Bothell High singers to jazz it up with Matassa Nov. 7

Known primarily as an entertainer and one whose last CD spent three months on the national jazz charts, Seattle-area singer Greta Matassa has a nice sideline going, as well.

“Basically, I’m a teacher, a jazz educator,” Matassa said, adding she enjoys spreading an appreciation of jazz.

“It’s in all our interests to promote interest in this type of music,” continued Matassa, who regularly teaches private lessons and completes clinics for aspiring singers.

Matassa will bring both sides of her career — entertainer and teacher — to the Northshore Performing Arts Center Nov. 7. She will perform that evening, and her accompaniment for part of the show will be the 12-member Bothell High Jazz Choir. She’s also offering the chance for two students to do solos during the show. Earlier in the day, she will conduct one of her master clinics for the choir members.

“It’s a great chance to perform with somebody who really knows their stuff,” said Bothell High student Matt Maas, 17.

The two student solo slots belong to Tim Nelson, 16, and Amie Rippetau, 17. Both take private classes with Matassa.

“It’s cool,” Amie said of the chance to sing on the Northshore stage.

Matassa said both seemed surprised to learn they would be soloing, though Matassa said she couldn’t understand why.

“They’ve both earned it,” she said. “I thought they were pretty obvious choices.”

“It really gives the students the opportunity to work with a professional singer,” choir director Sheri Erickson said of the evening. “It raises their performance level.”

She added the show also gives students exposure to a wider audience, something beyond the band of parents that often attend school performances.

Matassa started her career in her late teens singing pop and rock. But her parents played a lot of jazz around the house and Matassa obviously eventually moved in that direction.

“It is to me, the most creative type of music,” she said. “You get to reinvent a tune every time you sing it.”

Bothell’s choir members surely would agree. All are involved in mainstream choirs and had to audition for the jazz choir.

“You can express yourself more,” Amie said of singing jazz.

“You have more freedom,” added Melissa Leith, 17.

She said unlike a traditional choir, where everyone is expected to sing in lockstep, the jazz choir allows more room for individuality.

“There’s a lot of soloing, a lot of room for your own interpretation,” Tim said.

Erickson said being a member of the jazz ensemble takes plenty of dedication.

“It’s more intense,” she said. “They have a commitment level that’s pretty high.”

Each of Erickson’s students said they would love to follow in Matassa’s footsteps, intending for music to be to their life’s work.

Matassa’s local appearance is part of the 2009 Earshot Jazz festival. Including this year, Earshot magazine has named Matassa Northwest Vocalist of the Year six times in 15 years.

Released this year, Matassa’s eighth CD, “I Wanna Be Loved,” was her first with Los Angeles-based Resonance Records. It also was her first to feature string orchestrations. She has a deal for three more recordings with the same label.

“I’m in good hands,” Matassa said, adding she received more national airplay than she ever did previously.

Matassa’s Bothell show will feature songs from that CD, but she also somewhat uniquely takes requests from her audiences. She said every so often someone might throw her a curve, but added 95 percent of the time the requests are for the same 10 to 15 songs.

Matassa’s show is at 7 p.m. at the Northshore center adjacent to Bothell High. Ticket holders can view the master class for students from 2:30-4:30 p.m. at the center that same day. Prices are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors and $15 for those 17 and under. Visit www.npacf.org or call (425) 408-7988.

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