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October 15, 2009Dee Dee Bridgewater came out on stage at the 2009 Detroit Jazz Festival and declared, "I'm a Flintstone." Growing up in Flint, Mich., she auditioned for Motown but was too young for a contract. That's okay; she wanted to be on Capitol like Nancy Wilson. Bridgewater is one of the last jazz singers to get her start in a big band, and at the 2009 Detroit Jazz Festival, she reciprocates. She pulls the Michigan State University Jazz Orchestra to a new level on the Slide Hampton arrangement of "If You Can't Sing It, You'll Have to Swing It/Mr. Paganini," from Bridgewater's Dear Ella album. You can hear her take charge, and hear the student group rise to the challenge.

The Juilliard Jazz Ensemble balances an original by pianist Donald Vega with a familiar piece by Thelonious Monk. Engineer Mike Konopka, who spent three solid days recording the music on the Waterfront Stage, says these back-to-back pieces from the JJE were two of the best he'd heard all weekend, and WBGO's Rhonda Hamilton selected them as favorites, too.

Bennie Maupin credits the Detroit Public Schools for a musical education that was so good, it prepared him for a lifelong career in jazz. It's a diverse career, strongly influenced by a single flute lesson with Eric Dolphy (1928-64). In 2008, working with flutist James Newton, who had received a stash of newly discovered compositions by Dolphy, Maupin put together a West Coast quintet to play them. Newton was unable to come to Detroit, so Latin flutist Nestor Torres took his place; as always, Torres is in command of his music. The rhythm section has a magical quality and stirs the humid summer air. If you are unfamiliar, this is a fine reprise of two of Dolphy's best-known compositions from Out to Lunch — off-center and intriguing, then and now.