September 26 Vallejo/Vacaville Arts and Entertainment Source: Ella Fitzgerald to receive “her flowers” at Empress club

For jazz singers Joyce Grant and Kellie Fuller, all roads lead back to Ella Fitzgerald. It comes as no surprise, then, that a long-awaited collaboration between the two songstresses is a tribute to the “First Lady of Song.”

“Ella Fitzgerald is an icon for jazz singers,” said Fuller. “She is definitely someone I’ve always admired, looked up to. She’s had a lot of influence on my singing. Really, I would say Ella was the artist that introduced me to the Great American Songbook when I didn’t even know what it was.”

Aptly titled “For the Love of Ella,” the Sept. 28 show at the Empress Marquee Club is just that — a love letter to Fitzgerald. Despite performing at the club individually, this show will mark the first time Grant and Fuller take the stage together.

“We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” said Grant.

Fuller, a regular performer at Blue Note Napa, jokes that “the reason I met Joyce is because she was my birthday present.” Fuller had asked her husband to surprise her with dinner and live music for her birthday one year. Her only requirement was to hear an incredible female vocalist.

At the time, Grant was approaching a 30-year run at the Zingari Ristorante and Jazz Bar located inside The Donatello Hotel. The winning combination of talent and food landed Fuller in the audience. She quickly got to talking with Grant during her break and “we just hit it off immediately and became friends.”

“Ella was and still is my favorite vocalist,” said Grant. “That’s the person that, in my mind, I would always say, ‘When I grow up, I want to sing like Ella.’”

As the great-great-niece of famed ragtime composer Scott Joplin, Grant’s talent continues a rich legacy of musical prowess. Her decades of performance have led her all around the Bay Area with familiar haunts including Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay, Nick’s in Pacifica and the West Coast Ragtime Festival.

For Grant, Fitzgerald’s ability to improvise and scat remains the true hallmark of her talent. “That’s a journey,” she said. “That will be a lifetime journey that I’m still working on.” However, Grant will scat for the show as she brings her own style to pair with Fuller’s.

Improvisation is essential to jazz, but it’s also crucial when collaborating and performing in general. “Any time you do a live show, you never know what’s gonna happen,” said Grant. “But we will be able to roll with whatever happens because we like each other and we’re getting ready to have some fun.”

Having made it on the calendar at long last, Grant and Fuller are taking a deep breath and preparing to enjoy the event.

“Joyce has her style and I’ve got mine and in some ways they’re similar, but in some ways they’re different,” said Fuller who compared the collaboration to a pot with different flavors. “We complement each other perfectly,” she added.

Certain must-have songs for Fuller like “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” are not Grant’s go-to songs, and vice versa. “She’s like, ‘I’m going to do this,’ and I’m like ‘I don’t even know that one — great!’” said Fuller.

In crafting the set list, the two singers were tasked with selecting from hundreds of songs. “But that’s the nice thing about it,” said Grant. “That there are so many to choose from. You always want your show to rise and fall, rise and fall. You want different types of songs and different tempos.”

The mix of songs ranges from ballads to funny and upbeat songs with a sprinkling of unexpected duets to “take them on a ride,” said Fuller. While the show lends itself to Fuller and Grant’s respective vocal strengths, it also reflects their earliest exposure to Fitzgerald as listeners. The show honors what Fitzgerald has brought to their lives.

“We have our own style and our spin and our own voice, but we are giving her the acknowledgement—we’re giving her her flowers,” said Fuller.

IF YOU GO:

• WHAT: “For the Love of Ella”
• WHEN: September 28, 7:30 p.m.
• WHERE: Empress Marquee Club, 324 Virginia St., Vallejo.
• TICKETS: Dinner and show are $75, show only tickets are $35, and can be purchased at empresstheatre.org/event/love-ella.