The songs of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday will be brought to life by the Nicole Pasternak Quartet on November 2nd at 3pm at the Westport Arts Center. Nicole Pasternak will take listeners on a musical journey exploring the contrasting artistry of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald while highlighting their distinct attributes. These women expressed the heart-touching stories of their lives through song. Billie was a songwriter in her own right; her song “God Bless the Child” will be featured in the performance. She expressed the jazz ideal with unique, soul-stirring beauty, becoming arguably the greatest jazz singer of her generation and some would say of all time. Ella Fitzgerald was blessed with an immaculate instrument and practically infinite vocal range and was famous for her ability to “scat sing,” to vocally improvise like a horn. While she wrote a handful of songs, she is most famous for her recordings of the great composers of her day: Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, and George Gershwin.
Nicole Pasternak will be accompanied by pianist Pete Malinverni, bassist Rusty Holloway, and drummer Tom Melito. They will expertly demonstrate how singers and instrumentalists interact in jazz, playing off one another in a “musical dance” as they share the musical legacy of Billie and Ella. Nicole Pasternak’s popularity continues to grow within a niche of jazz enthusiasts in the Northeast. She has been compared to singers like Peggy Lee, Anita O’Day and Billie Holiday. Chuck Berg of JazzTimes described Nicole as “…Reminiscent of a young Ella...the brightest young jazz singer I've heard since Bobby McFerrin..." She is most passionate singing songs from the Great American Songbook, which she often sings with a Brazilian or Latin rhythm. "Nicole is one of the most musical and lyrical jazz vocalist we have in the New England area. This is sure to be a concert of great depth in exploring the works of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald,” says Westport Arts Center Jazz Curator Brian Torff.
Tickets to the concert are $30/ $25 for Members of the Westport Arts Center and $10 for students. A limited number of discounted Senior tickets will be available for presale at the Westport Center for Senior Activities, 21 Imperial Avenue, Westport. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.westportartscenter.org, 203-222-7070, or at the door 30 minutes prior to the concert.