Black & White Jazz takes SCC stage

The Sonoma Community Center is hosting Black & White Jazz, a three-concert series on the Rotary Stage in Andrews Hall that begins Saturday, Jan. 18.

Accomplished Bay Area musicians bring to Sonoma the music of the most beloved songwriters of all time, performing songs chosen to evoke an earlier era, a time of black and white photos, black and white movies, smoky clubs and cocktail lounges.

In three separate concerts, vocalists Connie Ducey, Janet Lynn and Dee Dee Pickard will perform signature numbers by George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Duke Ellington on Jan. 18; Harold Arlen, Jimmy Van Heusen and Rodgers & Hart on Feb. 1; and Johnny Mercer, Henry Mancini and more on March 8. They will be backed by the Black & White Jazz Quartet: Tim Wat, piano; Erik Nelson, trumpet and vocals; Andy Dudnick, bass; and Jimmy C, drums. All three concerts are at 7:30 p.m.

“Black & White jazz brings these great composers to the forefront by sharing their greatest work and, hopefully, sending our audience away with a new understanding and appreciation of both the music and the composers who built The Great American Songbook,” said Toni Castrone, the community center’s executive director.

Tickets are $12 general admission at svbo.org, by phone 938-4626, ext. 1, or in person at 276 E. Napa St., Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 30 minutes before show time. More information is available at sonomacommunitycenter.org.

Pickard, of San Mateo, started her professional career as a background vocalist, sharing the stage with Kenny Loggins, Sophie B. Hawkins, Stevie Wonder, Louis Price (The Temptations), John Mayer and John Legend. She also has taught voice at Blue Bear School of Music, Musicians Institute, Steinlein Prouctions and Day Jams Music Camp.

Ducey, of Marin, has been singing all her life, working her way through rock ‘n’ roll and blues to jazz. She now performs in venues from San Francisco to St. Helena with C*JAM Jazz Quartet, Namely Us and The Judy Hall Trio/Duo.

Lynn, also of Marin, grew up on the jazz and polkas of her father, a professional accordion and keyboard player. She performs with West Side Jazz Club and the Equinox Jazz Trio in venues throughout the Bay Area.