Fridays in The Living Room with Greta
One of the things I’m most excited about at Bake’s in 2010 is the new Fridays in the Living Room with Greta series. In case you’re not in the loop, these performances will take place every Friday night and are modeled loosely after the old school variety show format. With the divine Greta Matassa as hostess, Fridays in the Living Room will feature musical guests, theme shows, special tributes, comedic onstage banter and plenty of surprises and impromptu shenanigans. Greta will shake things up week to week, and no two shows will be alike. She will perform some of her most popular works such as the “Ella & Billie Show” and “Light Out of Darkness-A Tribute to Ray Charles.” Greta will also feature “Karaoke Korner”, where she will sing and swing along to well-known Big Band recordings. Of course, Greta will always leave time to take a few requests, a fan favorite wherever she performs.
This series is a fantastic showcase for Greta, who is easily one of the Northwest’s most adored performers. Everyone knows and loves Greta for her amazing voice, otherworldly scat chops, sharp technical skills and her overall command of the jazz genre. However, many might be surprised to learn that Greta also knows a thing or two about variety shows and sketch comedy. She grew up watching the likes of The Dean Martin Show and The Carol Burnett Show and is a lifelong fan. She owns an impressive collection of DVD’s, which includes sets of the aforementioned programs, as well as the hugely popular Show of Shows with Sid Caesar. Greta has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of these series and can readily recall specific routines and episodes from these old shows. One of my favorite memories with Greta is of one rollicking evening at her house, when she pulled out several DVD’s and shared her favorites with me and a few other girlfriends. There was one Sid Caesar routine about a guy whose girlfriend was hermetically sealed. I don’t recall the exact sketch but I do remember laughing very hard. Given her background and love of variety shows, it seems natural that Greta would host such a fun, new romp. Of course, Greta will be doing plenty of singing on Fridays in the Living Room, but it will also be great to see our favorite entertainer stretch out in a different direction. It’s going to be a ball.
Greta’s guest for this coming Friday, January 15th is Portland vocalist Marilyn Keller. Marilyn is a soulful singer with a jazz and gospel background. Greta and Marilyn have worked up a duet of “Them That’s Got”, which is a song Ray Charles wrote as homage to the classic Billie Holiday tune “God Bless the Child.” Marilyn will also be performing some Etta James and Nat King Cole selections, and Greta plans to sing a few songs from her Peggy Lee Tribute. There’s going to be some serious pipes on stage this Friday and a whole lotta singing going on. I can’t think of a better way to spend my Friday night.
***Mark you calendars! On Friday, January 22, Greta will be playing tribute to musical great Overton Berry. Overton is a vocalist, pianist and longtime figure on the Seattle scene. Greta and Overton share a long history, and this will be an evening of reminiscing, song and friendship.