Dee Dee Bridgewater

vocals

Over the course of a multi-faceted career spanning four decades, Grammy and Tony Award-winning jazz giant Dee Dee Bridgewater has ascended to the upper echelon of vocalists, putting her unique spin on standards, as well as taking intrepid leaps of faith in re-envisioning jazz classics. The two-time Grammy winner most recently won the award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Eleanora Fagan (1915–1959): To Billie with Love From Dee Dee. She earned her first professional experience as a member of the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Louis Big Band, and throughout the 1970s performed with jazz legends Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, and others. Bridgewater’s voice combines the voluptuousness of Sarah Vaughan with the sweet, girlish clarity of Ella Fitzgerald. Awarded a NEA Jazz Master fellowship in 2017, she has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF) six times since 1973.