Maria Manna remembers well her initial reaction to the news that singer Natalie Cole had died of heart failure, on New YearB次元官网网址檚 Eve 2015.

The megastar and daughter of legendary crooner Nat King Cole was a much-admired performer to Manna, who has crafted a nice career in entertainment for herself over the years.

B次元官网网址淲hen I got news of NatalieB次元官网网址檚 death, B次元官网网址淚 looked to my husband and I said, B次元官网网址業 donB次元官网网址檛 know when, but IB次元官网网址檓 going to do a musical tribute to her,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she recalled. B次元官网网址淪he was an idol for me, I had all her jazz albums.B次元官网网址�

Manna, who lives on Bear Mountain in Langford, is bringing that inspiration to reality later this month, with concerts set for Oct. 26 (7:30 p.m.) at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney and Oct. 29 (3 p.m.) at the First Metropolitan United Church on Quadra Street in Victoria.

SheB次元官网网址檒l be backed by the 17-piece Lust Life Big Band, a group Manna calls the B次元官网网址渃ream of the cropB次元官网网址� of local jazz and contemporary musicians in Greater Victoria.

While singing in front of such a large, talented band has long been a dream for her, the shows have other significance for the local singer and philanthropist.

Having done research on ColeB次元官网网址檚 life, her passions and charitable work, Manna discovered that Cole was a kidney transplant patient who received the organ from a South American donor. Thus the decision to have the concerts double as fundraisers for The Kidney Foundation of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Victoria chapter.

B次元官网网址淭he interesting thing [I learned] was that after receiving her kidney she started developing a passion for South American everything: the food, the music, the culture B次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檓 going to be doing one of her songs from her Spanish album.B次元官网网址�

She plans to bring in some guest singers as well during the two shows and promises a lively couple of hours for fans of Cole and live music.

B次元官网网址淭he show has to be entertaining, so IB次元官网网址檝e got it jam packed with high energy, entertainment and surprise guests.B次元官网网址�

The concerts also coincide with the release of a new CD, With Love, MannaB次元官网网址檚 11-song compilation of jazz numbers, including standards recorded by Cole and her father, such as B次元官网网址淟ush LifeB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淎lmost Like Being in Love.B次元官网网址�

Tickets are $35, or $30 for seniors and $28 for students under 18. To pre-purchase tickets for the Sidney show, call 250-656-0275 or for the Victoria show contact 250-514-9927.