Dec. 27, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EDITORIAL CONTACT: LISA WOSKE
(805) 756-7110
TICKETS: (805) 756-2787
Jazz Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, Hollywood Orchestra Play PAC Jan. 20
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA – “Five minutes into a typical Dee Dee Bridgewater performance and words like exuberant, ebullient, exhilarating suddenly become wholly inadequate.” (NPR)
According to the Village Voice, Grammy and Tony award-winning jazz/pop vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater is the gold-standard by which all divas will now be measured.
On Friday, January 20, 2006 at 8 p.m. in the Christopher Cohan Center, the dynamic Bridgewater will perform a tribute to the First Lady of Song – Ella Fitzgerald.
Backed by the Hollywood Jazz Orchestra, Bridgewater will bring the legendary Ella songbook brilliantly alive in a rousing musical evening presented by Cal Poly Arts.
The Jerusalem Post claimed “Bridgewater is undoubtedly the first lady of live jazz” while the New York Times agreed that “everything she does is energized by a bright sassy humor.”
“She is a performer with the capacity to generate a sense
of propulsion from note to note.”
(Los Angeles Times)
Bridgewater’s career has always bridged musical genres and she earned her first professional experience as a member of the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Louis Big Band. Throughout the 70’s, she performed with such jazz notables as Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, and Dizzy Gillespie.
After a foray into the pop world during the 1980’s, she relocated to Paris and began to turn her attention back to jazz. She signed with the Verve label as both a performer and producer and released a series of acclaimed titles, beginning with "Keeping Tradition" in 1993.
Dee Dee Bridgewater continued to set her sights on new challenges. After four years of touring with “Dear Ella,” her wildly popular 1997 double Grammy Award-winning tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, “This Is New” found her exploring a different songbook – that of trailblazing German theater composer Kurt Weill, best known for his “The Threepenny Opera” and its classic song, “Mack the Knife.”
“I was struck by the melodies of these different songs (of
Weill’s),”
Bridgewater remembers. “Even though I couldn’t understand
the language they were singing in, I could still feel the emotion,
the power. The music was very dramatic and I fell in love with it.”
The newest Dee Dee Bridgewater project is “J’ai Deux Amours (Two Loves Have I),” a rich program capturing the magic of the French chanteuses and their incomparable love songs.
“My time in France was (and continues to be) a period of
healing, growth as a woman and an artist, and a discovery of the
rest of the world,”
says Bridgewater. “As I began researching songs...an obvious
story began unfolding reflective of both my personal life as well
as my love for the country and people of France.”
Her long list of credits include work in radio, film, and theater and she is currently the host of National Public Radio’s weekly syndicated show. “JazzSet,” now in its second decade on the air. Bridgewater’s 16 recordings are available worldwide and she continues to tour globally, performing to sold-out venues both domestically and internationally.
In addition to her two 1997 Grammy Awards for her self-produced Verve CD, “Dear Ella,” Bridgewater’s “Live at Yoshi’s” was nominated for a 2000 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
The vocalist also won a Tony Award for her work in “The Wiz” and an Olivier Award nomination for her work in the London run of the Billie Holiday tribute, “Lady Day.”
Bridgewater currently splits her time between the U.S. and France and was recently made a member of the “Haut Conseil de la Francophonie,” an organization which recognizes individuals on a global level who have made significant contributions to French culture and society.
As an Honorary Ambassador to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, Bridgewater continues to appeal for international solidarity to finance global grass-roots projects in the fight against world hunger, and will spend several months of 2006 in Mali, Africa, working with underpriviledged female musicians.
Tickets for the performance range from $32- $44, with student discounts available, and may be purchased at the Performing Arts Ticket Office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. To order by phone, call 805/756-2787; to order by fax: 805/756-6088. Order on-line at www.pacslo.org.
Sponsored by Al and Patty Moriarty and KCBX 90.1 FM.
For audio and video samples of Cal Poly Arts events, visit www.calpolyarts.org.
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