Annual ‘Jazz It Up!’ benefit concert in Shoreline
Published 8:32 pm Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Grammy-nominated trombonist, producer and arranger Dennis Wilson will be bringing a little something extra to the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council’s Jazz It Up! program Jan. 17.
Not only will be he be joining the Shoreline School District’s Friends and Faculty All Star Big Band in this special benefit concert for the Arts Council’s Scholarship Fund, he’s invited local jazz vocal diva Greta Matassa to join him in a special tribute to Ray Charles. This tribute will also feature the newly formed Jazz It Up! Choir, featuring singers from Shorecrest and Shoreline High Schools. Jazz it Up is the Arts Council’s annual Arts Scholarship fundraiser.
Wilson began his professional career as a trombonist, arranger, and musical director for Lionel Hampton. He has been a lead/solo trombonist for the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, The New Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and for 10 years with Mr. William James “Count” Basie and his Orchestra. He received a Grammy Award nomination for arrangements created for Manhattan Transfer. He has performed on several Grammy Winning Albums with the Count Basie Orchestra. His experience includes work with many jazz greats including Sarah Vaughn, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Clark Terry, and Joe Williams.
Greta Matassa has been nominated “best jazz vocalist” by Earshot Jazz four times. Considered one of the most talented singers working in jazz today she has also become one of the hottest tickets on the Northwest jazz scene. In demand for concert and nightclub appearances, her one-woman show, “Ella and Billie,” a musical tribute, won her critical acclaim. Her collaborations and guest appearances with Spectrum Dance Theater, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Teatro ZinZanni, the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra and the Seattle Men’s Chorus have been innovative and successful.
