A career in music and specifically in jazz was Dee Dee’s destiny. Born Denise “Dee Dee” Garrett in Memphis, she moved to Flint, Michigan as a young child. Surrounded by music, her first source of inspiration was the voice of Ella Fitzgerald, which she heard on her mother’s recordings. Her father was a trumpeter and teacher who counted Booker Little, Charles Lloyd, and George Coleman among his students. Dee Dee was singing in a rock and R&B trio as an adolescent, and toured the Soviet Union with the University of Illinois Big Band in 1969.  In New York a year later with then-husband, trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, she debuted with the Mel Lewis/Thad Jones Orchestra. Soon she was performing and/or recording with such luminaries as Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach, Roland Kirk, Stanley Clarke and Frank Foster’s "Loud Minority."

Despite her success, Dee Dee sought new opportunities to expand her artistry, and in the mid 70s brought her voice to the Broadway stage, winning the Tony Award for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wiz. From Broadway she went on to Tokyo, Los Angeles, Paris and in London where she won the coveted Laurence Olivier Award nomination as Best Actress for her role as Billie Holiday in Stephen Stahl’s Lady Day.  She subsequently performed in stagings of Sophisticated Ladies, Cosmopolitan Greetings, Black Ballad, Carmen Jones, and was the first African American to portray Sally Bowles in the Paris production of Cabaret.

Bridgewater turned to pop for a while in the 80s, but after moving to Paris, found herself pulled back into jazz. As a performer and producer for Verve, she released a series of acclaimed recordings, beginning with Keeping Tradition in 1993 and a tribute to Horace Silver, Love and Peace (1994). Most have received Grammy nominations, including her much heralded 1997 Grammy winning tribute to her early muse, Dear Ella. In 2003, she released a critically acclaimed tribute to Kurt Weill, This is New. In 2005, Dee Dee released her 16^th recording, J'ai Deux Amours. A project that was in development for nearly a decade, this passionate cycle of French love songs reflects a varied period of time in the history of French music. Notes Dee Dee, “My time in France was (and continues to be) a period of healing, growth as a woman and an artist, and a discovery of the rest of the world. As I began researching songs and finding the corresponding sheet music, an obvious story began unfolding reflective of both my personal life as well as my love for the country and people of France."

Beyond her roles as performer and producer, Dee Dee Bridgewater has taken on other challenges. Since 1999, she has served as Ambassador to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as part of the battle against world hunger. Her efforts as Ambassador were recognized when she became the first American member of the "Haut Conseil de la Francophonie," an organization which recognizes individuals on a global level who have made significant contributions to French culture and society.  As a “jazz ambassador,” Dee Dee took over as host of NPR’s award-winning Jazz Set in 2001, replacing Branford Marsalis, and continues in this role today, introducing listeners to the best jazz artists in live performances around the world.

Her current tour marks a personal celebration of her roots. Says Dee Dee, “This new chapter that I am writing is all about embracing my ‘self’, finding my ‘roots’, seeking out my heritage…For so long, for so many women of color, we’ve been afraid to embrace our ‘blackness’ fully, whole-heartedly. We’ve waltzed around our color, the many hues of browns and beiges. But we are in the twenty-first century, where the world is upside down, where nothing is as it seems. In these desperate times, I have felt the yearning to go back in time. I’ve felt the need to finally stand up and admit that my origins stem from the Motherland… I instinctively knew it was time…time to find my way home. And so, as it is impossible for me, like so many of my sisters and brothers of the darker hue, to trace my past, I decided to let the musical universe be my guide. Africa was calling, but I was not sure which part of Africa. Not until I heard a particular music, from a particular land, did the call become distinctively clear… The Red Earth has always spoken to me, from the time of my birth in Memphis, Tennessee…When I touched the red earth of Bamako, when I inhaled the Malian air, when I heard the tambours, and listened to the griots, I felt my spirit begin to dance… Red Earth - A Malian Journey is, simply put, my journey home.”

Red Earth features Bridgewater’s outstanding trio--pianist Edsel Gomez, bassist Ira Coleman and drummer Minino Garay, along with an amazing group of seven Malian musicians. In particular, DeeDee sought to involve several women singers to give voice to songs that address the roles and influences of women in Malian politics and culture. Several songs reflect the tradition of the Griots, the Malian storytellers; another, “Four Women,” was written by the late Nina Simone, while two American jazz classics—“Afro Blue” and “Footprints” (renamed “Long Time Ago” with Dee Dee’s lyrics added) are reinvented with new arrangements. Dee Dee also contributed the lyrics to Edsel Gomez’ “Meanwhile” and adapted others to English. And it’s a family affair, with Dee Dee sharing producer credit with husband Jean Marie Durand, while son Gabriel Durand sits in on guitar on one track. Wrote John Walters in The Guardian, “Red Earth is neither fusion nor compromise but a happy meeting of African musicianship and Afro-American romanticism.”

With a voice shaded by Nancy Wilson, Nina Simone, and Tina Turner as well as Ella, Dee Dee Bridgewater is the penultimate jazz singer, whether scatting or singing it straight on. “Jazz is my soul, my roots—it’s me.” At Yoshi's, her trio will be joined by four of her original cast of Malian musicians: who sing and/or play traditional Malian instruments--Mamadou Cherif Soumano (kora), Yacouba Sissoko   (tamani and n'goni), Mamani Keita (vocals) and Kabine Kouyate (vocals).

For ticket information, visit Yoshi's websites at www.yoshis.com