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Dee Dee Bridgewater Channels Billy Holiday
Cooing, crooning and creeping toward him on the stage, she sang an up-tempo, sexually suggestive blues, moaning “Oooh" and “Aaah" as an erotic tension built, stopping just short of physical contact.
It was a trademark moment for one of the jazz world's most celebrated divas, but it was also incongruous: Bridgewater had just sung “Mother's Son in Law," a tune made famous by Billie Holiday, and the rest of her songs -- including “Good Morning Heartache," “All of Me" and “God Bless the Child" -- were also immortalized by the iconic singer. Holiday, who died tragically at 44, was known for her muted, introspective voice and reserved stage presence. Bridgewater's booming instrument and kinetic energy seemed strangely at odds with the legend she was invoking. Was this a case of mistaken jazz identity?
“Not at all," said the Grammy and Tony award-winning artist, who will be bringing her Holiday tribute to Disney Hall on Sunday (also on the bill will be jazz legend Al Jarreau; the two will perform separate sets). For a woman whose stage presence can be smoldering, and whose band members often don't know what to expect during a live performance, she was low-key and relaxed as she sat down to lunch at a midtown Manhattan hotel the day after her show at Lincoln Center's Allen Room.
“I thought I'd take a risk and show that Billie Holiday was a whole woman, not this dark, depressing victim who gets portrayed in a maudlin and stark way," said Bridgewater, who also hosts NPR's “Jazz Set" series. “Billie had a great sense of humor, she was quick and clever. She could tell the dirtiest jokes and curse like a sailor.
