Paula West is celebrating her birthday just the way she likes it— by singing some of her favorite songs.
The great San Francisco-based vocalist returns to Marin Jazz on April 4 with a program that spans music by Rodgers and Hart to works she considers just as iconic by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Glen Campbell and others.
To West, it’s all music that she loves — and, in a recent conversation, said she believes is worthy of inclusion. To her mind, music by Dylan and Mitchell are already enrolled in the Great American Songbook.
“When you think of music by Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, their music is over 50, 60 years since some of those songs came out,” she said. “So I do consider them classics. And the music is so great. They’re open to interpretations. You don’t have to do them exactly as they did, just as you wouldn’t try to do a Rodgers and Hart or a Cole Porter song the exact same way.”
The songs for her Marin Jazz show mesh well for the kind of program West likes: “some things romantic, some funny, and some commenting on what’s happening in the world right now.”
Last fall, in her first appearance at Marin Jazz, one of the venue’s opening events starred West alongside singers Kim Nalley and Tammy Hall, both artists and friends she holds in high esteem. This time, she’s singing solo, backed by a trio featuring pianist Adam Shulman, bassist Doug Miller and drummer Deszon Claiborne.
West, who grew up in San Diego, came to the Bay Area in the 1980s. Some of her early appearances were in San Francisco hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton. She quickly earned a reputation as an exceptional artist, one who could make standards of the jazz repertoire her own. She’s performed throughout the Bay Area, at Feinstein’s at the Nikko and SF Jazz, and across the country with special appearances at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
She’s considered one of the best jazz artists around, and Dylan, she said, has long been an influence. “I consider him my favorite composer,” she said. “He’s just genius. I started singing his songs 12 years ago with ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues,’ but the one that I really got into was ‘Like a Rolling Stone.’ I just had to do that one.” She eventually did an all-Dylan concert at SF Jazz. Songs by Joni Mitchell, she said, have also found a significant place in her repertoire.
Still, she’s not about to let go of the earlier classics she loves. Songs by Rodgers and Hart are central to her repertoire; so is music by Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Antônio Carlos Jobim, to name a few of her favorites. But there’s always new music to take on. “I do want people to hear something I haven’t done in a while,” she said. “I don’t want people to say ‘Oh, it’s the same old thing.’ No, it’s not. It’s never the same old thing.”
West said she’s found an especially congenial home at Marin Jazz, which was launched last October by CEO Todd Ghanizadeh. He’s a true music lover, she says, one who makes programs at the venue special events.
For West, this program marks a special appearance—and a special day. “I’m glad to be returning there,” she said. “Todd’s made it such a nice place. They want the best experience for everyone, artists and audience. Coincidentally, this appearance is on my birthday, so everyone can have some cake.”
Marin Jazz presents “An Evening with Paula West A Birthday Celebration” at 7 p.m. April 4 at Marin Center Showcase Theatre, 20 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. Tickets are $70-$80 at marinjazz.com.
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