Nnenna Freelon performs the songs of Billie Holiday

[Lois Gilbert]

Nnenna Freelon — “one of the best vocalists in jazz,” according to the Hollywood Reporter — performs the songs of Billie Holiday at the Napa Valley Opera House on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 and $35.

A six-time Grammy nominee and multi-award winner, Freelon has one of the purest voices in jazz — big, bright and capable of going from gospel to bop to funk all in a few bars. Her latest album, “Blueprint of a Lady — Sketches of Billie Holiday,” showcases Freelon’s range and creativity as an artist. Hailed internationally as “the greatest female vocalist to come along in three decades,” Freelon is equally at home with the music of Duke Ellington, Stevie Wonder and Burt Bacharach, and she has shared the stage with some of jazz’s most admired artists, including Ray Charles, Ellis Marsalis, Al Jarreau and George Benson.

In Napa, Freelon will also conduct her Babysong Workshop, an informal interactive workshop for babies and their parents on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Opera House Cafe Theater. During the workshop, targeted to parents and babies (5 months to 2 years), Freelon will explore the use of voice as a healing, nurturing and teaching tool. Admission to the 45 minute workshop is $15 per couple; babies are free. Space is limited. Reservations can be made by calling the Napa Valley Opera House Box Office at 226-7372.