Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer and actress. She is a three-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's syndicated radio show ''JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater''. She is a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Goodwill Ambassador for the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

Biography

Born Denise Eileen Garrett to an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

family in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, she was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

. Her father, Matthew Garrett, was a jazz trumpeter and teacher at Manassas High School, and through his playing, she was exposed to jazz early on. At the age of 16, she was a member of a Rock and R&B trio, singing in clubs in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. At 18, she studied at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, before attending the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

. With the school's jazz band, she toured the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1969. The next year, she met trumpeter

Cecil Bridgewater Cecil Bridgewater (born October 10, 1942) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. Biography Bridgewater was born in Urbana, Illinois and studied at the University of Illinois. He and brother Ron formed the Bridgewater Brothers Band in 1969, ...

, and after their marriage, they moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where Cecil played in

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...

's band. In the early 1970s, Bridgewater joined the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra as lead vocalist. This marked the beginning of her jazz career, and she performed with many of the great jazz musicians of the time, such as

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

Rahsaan Roland Kirk Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935Kernfeld, Barry.Kirk, Roland" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Grove Music Online''. ''Grove Dictionary of M ...

, Wayne Garfield, and others. She performed at the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

in 1973. In 1974, her first solo album, entitled ''Afro Blue'', appeared, and she performed on Broadway in the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

''. For her role as

Glinda the Good Witch Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful Magician (fantasy), sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of ...

she won a

in 1975 as "Best Featured Actress", and the musical also won the 1976

Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award is generally given to the album's producers, principal vocalist(s), and the composer and lyricist if they have written a new score which comprises 51% or more ...

She subsequently appeared in several other stage productions. After touring

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1984 with the musical ''

Sophisticated Ladies ''Sophisticated Ladies'' is a musical revue based on the music of Duke Ellington. The revue ran on Broadway in 1981–83, earning two awards and eight nominations at the 35th Tony Awards. Production ''Sophisticated Ladies'' opened on Broadway ...

'', she moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1986. The same year saw her in ''Lady Day,'' as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

, for which role she was nominated for the

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

, as well as recording the song "Precious Thing" with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

, featured on her album '' Victim of Love''. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she returned from the world of Pop and

Contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

to Jazz. She performed at the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

in Italy and the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

in 1990, and four years later, she finally collaborated with

, whom she had long admired, and released the album '' Love and Peace: A Tribute to Horace Silver''. She also performed at the San Francisco Jazz Festival (1996). Her 1997 tribute album ''

Dear Ella ''Dear Ella'' is a 1997 studio album by Dee Dee Bridgewater, recorded in tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, who had died the previous year. For ''Dear Ella'', Bridgewater won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Slide Hampton won the Grammy ...

'' won her the 1998

Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz ...

, and the 1998 album '' Live at Yoshi's'' was also worth a Grammy nomination. She performed again at the

in 1998. She has also explored on '' This Is New'' (2002) the songs of

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

, and, on her next album '' J'ai deux amours'' (2005), the French Classics. Hancock Bridgewater

Her album ''

Red Earth Red Earth may refer to: Music *Red Earth (band), a Native American rock band from Albuquerque, New Mexico * ''Red Earth'' (Crash Vegas album), a 1989 album by Crash Vegas * ''Red Earth'' (Dee Dee Bridgewater album), a 2007 album by Dee Dee Bridge ...

'', released in 2007, features Africa-inspired themes and contributions by numerous musicians from

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. She performed at the San Francisco Jazz Festival (2007). On December 8, 2007, she performed with the

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He has also written two operas and more than 80 film and television scores. Blanchard has been nominated for two Academy Awards for Original Score for ''B ...

Quintet at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

She tours frequently, including overseas gigs around the world. October 16, 2009, found her opening the Shanghai JZ Jazz Festival, in which she sang tunes associated with

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

, along with Ellington compositions and other jazz standards. As a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, Bridgewater continues to appeal for international solidarity to finance global grassroots projects in the fight against world hunger. She's also been bestowed with honorary doctorates from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

In April 2017, Bridgewater was the recipient of an

NEA Jazz Masters The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), every year honors up to seven jazz musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the self-proclaimed highest honors that the United States bestows upo ...

Award with honors bestowed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and in 2018 was awarded the 2018 Maria Fisher Founder's Award by the Thelonious Monk/Hancock Institute of Jazz. Bridgewater was also, in November 2019, inducted into the

Memphis Music Hall of Fame The Memphis Music Hall of Fame, located in Memphis, Tennessee, honors Memphis musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The induction ceremony and concert is held each year in Memphis. Since its establishment in 2012, the Hall of Fame has ...

