LAKEPORT >> This year’s Mother’s Day Concert goes beyond Bach and Beethoven to feature Jenna Mammina, a skilled vocal stylist, songwriter and educator whose unique blend of musical styles will keep the energy level high and display the versatility of the talented musicians in the Lake County Symphony. The event will take place on Sunday, May 13 at the Soper-Reese Theatre at 2 p.m.
John Parkinson, Music Director and Symphony Conductor, says he decided to change the program’s usual format because he was so impressed with Mammina’s unique talents, and also because, along with his love of classical music, he is also a major jazz fan.
Described as one of the leading women of jazz, pop crossover for three years in a row by Jazziz Magazine, Mammina has shared the honor of both the magazine cover and an original featured song, “A love that Lasts” with Diana Krall and Norah Jones. Other notable accolades include SF Weekly’s Jazz Performer of the Year, a nomination for Best Jazz Album for her CD “Meant To Be” from the California Music Awards, and the Goldy Award for her continuing work with children through her nationally acclaimed music education program, Scat for Cats. Her first album “Under the Influence” was one of the most widely praised debuts in recent years, earning a four-star review in Japan’s most prestigious jazz magazine, Swing Journal. This first effort from Mammina was also lauded by Derk Robertson, writing for the SF Chronicle, which he chose as number nine in his top albums of 1999. Her second album, “Meant to Be,” was nominated for a California Music Award in the Outstanding Jazz Album category.
Mammina says she found music early in life in St. Joseph, Michigan, singing in church at the age of five and performing in school musicals. In her teens, she learned guitar and piano and performed with local bands. After attending Michigan State University and Laney College in Oakland, Mammina settled in San Francisco, going on to record five albums, all released on her label, Mamma Grace. An accomplished performer who puts on as many as 250 shows per year and has played with musicians like Bobby McFerrin, Bobby Watson, Nancy King, Andy Narell and Steve Coleman, reviewers say Mammina combines folk music, pop, and jazz, to create her own unique style. She often includes songs from such performers as Abbey Lincoln (her idol), Elvis Costello, U2 and Tom Waits, as well as her original compositions.
“I don’t want to categorize my music,” says Mammina. “It’s not that I don’t know who I am. I don’t sing classical, and I’m not a soul singer or an R&B singer, but I have been influenced by that stuff too. I can sing a Patsy Cline tune, a James Taylor or Led Zeppelin tune, but I do it with my own flair.”
Her voice has been described as “sweet and flexible” and “whisper-like” with “airbrushed phrasings and silky nuance.” Grapevine Culture critic Kimberlye Gold writes, “Jenna could sing a page from the phone book and make it sound like her own private piece of the sky.”
When she is not performing, Mammina, a longtime yoga teacher, enjoys teaching song and movement to kids of all ages through her trademark workshops like “Scat for Cats,” “Art of the Duo,” and the latest, “So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star,” at schools and universities throughout the country.
Songs for the upcoming Mother’s Day Concert at the Soper-Reese come from such notables as Roy Orbison (Blue Bayou) Bonnie Hayes (Have a Heart), Joni Mitchell (Help Me), Dolly Parton (Here You Come Again), Abbey Lincoln (Throw it Away), Jules Styne & Sammy Cahn (Time After Time), G. Anthony Bertig (Moonlight Duet ), Tony Bertig (Where Life Will Take You), and Rolf Sturm (Begin to Dance-arranged by Sturm). They also come from her songs, “Inner Smile,” “Contradictions,” and “Upside Down World.” Most were arranged for orchestra by Isaac Narell.
The Mother’s Day concert opens with the LCSA Youth Orchestra, conducted by Sue Condit. “Hunting the Wild Beast” will lead the audience into a world of castles, knights, and dragons. The driving rhythms in this piece tell a story of hunters pursuing the dragon but leaving the outcome to the imagination of the listener. The final piece is “The Magical World of Pixar,” a medley of the Big Race, Nemo Egg (Main Title), The Spirit of Adventure, The Glory Days, Ratatouille Main Theme and You’ve Got a Friend in Me. This high-spirited medley will be familiar to those who enjoy Pixar Studio movies.
The 11 a.m. full dress rehearsal is free to those 18 and younger and costs just $5 for the older crowd.
