Dee Dee Bridgewater : NPR

International Jazz Day's Global Celebrations Are On, And Again Online

Herbie Hancock, speaking to high school students in the State Dining Room of the White House during President Obama's celebration of International Jazz Day on April 29, 2016. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Music News

International Jazz Day's Global Celebrations Are On, And Again Online

WBGO

April 22, 2021 • April 30 will bring the International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert, with artists from across the world taking part in another digital edition of the show, in addition to several other events.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band performs at Blue Note Hawaii on Oct. 11, 2016. Hawaii In Real Life/Hawaii In Real Life hide caption

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Hawaii In Real Life/Hawaii In Real Life

Toast Of The Nation

Toast Of The Nation 2019

WBGO

December 31, 2018 • Celebrate the New Year from Blue Note venues around the world, with performances by The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau, Fred Hersch, Ron Carter, Buika and Dee Dee Bridgewater.

Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau

1:00:00

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Doris Duke Artist Awards Return, Breaking A Pledge To End After 5 Years

Violinist Regina Carter peforming. Carter is one of the recipients of the 2018 Doris Duke Artist Awards, along with Dee Dee Bridgewater and Stefon Harris, among others. Scott Gries/Getty Images hide caption

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Scott Gries/Getty Images

Music News

Doris Duke Artist Awards Return, Breaking A Pledge To End After 5 Years

June 26, 2018 • The awards, which go to artists who have had significant impact in their field and who are likely to continue doing so, come with a substantial sum of money attached.

Dee Dee Bridgewater performs a Tiny Desk Concert on August 11, 2017. (Claire Harbage/NPR) Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Tiny Desk

Dee Dee Bridgewater: Tiny Desk Concert

April 2, 2018 • Bridgewater connects with her roots, her birthplace and the town she's loved all her life, with a set of songs from Memphis.

Dee Dee Bridgewater Explores Her Memphis Roots With 'Hound Dog'

Dee Dee Bridgewater, Memphis. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Review

Jazz Night In America

Dee Dee Bridgewater Explores Her Memphis Roots With 'Hound Dog'

WBGO

July 12, 2017 • The jazz-vocal superhero moved to Michigan when she was only 3, but the city of her birth left an indelible impression. Hear it in the first single from her forthcoming album, Memphis.

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Courtesy of the artist

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz

Dee Dee Bridgewater On Piano Jazz

May 19, 2017 • The versatile, knowledgeable vocalist joins Marian McPartland for a set of Duke Ellington and Gershwin tunes.

Dee Dee Bridgewater On Piano Jazz

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Dee Dee Bridgewater performs at Jazz At Lincoln Center. Frank Stewart/Jazz At Lincoln Center hide caption

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Frank Stewart/Jazz At Lincoln Center

Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Dee Dee Bridgewater: Fearless And Free

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

April 27, 2017 • In words as well as music, hear how seriously Bridgewater takes her role as a music mentor and how it connects to her own experience in the jazz lineage.

Dee Dee Bridgewater: Fearless And Free

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The Fred Hersch Trio performs at Blue Note Beijing on Oct. 28, 2016. Zhang Dongdong hide caption

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Zhang Dongdong

Jazz Night In America

Ring In The New Year With Jazz

WBGO

December 30, 2016 • Celebrate the New Year from Blue Note venues around the world. The lineup includes The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Joshua Redman and Brad Meldau, Fred Hersch, Ron Carter, Buika and Dee Dee Bridgewater.

Dee Dee Bridgewater's Joyous Gift To New Orleans

Dee Dee Bridgewater's new album, Dee Dee's Feathers, mines the rich history of New Orleans music. Greg Miles/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Greg Miles/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

Dee Dee Bridgewater's Joyous Gift To New Orleans

August 30, 2015 • "We wanted to be a part of the healing process of the city and of the people," Bridgewater says. Her new album, Dee Dee's Feathers, mines the rich history of New Orleans music.

Dee Dee Bridgewater's Joyous Gift To New Orleans

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Song Travels

Dee Dee Bridgewater On Song Travels

June 19, 2015 • In honor of Billie Holiday's centennial, Bridgewater performs some of Holiday's signature songs and discusses the experience of portraying Holiday onstage.

