Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Memphis Soulphony

“Expressive, unrestricted vocals—especially riveting” — Billboard.com

NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater presents music from her album Memphis, a collection of blues and soul songs that originated from the city in the 1960s. Over the course of a multifaceted 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. She earned her first professional experience as a member of the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Louis Big Band, and throughout the 70s she performed with such jazz notables as Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and Dizzy Gillespie. Bridgewater also pursued a parallel career in musical theater, winning a Tony Award for her role as "Glinda" in The Wiz in 1975.