SEQUIM — International jazz singer Linda Skoglund will animate such numbers as “ ’S Wonderful,” “Old Black Magic” and “Cry Me a River” at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Skoglund will perform at Olympic Theatre Arts on its main stage, 414 N. Sequim Ave.
Benefit for OTA
“Voices of Summer: The Dynamic and Vivacious Linda Skoglund” will benefit OTA, Sequim’s nonprofit community volunteer theater. Tickets for $20 can be purchased at OTA’s box office, at the door or online at www.olympictheatrearts.org.
“Dynamic and vivacious” certainly describes Skoglund, said Mary Powell, an OTA board member.
Years ago, a glamorously outfitted Skoglund graced stages throughout Southeast Asia, entertaining the troops in Vietnam and performing jazz alley gigs in the Philippines, according to Powell.
Skoglund grew up in the Philippines and began singing at 8 years old.
When she later met her two cousins in Taiwan, the trio formed “The Monticello Sisters” and toured Southeast Asia for seven years.
But the two sisters and Skoglund always argued. So she moved back to the Philippines and began singing in jazz alleys, much to the consternation of her father, Powell said.
Then, Skoglund decided to join a new band in Saigon. In the middle of the Vietnam War, Skoglund said she never feared for her safety, even as she rode in convoys and military planes.
A few years later, Skoglund took on a “second career” as an accountant in Long Beach, Calif. Skoglund and her husband, Randy, raised two daughters and then made plans for retirement on the North Olympic Peninsula.
“We don’t like hot places and we like a lot of trees. Sequim was the place for us,” Skoglund said.
“It’s a fantastic town.”
So five years ago, they moved to Sequim.
Now, every Sunday morning, Skoglund sings in the band at Sequim Community Church during worship.
Skoglund will be joined by those church band members and others — Al Harris on piano, Craig Buhler on saxophone, Doug Brundage on trumpet, Ted Enderle on bass and Tom Svornich on drums — for Saturday’s concert.
“This band is fantastic,” she said.
In addition to old favorites, Skoglund might perform some popular songs such as “Monday, Monday” and “Locomotion.”
For more information, call OTA’s office at 360-683-7326.
