The Return of the Once and Future Singer – 14 July 2012
On July 14 at the 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley (http://142throckmortontheatre.org/), Jazz vocalist Dee Bell returns to the stage for a concert presentation, CD release, and an arts camp (Camp Create) benefit. The evening will be a musical journey of “Illustrated” Grace with Vocalist Dee Bell & the Marcos Silva Brazilian Band. Images, poems and a wee bit of theatre complete the performance called Grace.
When vocalist Dee Bell appeared on Alisa Clancy’s KCSM Desert Island radio interview show in March, producer Michael Burman greeted her as “the Once and Future Singer”; a reference to the fact that Bell, a former top tier jazz singer on the San Francisco scene, has maintained a low show profile while raising her now 20 year-old-son. She continued to work major shows most summers in the Midwest, along with some festivals, benefits and private concerts here in California.
In the 1980s, Bell recorded two Concord Jazz albums, Let There Be Love with Stan Getz and One by One with Tom Harrell. Eddie Duran was arranger, music director and guitarist on both recordings. These albums charted nationally in the top 25 with One by One reaching the 19th spot in the states and the 10th chart spot in London as the jazz world “sat up to listen,” to quote writer Jesse Hamlin. It was during this period that Bell was a regular performer on the San Francisco club scene.
Prior to the birth of Bell’s son, she self-produced a recording with Houston Person, John Stowell, Al Plank (R.I.P.), Colin Bailey, Michael Spiro and John Wiitala. Due to a misplaced microphone by the engineer on the date the recording had distortion problems with the bass and guitar amps feeding into the piano mic. The recording, a collaboration of arrangements by Al Plank and Dee, and with Bell’s lyrics, was thought to be a gem only available to that moment; as two failed attempts to re-engineer the tapes could not remove the distortion. Twenty years later Bell ran into an old friend, Bud Spangler, who with engineering wizard Dan Feizli resurrected the recording that came out on the Laser Records label in August of 2011 (an independent label in North Carolina/www.laserrecords.com.) This current release, Sagacious Grace (dedicated to the memory of Al Plank), hit the 31 spot in national jazz airplay.
Bell’s CD release show was further delayed by a three-month pneumonic cough. At last, Bell returns to the stage for the CD release concert called Grace; complete with a montage backdrop projection of natural and spiritual world gifts. She will perform with the Marcos Silva (Brazilian) band. Marcos, a composer, arranger, and former music director for Flora Purim and Airto as well as for Toninho Horta, currently teaches Brazilian music at the Jazz School in Berkeley. Doug Lee on bass, and Phil Thompson on drums complete the group.
The concert will partially benefit the arts camp, Camp Create – July 16-22, an arts immersion experience at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Belvedere that provides professional art teachers, storytellers, music and transportation for youth from the Canal (San Rafael) and Marin City, as well as for youth from Marin who can afford to cover their own costs. The camp Director is the Rev. Shari Young, shari@ststephenschurch.org – 415.435.4501 x12.
Bring your dancin’ shoes and get your tickets in advance: $25 (advance), $30 (door), $35 (reserved). Tickets available at the box office or online: 142 Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley. http://142throckmortontheatre.org
