Singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist Lena Horne died May 9, 2010. She would have turned 93 in June. She hadn’t performed since the early 1990s and kept out of the public eye for the past 10 years, but she never left the hearts of singers or music fans who loved her work.

Most recent evidence of Horne’s enduring impact was in April’s New York premiere of “Stormy Weather: The Life and Music of Lena Horne,” featuring eminent jazz singers Rebecca Parris and Paula West, with pertinent narrative from author James Gavin (whose book “Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne,” was one of Oprah magazine’s Top 25 Summer Reads of 2009). The premiere of the multi-media production Stormy Weather preceded the May 18 launch of a new CD by Verve Records and Hip-O Select, Lena Horne Sings: The MGM Singles Collection, featuring recordings from the late ’40s, co-produced and with liner notes by Gavin.

“Stormy Weather: The Life And Music Of Lena Horne” salutes the musical legacy of Hollywood’s first African-American goddess, a true American legend. The production runs at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2 at the Kirkland Performance Center, 350 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland.

Horne enjoyed a six-decade singing career on stage, television and in film. She was the first black woman to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio. Over a career spanning decades of social change and turbulence, Horne helped break down barriers for generations of performers, even as she weathered her own storms.

Rebecca Parris, Boston’s beloved First Lady of Jazz, is the winner of nine Boston Jazz Awards; her earthy tenor-sax of a voice and interpretive depth made her a favorite of Stan Getz, Carmen McRae and Shirley Horn. With vibraphonist Gary Burton she shared a GRP CD, It’s Another Day, and a PBS special.

Paula West has been praised by the New York Times as “a swinging pop-jazz sophisticate in the tradition of Lena Horne and Carmen McRae.” Her repertoire spans effortlessly from Cole Porter to Bob Dylan to Hank Williams. Time Out New York calls her dusky contralto “a thing of beauty.”

Grammy-nominated musical director and pianist George Mesterhazy has been called “superb” by the San Francisco Chronicle. Apart from years of work with West and Parris, he accompanied Shirley Horn in the last three years of her life. Mesterhazy has written stunning new arrangements of a dozen Horne

trademarks, including “Honeysuckle Rose,” “As Long As I Live,” “Yesterday When I Was Young,” “Bein’ Green,” and of course, “Stormy Weather.”

Stormy Weather touches on the full scope of Horne’s musical career with material selected from various phases of her career, delivering poignant and spellbinding performances of such songs as “As Long As I Live”, “Ill Wind”, “Honeysuckle Rose”, “Why Do I Try?”, “It’s Alright With Me”, “Come Sunday”, “A Lady Must Live”, “Yesterday When I Was Young”, “Stormy Weather”, and “Bein’ Green,” the Kermit the Frog-associated tune that Horne chose to sing in an appearance as herself on Sesame Street in the 1970s. (Horne noted that she identified with its hopeful and uplifting message about being different.)

In honor of the extraordinary life of Horne and in recognition of her recent passing, James Gavin has allowed the KPC to offer a special advance ticket package to the 2010 premiere of the “Stormy Weather: The Life and Music of Lena Horne” performance

at KPC on Oct. 2. The package includes two tickets to the show and a copy of the Lena Horne Sings: The MGM Singles Collection CD autographed by Gavin. This package retails for $90 and can be purchased by entering the code “TRIBUTE1002” at the end of the purchasing process.

Regular tickets are $35 all seats.

For more information, visit www.kpcenter.org or call 425-893-9900.

Artist sponsors include David & Gail Alskog, Aimee & Lowell Bassett and G.G. Getz.