Dee Dee Bridgewater In The Studio

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"It was part of a beautiful, long story," Dee Dee Bridgewater says of hosting JazzSet. "It has been a highlight of my career." Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

JazzSet Signs Off

October 2, 2014 • From outdoor festivals to concert halls in major cities, JazzSet was there. Hear an intimate, bittersweet farewell, with highlights that span the NPR jazz program's 23-year run.

The JazzSet Finale

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They Drive At 55: The Monterey Jazz Anniversary Tour

Christian McBride in rehearsal at the Kennedy Center. Jeffrey Kliman/Courtesy of the Kennedy Center. hide caption

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Jeffrey Kliman/Courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

They Drive At 55: The Monterey Jazz Anniversary Tour

WBGO

September 18, 2014 • An all-star sextet is crossing the country, advancing the festival's mission: to create and support jazz education and performance programs. JazzSet has highlights from the Kennedy Center.

They Drive At 55: The Monterey Jazz Anniversary Tour

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Dee Dee Bridgewater (right) smiles big with pianist Edsel Gomez. Richard Conde hide caption

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Richard Conde

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

Dee Dee Bridgewater On JazzSet

August 14, 2014 • Held each summer in the lovely hillside country of Westchester County, the Caramoor Jazz Festival is in a rolling woods, 40 miles northeast of New York City. Hear Dee Dee Bridgewater lead her quintet.

Backstage at the Kennedy Center tribute concert to Abbey Lincoln, left to right: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Terri Lyne Carrington, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves. Becca Pulliam/WBGO hide caption

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Becca Pulliam/WBGO

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

A Tribute To Abbey Lincoln On JazzSet

WBGO

January 16, 2014 • Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves and Cassandra Wilson sing from the Abbey Lincoln songbook.

A Tribute To Abbey Lincoln On JazzSet

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Opera Star Jessye Norman Picks Her Favorite Jazz Singers

In a conversation aired on WBGO, Jessye Norman credits the study of jazz with her understanding of song interpretation. Carol Friedman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Carol Friedman/Courtesy of the artist

A Blog Supreme

Opera Star Jessye Norman Picks Her Favorite Jazz Singers

WBGO

September 20, 2013 • As a fledgling classical soprano in New York, Norman went to hear singers like Mabel Mercer perform. She tells WBGO's Rhonda Hamilton that her study of jazz vocalists influenced the way she interprets songs — including operatic arias.

Review

Best Music of 2007

The Year's Best Jazz CDs

WBGO

December 25, 2007 • WBGO Morning Jazz host Gary Walker shares his favorite jazz recordings of 2007. Among the artists he singles out: Michael Brecker, Abbey Lincoln, Maria Schneider and Ron Carter.

The Year's Best Jazz CDs

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Review

Best Music of 2007

The Year's Best World Music

December 27, 2007 • Banning Eyre, senior editor of Afropop.org, shines the spotlight on Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean with his picks for the year's best albums. Among his selections: Watina, an effort by singer Andy Palacio to preserve the culture of the Garifuna people of Central America.

The Year's Best World Music

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Concerts

Dee Dee Bridgewater's 'Red Earth' in Concert

WBGO

April 24, 2007 • When Dee Dee Bridgewater stepped on Malian soil, it was red, just like the ground in Memphis, her birthplace. People were friendly, even familial, and in a tiny Bamako cabaret, Bridgewater jumped onstage and started to sing. She brings that joy to the Kennedy Center in her Grammy-nominated Red Earth: A Malian Journey.

Dee Dee Bridgewater's 'Red Earth' in Concert

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Music Interviews

Dee Dee Bridgewater Discovers Her 'Red Earth'

November 2, 2007 • When Bridgewater came up empty after tracing her family tree back more than 100 years, she turned to West African music. After a trip to Mali in 2004, she discovered its complex musical heritage. Hear an interview about the inspiration behind her new album, Red Earth.

Dee Dee Bridgewater Discovers Her 'Red Earth'

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