GRAMMY & TONY-WINNING JAZZ VOCALIST AND UN GOODWILL AMBASSADOR DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER PERFORMS AT OFFICIAL OBAMA INAUGURATION BALL
Los Angeles, CA - Grammy & Tony-winning Jazz Vocalist and UN Goodwill Ambassador Dee Dee Bridgewater performed last night at the official inaugural “Health for All Blue Diamond Ball” at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Bridgewater performed before a packed audience honoring Barack Obama and spoke on behalf of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, for which she is an Honorary Goodwill Ambassador. Also performing at last night’s ball were Jackson Browne and Graham Nash with a surprise performance by Congressman John Hall of New York. In attendance were numerous UN Ambassadors, Michael Moore, Michael J. Fox and Congressman John Conyers of Detroit, among others.
RED EARTH –A Malian Journey, Dee Dee Bridgewater’s Grammy-nominated Musical tour-de-force recorded in Mali which chronicled the singer’s search for her African ancestry, was released in 2007. A vibrant blending of Malian musicians and traditional African instruments coupled with the vocal and musical traditions of American Jazz. RED EARTH was recorded over a period of three weeks at Mali’s Studio Bogolan (the late Ali Farka Tour’s recording abode). RED EARTH – A Malian Journey takes the listener on an unprecedented, creatively innovative and passionate musical travelogue that explores new musical territory while redefining the boundaries of contemporary (and traditional) music as we know it.
In fact, it was Bridgewater’s role as an Honorary Ambassador for the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization that first brought her to Africa, where she worked with the FAO in assisting women in local villages to set-up self-sustaining small businesses. During her travels she began listening to a myriad of incredible music from such countries as Nigeria, Senegal and Benin, to name a few. However, it was the music of Mali that really stirred something in her. Indeed, Bridgewater’s first trip to Mali in 2004 was the beginning of the musical journey that came to be RED EARTH.
Bridgewater is currently working on a new CD with a planned release of Fall 2009. She splits her time between the U.S. and France and was recently made a member of the Haut Conseil de la Francophonie, an organization that recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to French culture and society on a global level. As an Honorary Ambassador to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, Bridgewater continues to appeal for international solidarity to finance global grass-roots projects in the fight against world hunger. Bridgewater also hosts NPR’s award-winning weekly syndicated show, JazzSet, now in its second decade on the air; and her recordings are available worldwide as she continues to tour globally, performing to sold-out venues both domestically and internationally.
Bridgewater’s career has always bridged musical genres. She earned her first professional experience as a member of the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Louis Big Band, and throughout the 70’s she performed with such jazz notables as Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and Dizzy Gillespie. After a foray into the pop world during the 1980’s, she relocated to Paris and began to turn her attention back to Jazz. Signing with the Universal label as both a performer and producer, Bridgewater released a series of acclaimed titles beginning with Keeping Tradition in 1993. Almost all of them-including her wildly successful double Grammy Award-winning tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Dear Ella -have received Grammy nominations.
Bridgewater has also pursued a parallel career in musical theater and won a Tony Award for her role as “Glinda, the good witch of the South” in The Wiz in 1975. Her other theatrical credits include Sophisticated Ladies, Black Ballad, Carmen and Lady Day, a Billie Holiday tribute for which Bridgewater received the British Laurence Olivier Nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She also became the first African American actress to play the role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret, a production staged at the Mogador Theatre in Paris.
Los Angeles, CA - Grammy & Tony-winning Jazz Vocalist and UN Goodwill Ambassador Dee Dee Bridgewater performed last night at the official inaugural “Health for All Blue Diamond Ball” at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Bridgewater performed before a packed audience honoring Barack Obama and spoke on behalf of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, for which she is an Honorary Goodwill Ambassador. Also performing at last night’s ball were Jackson Browne and Graham Nash with a surprise performance by Congressman John Hall of New York. In attendance were numerous UN Ambassadors, Michael Moore, Michael J. Fox and Congressman John Conyers of Detroit, among others.
RED EARTH –A Malian Journey, Dee Dee Bridgewater’s Grammy-nominated Musical tour-de-force recorded in Mali which chronicled the singer’s search for her African ancestry, was released in 2007. A vibrant blending of Malian musicians and traditional African instruments coupled with the vocal and musical traditions of American Jazz. RED EARTH was recorded over a period of three weeks at Mali’s Studio Bogolan (the late Ali Farka Tour’s recording abode). RED EARTH – A Malian Journey takes the listener on an unprecedented, creatively innovative and passionate musical travelogue that explores new musical territory while redefining the boundaries of contemporary (and traditional) music as we know it.
In fact, it was Bridgewater’s role as an Honorary Ambassador for the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization that first brought her to Africa, where she worked with the FAO in assisting women in local villages to set-up self-sustaining small businesses. During her travels she began listening to a myriad of incredible music from such countries as Nigeria, Senegal and Benin, to name a few. However, it was the music of Mali that really stirred something in her. Indeed, Bridgewater’s first trip to Mali in 2004 was the beginning of the musical journey that came to be RED EARTH.
Bridgewater is currently working on a new CD with a planned release of Fall 2009. She splits her time between the U.S. and France and was recently made a member of the Haut Conseil de la Francophonie, an organization that recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to French culture and society on a global level. As an Honorary Ambassador to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, Bridgewater continues to appeal for international solidarity to finance global grass-roots projects in the fight against world hunger. Bridgewater also hosts NPR’s award-winning weekly syndicated show, JazzSet, now in its second decade on the air; and her recordings are available worldwide as she continues to tour globally, performing to sold-out venues both domestically and internationally.
Bridgewater’s career has always bridged musical genres. She earned her first professional experience as a member of the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Louis Big Band, and throughout the 70’s she performed with such jazz notables as Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and Dizzy Gillespie. After a foray into the pop world during the 1980’s, she relocated to Paris and began to turn her attention back to Jazz. Signing with the Universal label as both a performer and producer, Bridgewater released a series of acclaimed titles beginning with Keeping Tradition in 1993. Almost all of them-including her wildly successful double Grammy Award-winning tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Dear Ella -have received Grammy nominations.
Bridgewater has also pursued a parallel career in musical theater and won a Tony Award for her role as “Glinda, the good witch of the South” in The Wiz in 1975. Her other theatrical credits include Sophisticated Ladies, Black Ballad, Carmen and Lady Day, a Billie Holiday tribute for which Bridgewater received the British Laurence Olivier Nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She also became the first African American actress to play the role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret, a production staged at the Mogador Theatre in Paris.
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