Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ronnie Scott’s

Three-time Grammy winner Dee Dee Bridgewater is one of the most celebrated vocalists in jazz today, a dynamic diva with a personality that’s every bit as big as her voice. Her career stretches right back to the 1960s and, along with stints on Broadway (she bagged herself a Tony Award for her role in The Wiz back in 1975), she’s worked with a who’s who of jazz musicians, among them drummer Max Roach and saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins.
Her latest album, Dee Dee’s Feathers, due for release in August, is a collaboration with renowned trumpeter and bandleader Irvin Mayfield and his New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, seven of whom will be joining her for four shows at Ronnie Scott’s (two per night) this October.
It’s her first new release since 2010 Billie Holiday tribute Eleanora Fagan (1915–1959): To Billie with Love From Dee Dee Bridgewater, which won the 2011 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and it’s a strong follow up, full of the boisterous spirit and theatrical pomp of Mardi Gras.
Big Easy classics, including ‘Saint James Infirmary’, ‘Big Chief’ and ‘What a Wonderful World’ all feature, along with gospel favourites like Duke Ellington’s ‘Come Sunday’, new compositions ‘Congo Square’ and ‘C’est Ici Que Je T’aime’ and a take on the theme song from hit New Orleans-based TV series Treme.
Live, it’ll be something else. Expect footstomping grooves, fireworks from Mayfield and his team of Crescent City soloists, and Dee Dee at her most charismatic.