Freda Payne Brings A TRIBUTE TO ELLA FITZGERALD to Marin Center's Showcase Theatre

Motown, Broadway, concert and multi-Grammy-nominated recording star Freda Payne will present her nationally acclaimed musical show, A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, for one-night only Friday, February 16 at 8 p.m. at Marin Center's Showcase Theatre. Freda Payne will masterfully recreate the spirit of legendary jazz singer Ella with renditions of timeless classics such as “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “It Don't Mean A Thing,” “How High the Moon,” and the iconic "Mack the Knife," among many musical chestnuts.

Appearing on stage with legendary song stylist Freda Payne will be special guest and prominent Oakland jazz singer Kenny Washington, “the superman of the Bay Area jazz scene,” (San Francisco Chronicle), along with a trio of A-list musicians featuring Grammy-winning Tammy Hall, piano; Leon Joyce, Jr., drums; and Gary Brown, bass.

The perfect Valentine's Day gift, tickets are now on sale and priced at $60 for VIP seating in the first three rows, including a champagne toast and post-performance “Meet and Greet with Freda Payne and Kenny Washington;” and $40 for General Seating with a no-host bar in the intimate Showcase Theatre, 20 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. Order online at www.tickets.marincenter.org.

Though internationally renowned for her chart-topping 1970 Soul-Pop classic, “Band of Gold,” and subsequent hits “Deeper and Deeper” and the anti-war “Bring the Boys Home,” Payne began her career in Detroit singing jazz. She has since lent her voice to everything from the standards, R&B and Quiet Storm to Disco, Pop and always back to jazz. Along her meteoric singing career, Payne has worked with a “who's who” of show business giants including Duke Ellington, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Sarah Vaughan, Quincy Jones, Omar Sharif, Liza Minelli, Pearl Bailey, Johnny Mathis, Leslie Uggams, The Four Tops, Gregory and Maurice Hines, Della Reese, and actor/pianist Jeff Goldblum. Payne made her San Francisco debut in the 1970-71 season at the celebrated Venetian Room, Fairmont Hotel atop Nob Hill.

Payne's affection for the artistry of Ella Fitzgerald has been a constant throughout her life since first hearing Ella on the radio at age 11. “I was so attracted to the purity of Ella's singing, her articulation, her phrasing and her choice of singing the standards.” Payne (age 20) recalls meeting Ella Fitzgerald backstage in the star's dressing room after a performance at a New York City club in the Empire State Building: “I was in total awe of being in her presence – almost frozen.”

Over the past 20 years, Payne has portrayed Ella Fitzgerald in Ella: The First Lady of Song, written by Lee Summers and conceived/directed by Maurice Hines, Jr. in critically acclaimed performances nationwide, a role she will reprise later this summer at Michigan's Meadow Brook Theatre. “Ella: First Lady of Song was one of the best productions I have seen all year, which in part is due to the amazing performance of Freda Payne and her ‘band of gold.'” (Broadway World)

Payne's impressive theatrical credits include Broadway runs of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, and later, Ain't Misbehavin', The Blues in the Night, and Jellies Last Jam. The artist's illustrious career counts 21 albums with a new single, “Just to Be With You,” scheduled for release in 2024; multiple appearances on the front cover of Jet and Ebony magazines, among many other publications; guest appearances on all of the national TV talk shows including with hosts Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin and Dick Cavett; serving as the host of her own TV talk show, “Today's Black Woman;” cameo roles in several films and made-for-television movies; a guest appearance on “American Idol;” and the author of the 2021 publication Band of Gold – A Memoir, with an introduction by Mary Wilson of The Supremes.

Kenny Washington has thrilled audiences across the globe with his soulful interpretations, seemingly limitless range, and inventive scatting. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington appeared in 2013 with Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra to perform Blood On The Fields, alongside vocalists Gregory Porter and Paula West. He returned in 2014 for Basie & The Blues with pianist Eric Reed, and again in 2016 to celebrate Frank Sinatra's 100th birthday. In 2017, Washington performed with Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra alongside Roberta Gambarini, to celebrate Ella Fitzgerald's birthday centennial.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Washington grew up singing gospel in church and playing saxophone in school bands. Jazz caught his interest when the great clarinetist Alvin Batiste performed at his high school with a band of students that included two precocious, talented teenage brothers named Branford and Wynton Marsalis. Washington went on to study music at Xavier University, playing saxophone and singing in a variety of styles.

After settling in the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington was cast alongside Elvis Costello, Deborah Harry and Nancy King in a featured role in Fire at Keaton's Bar & Grill, an off-Broadway theater production by saxophonist Roy Nathanson. Further success came with an invitation to join vibraphonist Joe Locke on several dates leading to Washington's feature on Locke's For The Love of You (2010). Washington continues to appear nationally and internationally with The Joe Locke Group, as well as a busy schedule of solo performances.

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