Noted jazz singer revisits home turf at Newton South

For those who know jazz, Rebecca Parris is simply a part of the vocabulary. From Spain to LA, this breathy, bold vocalist has performed with the likes of Dizzy and Basie. But few know anything about Ruthie MacCloskey, the 6-foot-tall, eczema-covered outcast whom Parris was while attending Newton South High School.

This Saturday, Rebecca returns triumphantly to Ruthie's turf. To open the 23d Highland Jazz series season, Parris will perform on the school's stage, a place she says she hasn't stood since she played Anna in ''The King and I" as a senior in 1969.

''I haven't even been to a reunion since I was there," Parris says from her Duxbury home. ''I was the cootie of the class."

But as a talented teen, Parris found refuge in the drama department, performing in every production. ''It's special for me to go back," she says. ''Theater was the one chance I had to shine. I look back, and I'm just so damn grateful. If it weren't for that department, I think I would have fallen apart."

Just as she counts jazz greats like Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae among her influences, Parris credits her former Newton South teachers with shaping her as well.

''Ernie Chamberlain, the theater department head, was fabulous. There's David Arner, my music teacher whose funeral I sang at a few years ago, and the other music teacher of note, Dave Kaplan, and my all-time favorite teacher, English teacher Dorothy Hansberry, who still comes to my shows," she says. ''In my days as a drama queen high school desperado, they saved my head."

That she would become a performer was virtually guaranteed, however. ''They tell me I was singing on pitch at 14 months. I started in professional theater when I was 6 years old with summer stock. I knew my whole life I'd be a singer," she says.

After graduation, Parris headed for Broadway, only to find her height a hindrance. ''I thought I was going to be Julie Andrews. But it was pretty obvious that the only leading man tall enough to work with me was Tommy Tune," she says. ''So I quit the business."

Next came about 15 years in Top 40 cover bands and a stint in rock 'n' roll. Then in the '80s, Parris discovered that jazz was where she belonged. ''I realized that this was a place that I could improvise and make these songs my own," she says.

These days, Parris tours worldwide. Her stress-induced eczema has long since cleared up, and she has finally found her clique -- jazz musicians and jazz lovers.

''Sarah Vaughn and Carmen McRae were my friends while they were alive, and it was a huge blessing to know them," she says. ''And being accepted as one of them was huge.

''Sarah telling me, 'Oh, honey, shut up. You don't know how good you sing,' or Carmen telling me that one of my albums was in her road case and that I needed to understand how important her road music was to her. That's kind of like everything right there as far as acknowledgement and validation go."

Asked whether she will find that validation anew at Newton South, she just laughs about her return, wondering instead if she will find her way around. ''I sure hope they've renovated since I was there," she says.

Rebecca Parris performs at 8 p.m. Saturday in Newton South High School, 140 Brandeis Road in Newton. Milton Academy senior and pianist Ben Stepner of Newton opens. Tickets are $16, or $10 for students. Call 781-237-1917 or visit www.highlandjazz.org.

AN EMOTIONAL JOURNEY -- In 2002, when Gore Place in Waltham asked the Brass Connection to play a memorial concert for Sept. 11, trombonist Chris Baird was daunted. Finding the right tone would be difficult.

''But that first concert was remarkable," Baird says. Not sure what to play, they began somberly with Mozart's ''Requiem." Then they moved on to patriotic songs, quickened the beat, and the audience's mood changed with them. ''By the end, we were swinging through 'New York, New York' and people were just loving it." It was more of an emotional journey than a show.

The five-year-old quintet, which will perform on the lawn, weather permitting, has since made the concert an annual event.

''We try to have remembrance and respect," said Baird, who lives in Watertown. ''And then the goal is to be upbeat at the end."

The Memorial Concert for Sept. 11 is at 4 p.m. Sunday at Gore Place, 52 Gore St. in Waltham. Rain location is Gore Place's Carriage House, which can seat the first 100 people to arrive. The show is free. Call 781-894-2798, or visit www.goreplace.org.

HOMEFRONT EFFORT -- Two bands, one offbeat portrait photographer, and a whole bunch of fun auction items make up the entertainment at Homefront 9/10/05.

This fund-raiser -- benefiting soldiers in Iraq and veterans at home -- has a serious mission, but co-organizer Beth Greely says, ''Basically, it's just going to be a really fun time."

Greely and seven other Holliston residents formed the grassroots organization Sparks! during the 2004 elections. Since then they have committed to staging an annual fall fund-raiser for causes they support. This year's Homefront is a nonpartisan event that she says she hopes the whole community will support.

''As Americans this is the right thing to do. We really need to support the people sacrificing their lives," she says. All proceeds will go to the local American Legion Gulf II Fund, which sends care packages to troops in Iraq and to the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans in Boston, which provides transitional housing and counseling.

Performing gratis will be Crack the Plaster, a classic-rock cover band that bills itself as ''Holliston's favorite garage band." ''They're just a lot of fun," says Greely.

Also donating their musical talent will be Blue Revue, a boogie blues collaboration formed just for this event. Members include lead guitar/singer for the Swinging Steaks, Jamie Walker of Needham; singer/guitarist for D.C. band The Railriders, Dave Poirier of Southborough; V8 keyboardist Ron Faccenda of Southborough; and Mojo Filter's Scott Bronnes of Worcester on vocals and harp.

Meanwhile, action portrait photographer Jeff Noble of Phoenix will shoot portraits of folks doing a little more than just mugging for the camera. ''He's a 6-foot-7, goofy-looking guy, crazy as a nut case, so people will do anything for the camera for him," says Greely.

An auction of artwork donated by artists from Holliston Mill Studios, as well as sports and concert tickets and other goods donated by businesses and individuals, will round out the night.

Homefront 9/10/05 is at 7 p.m. Saturday at Holliston Town Hall, 725 Washington St. $25 donation. Cash bar and gourmet refreshments. Call 508-429-3965, or e-mail beth@yellowinc.net.

PICTURING THE CIVIL WAR -- In the early '90s, Nick Capasso learned of John Huddleston's Civil War project and found it interesting. But when the DeCordova Museum curator finally got his hands on Huddleston's new book, he was absolutely riveted.

The book, ''Killing Ground: The Civil War and the Changing American Landscape" (Johns Hopkins University Press), juxtaposes photographs and drawings of Civil War battle scenes with Huddleston's own photographs of the same places today.

It took more than a decade to complete. The Vermont-based photographer painstakingly planned his shots to occur at the same season and time of day as their Civil War counterparts.

''I was familiar with preserved Civil War fields like Gettysburg, where there are national parks and monuments all over the place. They're places that are hallowed and sacred and interpreted with text and park rangers. The whole mechanics of history is brought to bear on these places," says Capasso.

But paging through Huddleston's book was different. ''You realize the geographic enormity of the war. You become aware that for every Gettysburg, there are a hundred places that aren't commemorated at all. Places that were strategic in the war, where a lot of blood was shed, are not marked at all, and they are now the sites of strip malls, tract houses, and other prosaic things," he says. ''The entire project is really about the passage of time and how that's reflected in the landscape."

Capasso is still installing Huddleston's diptychs but says at least 30 will be on display at the DeCordova through January.

''John Huddleston: Killing Ground, Photographs of the Civil War and the Changing American Landscape" runs Saturday through Jan. 8. Gallery talk with Huddleston 3 p.m. Oct. 22. The DeCordova is at 51 Sandy Pond Road in Lincoln. Museum hours are Tuesday-Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission $9, or $6 for seniors/students/ages 6-12. Call 781-259-8355, or visit www.decordova.org.

News of arts-related events may be sent to westarts@globe.com.