Kelly Fuller and the Mike Greensill Trio perform at the Blue Note Napa.
Photo: Eric Risberg/AP
Jazz-pop vocalist Kelly Fuller and pianist Mike Greensill are hoping to open a door to the past with their one-night-only wine country event, “A Night at the Dream Bowl.”
Scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 10th at the Blue Note Napa, the veteran performers will perform at the Bay Area’s iconic post-war ballroom, once located just off Highway 29 and just north of Vallejo. The plan is to recreate the music and atmosphere of Dream Bowl.
Opened in 1941, the Dream Bowl was briefly Northern California’s largest live music venue, featuring such swing-era luminaries as Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie.
“It’s a place for everyone from Napa, Vallejo and Fairfield to see big bands and dance,” Fuller said. “It was a place to socialize, meet friends and have fun.
“It’s also where my grandparents met.”
A flyer and exterior image of Napa’s Dream Bowl.
Photo: Kelly Fuller/Blue Note Napa
Fuller, a wine country native, departs this evening and usually performs jazz, R&B and blues with his trio at venues such as the Napa Valley Opera House and the Blue Note Napa. She frequently performs with British accompanist and bandleader Greensill. Greensill had been performing for decades with the wife of the late Bay Area singer Wesla Whitfield, widely known as one of the greatest interpreters of the great American songbook.
To faithfully recreate the Dream Bowl experience, Fuller and Greensill hired an eight-piece orchestra and ballroom dancers with the help of a Napa Valley Presents Performing Arts grant.
The program will begin with an interview with Michael Amen, author of the 2019 book The Dream Bowl: Where Goodman, Ellington, and the Grateful Dead Convene, to provide historical context.
Following the heyday of swing, the Dream Bowl hosted artists as diverse as Johnny Cash, Santana, Bob Willis, Merle Haggard, and the Grateful Dead, but it closed in 1969. The venue, located at 1885 North Kelly Road, has since been converted into office space. .
Kelly Fuller and the Mike Greensill Trio perform at the Blue Note Napa.
Photo: Eric Risberg/AP
The concert will feature Fuller, Greensill and the orchestra performing wartime classics that evoked romance and brought people together through swing dancing. Participants are encouraged to wear period costumes and accessories to further emphasize the nostalgic theme.
“I haven’t played a real dance in years,” Greensill said. “There are tangos, cha-chas, different tempos, styles and songs, with the occasional waltz thrown in.”
Contact Aidin Vaziri: avaziri@sfchronicle.com
Detailed information
Dream Bowl Night with Kelly Fuller and Mike Greensill: Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. $20-$45. Blue Note Napa, 1030 Main Street, Napa. www.bluenotejazz.com
Aydin Vaziri
Aidin Vaziri is a staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle.
