DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER
- «MEMPHIS…YES, I’M READY»
Moscow Inernational Perfoming Arts Center
November, 23 / 2020, 19:00
Dee Dee Bridgewater is one of the best vocalists of the modern jazz mainstream, a superstar who knows how to conquer the most demanding audience and music critics from the first minutes of appearing on stage. She has performed and recorded with the best jazz musicians, among whom are Ray Charles, George Benson, Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach. To fully realize her talent, Bridgewater at the age of 30 decided on a bold step: she left her homeland, moved to Paris and again began a musical career there. It was France that truly revealed her talent as the greatest jazz singer and theater actress. Here she created her own jazz band and gained recognition. Dee Dee Bridgewater worked in the TV show with the great Charles Aznavour.
Due to the reason for its social activity, it became the first American to become a member of the Supreme Council of Francophonie - the state organization for the protection and development of French culture. In 2005, Dee Dee Bridgewater was elected United Nations Ambassador for Food and Agriculture. In this capacity, she traveled to dozens of countries, including the African continent, making a feasible contribution to solving the problem of malnutrition and hunger.
Dee Dee Bridgewater was born in Memphis on May 27, 1950. She grew up on recordings of Ella Fitzgerald’s songs, which her mother constantly listened to, and the sounds of the trumpet her father played - not only a first-class trumpeter and teacher, among whose students were saxophonists Charles Lloyd and George Coleman, but also a DJ on WDIA, the leading radio station in Memphis. In the musical group where her father played, the girl received her first professional experience. Starting to sing in the university big band (with whom, incidentally, she came to the USSR in 1969), she met the trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, whom she married and moved to New York.
In 1974, Dee Dee auditioned for the Broadway musical "The Wiz" and sang there until 1976, winning the first Tony Theater Award for her role as Glinda. Seven times Bridgewater was nominated for a Grammy and won three times.
In 2017, Dee Dee Bridgewater releases the new album, MEMPHIS ... YES, I AM READY. “Working on Memphis' album at Royal Studios was like magic,” says Dee Dee Bridgewater. “Within these walls feelings and stories were born. I felt that I could make this trip, and most importantly - I am not alone! Kirk and Boo helped me realize this project and bring it to life.”
The album includes the best songs of classical blues: B.B. King's "Thrill Is Gone" Bobby Blue Bland's "Going Down Slow", Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness", Al Green's "Can't Get Next To You 'Ann Peebles'', "I Can't Stand The Rain" and The Staple Singers ''Why?" ("Am I Treated So Bad"). The ability to make these songs their own for Dee Dee Bridgewater was not only a test, but also a great honor.
“I want to pay tribute to Memphis, which we call Soulsville, because it brought joy to many people around the world,” says Bridgewater. “It has always been a part of me. The more I return, the more I feel at home. A huge part of my heart and my soul is here.”
Do not miss, November 23, 2020 the only concert of the goddess of jazz - Dee Dee Bridgewater.