and very hip music, be sure to check out Nnenna Freelon." Following up on its sold-out January concert by Tony winner Christine Ebersole and its wildly popular first-time collaboration with City Arts and Lectures in December when Barbara Cook appeared in concert and in conversation with Steve Winn, Bay Area Cabaret continues its 5th season on Sunday, March 8 at 5pm with Nnenna Freelon and her jazz quartet at the Marines Memorial Club Crystal Ballroom (609 Sutter Street@ Mason). Individual tickets to this show, and to a May 17th show by multi-platinum jazz singer/songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway, are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or City Box Office (415) 392-4400.

"We are extremely proud to present the Crystal Ballroom debut by the inimitable Nnenna Freelon and her jazz quartet, said Marilyn Levinson, Bay Area Cabaret founder and Executive Producer. "Miss Freelon's extraordinary vocal sophistication, true jazz interpretations and command of musical styles will be on full display as she performs a dazzling selection of Great American jazz standards, ranging from George and Ira Gershwin to Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder."

Born in 1954 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Nnenna Freelon has established an international reputation as a pre-eminent jazz singer and recording artist, as well as composer, arranger, producer and educator. Her discography includes 10 titles on Concord Records, and she has been nominated six times for Grammy Awards in the Jazz category. Freelon has received many distinguished awards, including the Eubie Blake Award from the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and the Billie Holiday Award from the Academie du Jazz. She has toured the world extensively, appearing on the same stage with luminaries such as Ray Charles, Ellis Marsalis, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, Dianne Reeves, Diana Krall, Ramsey Lewis, George Benson, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, and Terence Blanchard. She has performed frequently at some of the world's great venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, the Ellington Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, Apollo Theater, the Montreux Jazz Festival, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the White House.

Bay Area Cabaret (BAC) is a not-for profit, all-volunteer organization, which presents extraordinary performances in a variety of elegant venues in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through its concert series and wide-ranging outreach activities, BAC aims to expand the definition of cabaret and broaden the audience for intimate entertainment, offering Great American Songbook entries from Harold Arlen and Stephen Sondheim to Abba and Stevie Wonder. Chronicle readers voted Bay Area Cabaret's series the Bay Area's "Best Concert Evenings." Last year's season, "Perfect Pairings," began with the West Coast premiere of Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker's innovative cabaret evening "Life is a Duet." The season continued with performances by jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey; "The Rose" songwriter Amanda McBroom & Grammy winner Melissa Manchester; and Christine Ebersole with Billy Stritch. Past seasons have featured Maureen McGovern, Barbara Cook, Karen Mason, Broadway stars Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, Darius de Haas, opera divas Patricia Racette and Karen Slack, and multi-platinum songwriter and jazz vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway. For single tickets ($45) call (415) 392-4400 (City Box Office); group discounts (8 or more) call (415) 927-INFO.

- For more information and audio/video clips, visit www.bayareacabaret.com