Are you ready for some jazz? Singer Linda Skoglund to perform benefit concert for Olympic Theatre Arts

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 26, 2017

So you’ve had a hankering for some good, live jazz, with maybe a bit of doo wop and pop thrown in for good measure. You’ve come to the right place. On Saturday, July 29, Olympic Theatre Arts presents “Voices of Summer,” a benefit concert featuring international jazz singer Linda Skoglund.

If you’re scratching your head, wondering why the name doesn’t ring a bell, it’s most likely because Skoglund has been retired from “the circuit” for some time and moved to Sequim only five years ago. But those of you who happen to attend Sequim Community Church, you know Skoglund and are familiar with her sensual, throaty voice. Nearly every Sunday, Skoglund and the choir, with the help of a five-piece band, belt out songs of worship at morning service.

Two years ago, Skoglund did a show at the Sunland clubhouse, singing 14 songs with her piano and bass player.

“Nobody went home,” she laughed.

It’s not difficult to imagine Skoglund on stage, entertaining the troops in Vietnam, appearing at the Stardust Lounge in Las Vegas, gracing stages through Southeast Asia. She is a personable woman with a way of putting others at ease. What’s more, she readily shares stories of her life as a jazz singer.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Skoglund began singing at the young age of 8 and eventually began singing with an orchestra in her homeland. It was not until Skoglund met her cousins in Taiwan that her career began to soar. The three, dazzled in jeweled gowns, were reminiscent of The Supremes. They called themselves The Monticello Sisters, mostly because the two cousins were sisters. Makes sense, right?

The trio toured throughout Southeast Asia for about seven years. Then Skoglund decided she had enough (the sisters were always arguing, she said), moved back to the Philippines where she sang in jazz alley gigs, much to the consternation of her father, who thought a glamorous female singer was not a profession for any daughter of his. It was a cultural thing, Skoglund pointed out.

But sing she did, returning to Vietnam and performing with a new band in Saigon. This was in the mid-1960s, in the midst of the Vietnam Conflict; however, Skoglund said she was never frightened, even though she often rode in convoys and military planes.

Fast forward a few years and Skoglund was working as an accountant — “my second career” — in Long Beach, Calif., which is where she met her husband. She did continue singing, but after a bit, decided she didn’t want to be on the circuit any longer. “Been there done that,” she laughed. After raising two daughters, she and her husband began searching for retirement spots, at first thinking about southern Oregon around the town of Ashland, but ended up choosing Sequim.

“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.”

The couple are members of Olympic Theatre Arts, and believe me, if you have any talent whatsoever; you will get the bug to do something at the theater. If not, Carol Willis, executive director, is good at persuasion. At least that’s what happened. After Willis learned Skoglund had performed at Sunland, the next step, of course, was to persuade her to do a show at OTA.

Fortunately, she said yes. “We are delighted to have Linda share her talents with our community on our stage,” said Willis, “and to have her and husband, Randy offer the proceeds as a benefit for OTA is amazing, we are truly grateful for such generous patrons.”

Skoglund sings old favorites, such as “S’Wonderful,” “Old Black Magic” and “Cry Me A River,” and may add some popular song such as “Monday, Monday” (the Mamas and Papas) and much more. She might even sing “Locomotion” (by Carole King, sung by Little Eva) and have the audience dance like she did at Sunland.

Her worship team, as she calls her backup group, will be on stage, as will other friends, Al Harris on piano, Craig Buhler on saxophone, Doug Brundage on trumpet, Ted Enderle on bass and Tom Svornich on drums. “This band is fantastic,” Skoglund enthused.

“Voices of Summer: The Dynamic and Vivacious Linda Skoglund,” will be on the Olympic Theatre Arts Main Stage for one show only at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 29. Tickets are $20 each with all proceeds to benefit OTA, Sequim’s nonprofit community volunteer theater.

Tickets are available online at online at www.olympictheatrearts.org, at the box office, or at the door, if available.

The OTA Center is at 414 N. Sequim Ave. For more information, call 683-7326.

Mary Powell is the former editor of the Sequim Gazette and is on the Board of Trustees for Olympic Theatre Arts.