Flying High at the Presidio: Waldowski and Fulton Celebrate Swing’s Leading Women

On Sunday, March 15, the Presidio Theatre will host a project that looks backward to move forward. Flying High: Still Soaring, presented by Jazz at the Ballroom, honors the women vocalists of the swing era whose voices became the emotional soundtrack of the Great Depression and World War II—and whose artistry evolved into the intimate small-group jazz of the 1950s.

See the full show details and ticket information at the end of this feature. Listen to the full conversation with Suzanne Waldowski and Suzanne Waldowski below.

For producer and label founder Suzanne Waldowski, the concert feels like a homecoming. A Northern California resident, Waldowski founded Jazz at the Ballroom in 2016 to revitalize the Great American Songbook for new audiences. What began as a salon series in her Hillsborough home—once owned by Bing Crosby—has since grown into a national presenting organization and record label, Songbook Ink. “San Francisco is not just another tour stop,” Waldowski has said. “It’s the creative home base for every show we’ve built.”

Timed for Women’s History Month, Still Soaring revisits artists such as Jo Stafford, Anita O'Day, Peggy Lee, Helen Humes, and Lena Horne—many of whom recorded and toured extensively along the West Coast. These artists spent nearly fifty weeks a year on the road, navigating racial barriers, sexism, and grueling travel conditions, all while projecting glamour and authority from the bandstand.

Musical Director Champian Fulton approached the repertoire through a specific historical lens: the 1950s moment when singers stepped out from behind large orchestras into smaller, more conversational settings. The result is a program that favors rhythmic ease, elastic phrasing, and the kind of improvisational trust that defined postwar studio sessions.

The Presidio performance features three vocalists interpreting songs from the new album, alongside a gold-standard rhythm section that includes bassist Buster Williams. The repertoire ranges from Lil Hardin Armstrong’s “Just for a Thrill” to the propulsive “Swing! Brother, Swing!,” tracing a lineage in which women were not only interpreters but also composers, bandleaders, and cultural architects.

Beyond the music, Waldowski hopes audiences leave with a deeper understanding of the resilience embodied in these songs—the discipline, sacrifice, and artistry that enabled women to claim space in an industry rarely built for them.

If You Go

Event: Flying High: Still Soaring

Date: Sunday, March 15, 2026

Showtime: 2:00 p.m.

Location: Presidio Theatre, 99 Moraga Avenue, San Francisco

Tickets: For tickets and information, visit: https://www.presidiotheatre.org/show-details/flying-high-still-soaring

Photo credit: Margherita Andrean