Marcus Shelby Quintet Featuring Kim Nalley and Freedom Jazz Choir - Nalley is a National Treasure

The Raven Playhouse in Healdsburg was honored to have Marcus Shelby and his jazz quintet and the marvelous, amazing jazz vocalist Kim Nalley.  Shelby is a renown bass player, composer and band leader.  He's received multiple awards for his musical accomplishments ("Beyond the Blues - A Prison Oratorio" as well as honors for his social activism and dedication to providing musical education into the public schools.  Kim Nalley is one of the finest jazz blues singers on par with the legendary greats: Sarah Vaughn, Bessie Smith & Billie Holiday.  Nalley has a 3 octave range, a rich vocal pitch and artistic interpretation that was - jaw dropping!  Both Shelby and Nalley hail from  in Bay Area; a mere hour away from Healdsburg in Sonoma County.  The proximity to the musical Mecca in San Fran provides the outlying areas a bounty of talented musicians & artists.  Shelby has gone above & beyond in his magnanimous time mentoring youths & facilitating musical programs in schools.  Nalley has performed with the SF Symphony at the request of conductor Michael Tilson Thomas who overheard her singing at a local jazz venue.  Both Shelby & Nalley have graced the world class jazz forums including Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis' Orchestra.  Shelby's exceptionally gifted quintet consisted of Gaea Schell on piano, Bill Ortiz on trumpet, Sly Randolph on drums and Tomoko Funaki on bass.  The program included music by jazz legends Ellington & Armstrong. Nalley's rendition of "What a Wonderful World" was the highlight of this spectacular event.  I can't sing the praises of Kim Nalley enough - she scaled the heights with her phenomenal range.  The evening was not without its own local Freedom Jazz Choir joining the performance.  The host for the evening invited locals to join the local jazz choir - whether you can sing or not.  This brought chuckles from the audience and was corroborated from their off-key contribution.  The 100 members of the choir sat in the audience and made their way, twice, shuffling on and off the stage which was a major distraction.  The artistic director of the Choir, Tiffany Austin conducted and added her own beautiful vocals.  Ms. Austin gave a star performance.  The professional talent on stage paired with the 100 member local Freedom Jazz Choir spoke volumes to the power of music as a uniting, inspiring and life affirming art form.