Dee Dee Bridgewater | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | Denise Eileen Garrett (1950-05-27)May 27, 1950 (age 75) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Origin | Flint, Michigan, U.S. |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1966–present |
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Spouses | |
| Children | 3, incl.China Moses |
| Website | www |
Dee Dee Bridgewater (bornDenise Eileen Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an Americanjazz singer and actress. She is a three-timeGrammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as aTony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host ofNational Public Radio's syndicated radio showJazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater.[1] She is aUnited Nations Goodwill Ambassador for theFood and Agriculture Organization.[2]
Born to anAfrican-American family inMemphis, Tennessee, Bridgewater was raisedCatholic inFlint, Michigan. Her father, Matthew Garrett, was a jazz trumpeter and teacher at Manassas High School, and through his playing, she was exposed to jazz early on. At the age of 16, she was a member of a Rock andR&B trio, singing in clubs inMichigan. At 18, she studied atMichigan State University, before attending theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With the school's jazz band, she toured theSoviet Union in 1969.[3]
The next year, she met trumpeterCecil Bridgewater, and after their marriage, they moved toNew York City, where Cecil played inHorace Silver's band.
In the early 1970s, Bridgewater joined theThad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra as lead vocalist.[4] This marked the beginning of her jazz career, and she performed with many of the jazz musicians of the time, such asSonny Rollins,Dizzy Gillespie,Dexter Gordon,Max Roach,Rahsaan Roland Kirk,Wayne Garfield, and others. She performed at theMonterey Jazz Festival in 1973.
In 1974, her first solo album, entitledAfro Blue, appeared, and she performed on Broadway in themusicalThe Wiz.[5] For her role asGlinda the Good Witch she won aTony Award in 1975 as "Best Featured Actress",[6] and the musical also won the 1976Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.
She subsequently appeared in several other stage productions. After touring France in 1984 with the musicalSophisticated Ladies, she moved toParis in 1986. The same year saw her inLady Day, asBillie Holiday,[6] for which role she was nominated for theLaurence Olivier Award, as well as recording the song "Precious Thing" withRay Charles, featured on her albumVictim of Love.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she returned from the world of pop andcontemporary R&B to jazz. She performed at theSanremo Music Festival in Italy – with "Angel of the Night", the English version of the subsequently winning song "Uomini soli" – and theMontreux Jazz Festival in 1990, and four years later, she finally collaborated withHorace Silver, whom she had long admired, and released the albumLove and Peace: A Tribute to Horace Silver. She also performed at theSan Francisco Jazz Festival (1996). Her 1997 tribute albumDear Ella won her the 1998Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and the 1998 albumLive at Yoshi's was also worth a Grammy nomination. She performed again at theMonterey Jazz Festival in 1998. She has also explored onThis Is New (2002) the songs ofKurt Weill, and, on her next albumJ'ai deux amours (2005), the French Classics.
Her albumRed Earth, released in 2007, features Africa-inspired themes and contributions by numerous musicians fromMali. She performed at theSan Francisco Jazz Festival (2007). On December 8, 2007, she performed with theTerence Blanchard Quintet at theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts inWashington, D.C.[7] She tours frequently, including overseas gigs around the world. October 16, 2009, found her opening the Shanghai JZ Jazz Festival,[8] in which she sang tunes associated withElla Fitzgerald, along with Ellington compositions and other jazz standards.
As a Goodwill Ambassador to theUnited Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, Bridgewater continues to appeal for international solidarity to finance global grassroots projects in the fight against world hunger. She has also been given honorary doctorates from theUniversity of Michigan and theBerklee College of Music.[9][10]
In April 2017, Bridgewater was the recipient of anNEA Jazz Masters Award[11] with honors bestowed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and in 2018 was awarded the 2018 Maria Fisher Founder's Award by theThelonious Monk/Hancock Institute of Jazz.[12] Bridgewater was also, in November 2019, inducted into theMemphis Music Hall of Fame.[13]
Bridgewater has a long history of philanthropy and advocacy. Her appointment as UN Goodwill Ambassador to theFAO, as well as the ASCAP Foundation Champion Award, along with her ongoing work with UNESCO for World Jazz Day coupled with her recognition as a Doris Duke Artist set in motion her founding of The Woodshed Network. Launched in 2019, The Woodshed Network was conceived as a program for Women in Jazz, to provide professional support and accelerate careers through mentorship, knowledge sharing and community interaction. The program is a collaboration between Dee Dee Bridgewater as artistic director, (DDB Productions + DDB Records), Tulani Bridgewater-Kowalski as Co-Artistic Director & Program Curator (Bridgewater Artists Management), and651 ARTS with funding by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The first year's alumna include Erinn Alexis (sax),Lakecia Benjamin (sax), Darynn Dean (vocals), Sarah Hanahan (sax), Kennedy (vocals), Amina Scott (bass), and Sequoia Snyder (piano). Program mentors includedSheila Jordan,Arthel Neville, Marilyn Rosen (Marilyn Rosen Presents), Alisse Kingsley (Muse Media Public Relations), Maureen McFadden (DL Media), Jett Galindo (The Bakery LA), Shirazette Tinnin, Fanny Delsol (Motema), Simma Levine (NJ PAC), Robin Tomchin (Motema), Stacie Negas (Sony Masterworks), and Lisa Jefferson (LRJ Account Management), with Bridgewater-Kowalski serving as moderator.
