Jimmie Herrod’s dazzling concert with the Oregon Symphony this month wasn’t sold out but it should have been. “Divas: Jimmie Herrod Salutes Jazz” Jan. 24 and 25 at the 2,776-seat Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall starred the 35-year-old Tacoma-born singing phenom. It was thrilling to see him on such a big stage, backed by the orchestra, right at home and right in tune. He’s an original in a natty suit, and some say he has the voice of an angel.

What makes Herrod, pronounced (her-ROD), such a skilled and appealing vocalist?

He can tell a song’s story. He can sing Broadway, jazz standards, pop and spirituals. He can go from a whisper to a growl. His range is vast – four octaves – and he toggles back and forth from high to low notes, though his signature falsetto is famous. He dips into the baritone range when he scats, as he did in “What’s New,” a popular mid-century tune that everyone from Billie Holiday to Linda Ronstadt sang.

Herrod sings directly to the audience, as if everyone is seated in the front row. In these cynical days, he projects sincerity and modestness on stage even though he’s had a lot of high-profile entertainment experience. He did quite well on America‘s Got Talent, sang with Pink Martini and Storm Large on the OSO stage, and had gigs in Las Vegas. He’s charming on a big or small stage, and reveals himself with details, song after song. He called himself a “theater nerd” before unreeling Stephen Sondheim’s “Wait” from Sweeney Todd, which he arranged. He does love Sondheim. At the 2025 Portland Jazz Festival he sang an entire program of emotion-filled Sondheim at The Old Church. I’m glad he mixed it up this time.

Herrod, who earned a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from Portland State University, makes himself vulnerable when singing, but not in the fragile Chet Baker way. In “You’re My Thrill,” a Joni Mitchell ballad arranged by Vince Mendoza, he crooned, “You send chills right through me when I look at you,” and made it the ballad of the night – though “The Way We Were,” the encore, where he hit a high C (above middle C), was a runner-up in the ballad race.

He rarely misses a beat. He swings, he lets the song do the talking. In “Love Me or Leave Me,” his tribute to the late jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, he performed the classic arrangement by Nelson Riddle. He improvises and creates his own arrangements, but he knows when to stick to the classics. “He has the unique ability to take a song that we all know and tell the story of that song in a new and different way,” said Jeff Tyzik, who conducted the concert and planned it with Herrod. “When he sings, he makes it all about the music. I can’t think of anyone I’ve heard in my entire career who sings the way he does.”

Herrod wasn’t the only star. The symphony showcased its vibrant brass and wind sections, saxophone solos and all. Orchestra conductor Tyzik, who has composed and arranged more than 1,000 pieces during the last 58 years (he is 74), including seven on the 16-piece Divas program, had many moments. Not to leave out the front-of-the-stage quartet of local jazz musicians (pianist David Goldblatt, guitarist Jack Radsliff, bass Andrew Jones and drummer Matt Mayhall), who added to the bright lights of the program – and the kind of lights that don’t hurt your eyes. The guy sitting next to me put on his dark glasses to defend himself from the swirling and distracting lighting.

Part Las Vegas, part Old Hollywood, part disco, due to the distracting lighting (the only downside of the two-hour concert, with intermission), the show featured Herrod singing the music of yesteryear’s divas in the first half: Fitzgerald’s classic “Love Me or Leave Me,” Judy Garland’s “Come Rain or Come Shine” and Joni Mitchell’s “You’re My Thrill” were among them. After intermission, contemporary divas’ tunes included Janet Jackson’s danceable “The Pleasure Principal,” (Herrod is a good dancer though he keeps show-off moves to a minimum), Madonna and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds’ “Take a Bow,” arranged by Herrod, and Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball,” Los Angeles-based John Beasley’s arrangement.

Interspersed among Herrod’s songs were symphony renditions of several Duke Ellington chestnuts: “It Don’t Mean a Thing If You Ain’t Got That Swing,” “Caravan” and “Satin Doll,” all arranged artfully by Tyzik. What would we do without Ellington, the overarching architect of jazz in a show like this? If we’re lucky, Tyzik will design a future concert featuring Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, who collaborated with Ellington from 1939-1967. Tyzik hinted at the idea during the Jan. 25 show I attended. The Pops Symphony series could use a boost.

The orchestra performed several of Tyzik’s originals, including “Blues Train” and the high-energy “Swing, Swing, Swing.” Tyzik paired his arrangement of 1922’s “Bugle Call Blues” followed by his 2022 “Downtown Shuffle.” Tyzik has been with the symphony for 15 years, taking the lead in the Pops concerts. He has a lot of talents aside from conducting.

As I’ve written before, Herrod reminds me a bit of Little Jimmy Smith with his huge range and high notes. Showing off his vocal versatility and touching the audience with his playful sincerity, Herrod has the chance to reach the big time, if he hasn’t already. This time, Tyzik, the OSO and the jazz combo of Goldblatt, Radsliff, Mayhall and Jones – the last two jazz musicians who’ve often accompanied Herrod – made the thoroughly original vocalist sound as if he owned the big stage.