Center For Cultural Events

McNabb to perform jazz selections tonight

BY LINDSAY WINSLOW BROWN lindsayb@kpcnews.net
Friday, 23 July 2010 00:00

AUBURN — For the first time since she was in college, local residents can hear jazz vocalist and Auburn native Colleen McNabb sing in her hometown.

Tonight at 7:30 on the DeKalb Outdoor Theater stage, McNabb and Chicago’s Pete Benson Trio will perform jazz standards, songs from her last record, “Don’t Go To Strangers,” and tracks from McNabb’s upcoming album, which is a tribute to Julie London, an American singer and actress.

McNabb said London played sexy nurse Dixie McCall on “Emergency!” and modeled for Marlboro.

“She has a deep voice. Most female jazz vocalists have a smooth, smoky sound,” McNabb said.

The concert will be free and open to the public. McNabb said she worked hard to secure sponsorships so she could bring a Benson’s group — a high-class jazz trio featuring an organist, guitarist and drummer — to Auburn. Mefford, Weber and Blythe, Imogene Mavis and the DeKalb Outdoor Theater helped with funding to secure the band.

At lunch Thursday with her mother, McNabb said people should not to expect her to wear a swanky, off-the-shoulder dress alongside a curvy piano like people typically see in movies.

McNabb prefers blue jeans. She said she’s got about 50 classy dresses in her closet from days gone by when she sang at Chicago’s classy hotels.

“This will be an evening of relaxing music,” McNabb said.

McNabb recently moved back to Indiana after a couple of world tours and life as a teacher-by-day-jazz-singer-by-night in Chicago.

She said she hopes everyone will feel laid back and comfortable as they listen to her concert. She is excited to sing in a venue where friends and family can attend. Most of her past performances have been outside Indiana and around the world.

“I really appreciate this opportunity to perform. … It’s wonderful to be back,” McNabb said. “In this past year, I missed Christmas because I was stuck in Frankfurt, Germany, and I thought about what was most important in my life. Now, I’m where I’m happiest.”

McNabb returned this week from teaching at a jazz festival in Sicily. She also spent time at the We Love Jazz Workshop in Isola del Cantone with jazz greats saxaphonist Benny Golson and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath.

McNabb has toured as a vocalist with the Joey DeFrancesco Trio. She also has toured and performed with renowned jazz artists such as Buster Williams, George Benson, George Coleman, David “Fathead” Newman, Ron Blake and Paul Bollenback.

The concert is part of the theater’s free Friday Night Performance Series and is sponsored by Mefford, Weber and Blythe, Imogene Mavis and the DeKalb Outdoor Theater. Gates open at 6 p.m. For more information, visit colleenmcnabb.net or dekalboutdoortheater.org.