Kim Nalley, with Tammy Lynne Hall at the Mendocino Music Festival

Dr. Kim Nalley has been a fixture in the San Francisco Bay Area—and here in Mendocino as well—as a quality soulful jazz and blues singer, very much in the tradition of the best vocalists of the 1940s and ‘50s. Always exciting to hear, she can go from operatic to gritty blues on a dime, with projection that can whisper a ballad and fill a room without a mic, sporting a sensational sense of humor to boot. Nalley keeps the style alive without copying any of her predecessors, singing vintage songs in her own way and riveting audiences with blistering scat solos that swing with intensity.

Tammy Lynne Hall is one of the most sought-after accompanists in the world, performing with Rhiannon (Alive!), Barbara Dane, Queen Esther, the Supreme Mary Wilson, Regina Carter, Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir, Melba Moore, Miki Howard, Rhonda Benin, Darlene Love, Ernestine Anderson, Kim Nalley, Kenny Washington, and the late Etta Jones.