Dee Dee Bridgewater has appeared in such films as the 1979 filmThe Fish That Saved Pittsburgh and the 1984 filmThe Brother from Another Planet. She has made a guest appearance in the sitcomBenson and the sci-fi fantasy TV seriesHighlander: The Series.
Film and television credits include:
Bridgewater is the mother to three children, Tulani Bridgewater (from her marriage toCecil Bridgewater),China Moses (from her marriage to theater, film and television directorGilbert Moses) and Gabriel Durand (from her last marriage to French concert promoter Jean-Marie Durand).[14][15][16]
Tulani, her eldest daughter, attended theMirman School for Gifted Children inLos Angeles, California. She serves as Bridgewater's manager under her firm Bridgewater Artists Management and runs Bridgewater's production company and record label (DDB Productions, Inc. and DDB Records).[15]
Bridgewater's daughter China Moses is an accomplished singer, songwriter, producer, radio host andMTVVJ (France). Her critically acclaimed albums have earned her an international reputation as heir to her mother's legacy. Moses also tours worldwide, occasionally sharing the bill with Bridgewater.[17]
TheGrammy Awards are awarded annually by theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Bridgewater has won two Grammys with eight nominations.[18]
| Year | Work | Category | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Live in Paris | Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female | Nominated |
| 1994 | Keeping Tradition | Best Jazz Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 1995 | Love and Peace: A Tribute to Horace Silver | Best Jazz Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 1997 | Dear Ella | Best Jazz Vocal Performance | Won |
| 2000 | Live at Yoshi's | Best Jazz Vocal Album | Nominated |
| 2005 | J'ai deux amours | Best Jazz Vocal Album | Nominated |
| 2007 | Red Earth – A Malian Journey | Best Jazz Vocal Album | Nominated |
| 2010 | Eleanora Fagan (1915–1959): To Billie with Love from Dee Dee | Best Jazz Vocal Album | Won |
| 2026 | Elemental[19] | Best Jazz Vocal Album | Pending |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop[27] | US R&B[28] | US Jazz[29] | US Tra. Jazz[30] | |||
| 1974 | Afro Blue | — | — | — | — | Trio |
| 1976 | Dee Dee Bridgewater | — | — | — | — | Atlantic |
| 1977 | Just Family | 170 | — | 13[31] | — | Elektra |
| 1979 | Bad for Me | 182 | 57 | 30[32] | — | Elektra |
| 1980 | Dee Dee Bridgewater | — | — | — | — | Elektra |
| 1987 | Live in Paris | — | — | — | — | Impulse! |
| 1989 | Victim of Love | — | — | — | — | Polydor |
| 1992 | In Montreux | — | — | — | — | Polydor |
| 1993 | Keeping Tradition | — | — | — | — | Verve |
| 1995 | Love and Peace: A Tribute to Horace Silver | — | — | 47 | 13 | Verve |
| 1996 | Prelude to a Kiss: The Duke Ellington Album | — | — | Philips Classics | ||
| 1997 | Dear Ella | — | — | 5 | 12 | Verve |
| 2000 | Live at Yoshi's | — | — | 44 | 20 | Verve |
| 2002 | This Is New | — | — | 26 | 7 | Verve |
| 2005 | J'ai deux amours | — | — | 37 | 16 | DDB Records |
| 2007 | Red Earth: A Malian Journey | — | — | 31 | 16 | DDB Records |
| 2010 | Eleanora Fagan (1915–1959): To Billie with Love | — | — | 19 | 14 | EmArcy |
| 2011 | Midnight Sun (Compilation) | — | — | 20 | 9 | EmArcy |
| 2015 | Dee Dee's Feathers | — | — | 11 | 6 | OKeh/Sony Masterworks |
| 2017 | Memphis... Yes, I'm Ready[33] | — | — | 10 | 6 | OKeh/Sony Masterworks |
| 2025 | Elemental[34][35] | — | — | — | — | Mack Avenue Records |
As guest
Film soundtrack
