DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER
Live At Yoshi's (Verve)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Dee Dee Bridgewater's performance on this disc is alternatingly joyful, sultry, hilarious, romantic and invariably artistically impeccable. Most of the material is drawn from her 1998 tribute album to Ella Fitzgerald, and there is no one with a stronger claim to the Fitzgerald legacy than Dee Dee Bridgewater. She goes places, though, that it's hard to imagine Ella entering. How about a brief and very funny take on James Brown's "Sex Machine"? Well, if you can't imagine Ella doing that one, Dee Dee does, and provides her own impression of the experience. She devotes a good deal of time to having fun with her audience, and to poking fun at herself, which paints a more complete picture of her performance than the music alone could provide.

The music is, of course, superb. The interplay between Dee Dee's vocal instrument and her backing trio (Theirry Eliez, piano/organ; Thomas Bramerie, bass; Ali Jackson, drums) is wonderfully balanced, giving each musician a chance to display great solo chops as well as strong ensemble work. It's Dee Dee's show first and foremost, though, and what a show she provides. Her voice is round and rich for the ballads, and when she breaks loose she demonstrates her preeminence among her contemporaries as a practitioner of that most challenging vocal jazz style, scat. Her abilities as a scat singer alone give her a leg up in the race for Ella Fitzgerald's mantle.

There's absolutely nothing not to like here, and a great deal to love. It's simply the best jazz vocal album I've heard this year.

Track List:

Undecided * Slow Boat To China * Stairway To The Stars * What A Little Moonlight Can Do * Sex Machine * Midnight Sun * Cherokee * Love For Sale * Cotton Tail

© 2000 - Shaun Dale