Portuguese, French, Italian and Spanish — these are the most well known of the romance languages that evolved from Latin many centuries ago. They fit right in with jazz and blues artist Diana Tuffin’s passion for music, as well as with her Valentine’s performance at Arts of the Pamlico’s Turnage Theatre this weekend.

It’s somewhat of a departure for an arts organization that tends to gravitate toward shows featuring bluegrass and traditional music performers, both of which have a large following in the area. But with enough requests, anything is bound to happen on the Turnage stage, according to Arts of the Pamlico Executive Director Joey Toler.

“We’re bringing this particular program in direct response to the requests — we haven’t done a lot of jazz, or blues,” Toler said. “It’s an effort to diversify our musical offerings. We know there are people out there that like more than just traditional and bluegrass so we’re trying to bring something for that audience as well.”

Since AOP’s move to the Turnage Theatre in early 2014, the nonprofit has focused equally on performance and visual art.

“Music is certainly a big part of our programming now and the theater is perfect for music,” Toler said.

Tuffin is from the Triangle area, but her cultural roots grow much wider, according to Toler. Drawing from her grandfather’s Central American and West Indian history, as well as growing up in a household where calypso, samba and spirituals shared the turntable with the albums of Nat King Cole, Ray Charles and the music of Motown, created a love for language and an ability to incorporate the influences of Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughn, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald and Judy Garland and more into her own sound, Toler wrote in a press release.

Tuffin will be backed by

In addition to the Tuffin’s performance, intermission on Saturday will feature the dedication of two of three United States Postal Service stamps in connection with Black History Month: a stamp featuring Richard Allen, a preacher, activist and civil leader elected first bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church; and another featuring Robert Robinson Taylor, believed to have been the first black graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the country’s first black architect. A third stamp features a quilled paper heart.

Toler said he hopes jazz and blues lovers will take advantage of Saturday’s event.

“I really hope the community comes out,” Toler said. “If they do, we’ll do more like it.”

For more information about Diana Tuffin’s performance, visit artsofthepamlico.org or call 252-946-2504.