Jazz Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater Performed At The Official Obama Inauguration Ball
GRAMMY & TONY-WINNING JAZZ VOCALIST AND
UN GOODWILL AMBASSADOR DEE DEE
AT OFFICIAL OBAMA INAUGURATION BALL
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
RED EARTH –A Malian Journey, Dee Dee Bridgewater’s Grammy-nominated Musical tour-de-force recorded in
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
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
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
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,
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.
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
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