Dee Dee Bridgewater Bad For me

One of the best jazz singers of her generation, Dee Dee Bridgewater had to move to France to find herself. She performed in Michigan during the '60s and toured the Soviet Union in 1969 with the University of Illinois Big Band. She sang with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis orchestra (1972-1974) and appeared in the Broadway musical The Wiz (1974-1976). Due to erratic records and a lack of direction, Bridgewater was largely overlooked in the jazz world by the time she moved to France in the '80s. She appeared in the show Lady Day and at European jazz festivals, and eventually formed her own backup group. By the late '80s, Bridgewater's Verve recordings started to alert American listeners to her singing talents. Her 1995 Horace Silver tribute disc (Love and Peace) was a gem, and resulted in the singer extensively touring the U.S, reintroducing herself to American audiences.

Two CD set. Singer and actress Dee Dee Bridgewater recorded four albums for the Warner Brothers group of labels between 1976 and 1980, one for Atlantic and three for Elektra; for the very first time Robinsongs have combined these albums in this collection. Dee Dee Bridgewater, the Atlantic album, kicks the package off and features 'Going Through The Motions' and both the fast and ballad versions of 'My Prayer', which were released as singles. The album Just Family completes the first disc and this Stanley Clarke produced album featured a who's who in the jazz funk world, including George Duke, Harvey Mason, Ronnie Foster and Chick Corea to name but a few. Stanley Clarke also played bass on selected tracks. The Just Family album includes 'Sweet Rain' and 'Just Family', both released as singles and a fantastic version of Elton John's 'Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word'. Disc Two kicks off with the George Duke produced Bad For Me album, and the title track was also a Billboard Top 40 R&B hit. As per previous albums, it also featured some amazing players such as Sheila E on percussion, Greg Phillinganes on keyboards, Alphonso Johnson on bass and Roland Bautista of Earth Wind & Fire fame on guitar. Completing Disc Two is the self-titled Elektra album which was produced by Bell & James and Thom Bell. This 1980 album features the single 'One In A Million (Guy)' and the club classic 'Lonely Disco Dancer'.

Every picture tells a story; every journey begins differently. The story of Dee Dee Bridgewater's stunning new album, Memphis…Yes, I'm Ready, begins in that city, where she was born at Collins Chapel Hospital, located not far from where the album was recorded at Producer Willie Mitchell's historic Royal Studios. Dee Dee's father, a trumpet player, also affectionately known as "Matt the Platter Cat", was a DJ at WDIA, the top Memphis radio station. Even when the family moved to neighboring Flint, Michigan, as a young girl Dee Dee would listen to the great sounds of the Memphis music scene by tuning-in late night from across state lines. And oh what a music scene it was!

Every picture tells a story; every journey begins differently. The story of Dee Dee Bridgewater's stunning new album, Memphis…Yes, I'm Ready, begins in that city, where she was born at Collins Chapel Hospital, located not far from where the album was recorded at Producer Willie Mitchell's historic Royal Studios. Dee Dee's father, a trumpet player, also affectionately known as "Matt the Platter Cat", was a DJ at WDIA, the top Memphis radio station. Even when the family moved to neighboring Flint, Michigan, as a young girl Dee Dee would listen to the great sounds of the Memphis music scene by tuning-in late night from across state lines. And oh what a music scene it was!

Every picture tells a story; every journey begins differently. The story of Dee Dee Bridgewater's stunning new album, Memphis…Yes, I'm Ready, begins in that city, where she was born at Collins Chapel Hospital, located not far from where the album was recorded at Producer Willie Mitchell's historic Royal Studios. Dee Dee's father, a trumpet player, also affectionately known as "Matt the Platter Cat", was a DJ at WDIA, the top Memphis radio station.

'Liquid Spirit' marks Gregory Porter’s Blue Note Records debut, which arrives on the heels of two critically acclaimed indie label albums that quickly propelled Porter to the upper echelon of contemporary male jazz singers and earned him two GRAMMY nominations. Don Was, President of Blue Note, encouraged Porter to stay true to his artistic vision. “I firmly consider myself a jazz singer but I enjoy blues, southern soul, and gospel,” Porter says, “Those elements make their way inside my music. And I’ve always heard them in jazz.”

Sentimental Journey is the proof that Nils Landgren is not only a world class trombonist and bandleader but a singer with heart and soul as well. Diana Krall, Jane Monheit, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Natalie Cole - these are the stars that have caused a worldwide furore with their full-blown movement back to the 'standards'. It comes as no surprise that the interpretation of the well-known ballads that make up a large portion of 'The Great American Songbook' has always been considered one of the highest disciplines in jazz.

The compilers of this five-CD/cassette box set anthology, which contains 104 tracks and runs over six hours, have taken an inclusive, open-ended approach to both their selections and their sequencing. Unconventionally, the album is organized not chronologically, but thematically, in eight categories – "Steeped in the Blues," Straight out of Church," "Let's Have a Party," "Swinging the Songbook," "After Hours: Slow-Dancing and Torching the Songbook," "Jazz Compositions," and "Novelties and Take-Offs" (in other words, blues, gospel, dance, standards, slow standards, scatting and vocalese, and other). Annotator Robert G. O'Meally is quick to acknowledge that the categories are slippery, however, and to invite the listener to re-arrange the sequencing as he sees fit, a suggestion some may not appreciate.