Stella Heath: The Billie Holiday Project

A versatile young vocalist and bandleader whose taste for classic jazz spans the 20s through the 40s, Stella Heath presents a special evening devoted to the life and music of the great Billie Holiday, accompanied by the BHP Big Band. 

Born in Novato and raised in Petaluma, Heath began singing at eight and was inspired by the Billie Holiday records in her mother’s collection. She spent the last two years of high school at Michigan’s prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy before acting studies in New York and a career as a working Shakespearean actor that took her from Florida to Beijing and all points in between.  

Upon returning to the Bay Area, Heath dove headlong into music, assembling a series of groups that would honor areas of early jazz that she wanted to explore and bring to audiences, from the Roma jazz of Django Reinhardt and the traditional jazz of the 1920s to the swing of the 30s and 40s and the Great American Songbook.  

For this night, Heath celebrates the legacy of Lady Day — particularly her collaborations with pianist Teddy Wilson in the 1930s — through music, storytelling, and visuals that immerse the listeners in the era, placing the songs in historical context that gives the timeless music a still deeper meaning. Heath released her album dedicated to Holiday, For Billie, in 2026.