Philanthropy

Bridgewater has a long history of philanthropy and advocacy. Her appointment as UN Goodwill Ambassador to the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

, as well as the ASCAP Foundation Champion Award, along with her ongoing work with UNESCO for World Jazz Day coupled with her recognition as a Doris Duke Artist set in motion her founding of The Woodshed Network. Launched in 2019, The Woodshed Network was conceived as a program for Women in Jazz, to provide professional support and accelerate careers through mentorship, knowledge sharing and community interaction. The program is a collaboration between Dee Dee Bridgewater as artistic director, (DDB Productions + DDB Records), Tulani Bridgewater-Kowalski as Co-Artistic Director & Program Curator (Bridgewater Artists Management), and

651 ARTS Year 651 ( DCLI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 651 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming ...

with funding by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The first year's alumna include Erinn Alexis (sax),

Lakecia Benjamin Lakecia Benjamin is an American jazz, funk, and R&B saxophonist. Benjamin was born and raised in New York City. She grew up in a Dominican neighborhood in Washington Heights, Manhattan and played merengue, salsa, and Latin music. As a touring ...

(sax), Darynn Dean (vocals), Sarah Hanahan (sax), Kennedy (vocals), Amina Scott (bass), and Sequoia Snyder (piano). Program mentors included

Sheila Jordan Sheila Jordan (born Sheila Jeanette Dawson; November 18, 1928) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. She has recorded as a session musician with an array of critically acclaimed artists in addition to recording her own albums. Jordan pionee ...

Arthel Neville Arthel Helena Neville (born October 20, 1962) is an American journalist, television personality, and weekend anchor for Fox News, based in Manhattan alongside co-anchor Eric Shawn. Neville is the daughter of Doris Neville and Art Neville, a Gram ...

, Marilyn Rosen (Marilyn Rosen Presents), Alisse Kingsley (Muse Media Public Relations), Maureen McFadden (DL Media), Jett Galindo (The Bakery LA), Shirazette Tinnin, Fanny Delsol (Motema), Simma Levine (NJ PAC), Robin Tomchin (Motema), Stacie Negas (Sony Masterworks), and Lisa Jefferson (LRJ Account Management), with Bridgewater-Kowalski serving as moderator.

Acting

Dee Dee Bridgewater has appeared in such films as the 1979 film ''

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh ''The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh'' is a 1979 American sports/fantasy comedy film directed by Gilbert Moses and coproduced by David Dashev and Gary Stromberg. It was produced by Lorimar and distributed by United Artists. The film was shot on lo ...

'' and the 1984 film ''

The Brother from Another Planet ''The Brother from Another Planet'' is a 1984 low-budget American science fiction film, with a legacy as a cult classic, written and directed by John Sayles. The film stars Joe Morton as an escaped extraterrestrial slave trying to find a new li ...

''. She has made a guest appearance in the hit sitcom '' Benson'' and the hit sci-fi fantasy TV series '' Highlander: The Series''. Film and television credits include: *''

Everybody Rides the Carousel ''Everybody Rides the Carousel'' is a 1976 independent animated film based on Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. It was directed by John Hubley and written and produced by Hubley and his wife Faith. Among the cast are Meryl Streep, Din ...

'', Stage 7, 1976 *''

'' as Brandy, 1979 *'' Benson'' as Michelle, 1980 *'' Another Life'' as Samantha Marshall, 1982 *''

Night Partners ''Night Partners'' is a 1983 American TV movie by director Noel Nosseck starring Yvette Mimieux and Diana Canova. It was based on a true story about a project to help victims of crime in Arizona.TV NOTEBOOK The Globe and Mail 12 Mar 1983: P.5. ...

'' as Gloria, 1983 *''

'' as Glinda, the Good Witch of the South (TV version of Broadway Musical), 1983 *''

'' as Malverne Davis, 1984 *'' Highlander: The Series'' as Carolyn Lamb in "The Beast Below" (Season 1, Ep.16), 1993 *''Falstaff on the Moon'' (short film), 1993 *''Corps plongés'' (It's Not About Love) as "la femme au verre du lait", 1998 *''

Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure ''Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure'' () is a 2007 French animated western comedy film directed by Olivier Jean-Marie and written by Jean-Marie and Jean-François Henry. Based on the 2001–03 animated television series ''The New Adventures of Luc ...

'' as Molly, 2007

Personal life

Bridgewater is the mother to three children, Tulani Bridgewater (from her marriage to

), China Moses (from her marriage to theater, film and television director

Gilbert Moses Gilbert Moses III (August 20, 1942 – April 15, 1995) was an American director. He was also known for his work in the Civil Rights movement, as a staff member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and founder of the touring c ...

) and Gabriel Durand (from her last marriage to French concert promoter Jean-Marie Durand). Tulani, her eldest daughter, attended the Mirman School for Gifted Children in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. She serves as Bridgewater's manager under her firm Bridgewater Artists Management and runs Bridgewater's production company and record label (DDB Productions, Inc. and DDB Records). Bridgewater's daughter China Moses is an accomplished singer, songwriter, producer, radio host and

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

VJ (France). Her critically acclaimed albums have earned her an international reputation as heir to her mother's legacy. Moses also tours worldwide, occasionally sharing the bill with Bridgewater.

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards

The

s are awarded annually by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

. Bridgewater has won two Grammys with eight nominations.

Other accolades

* First American to be inducted into the Haut Conseil de la Francophonie * Officier dans l’ordre de la Légion d’Honneur Award (France), 25th of April 2025, on board French warship Mistral at New Orleans * Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Award (France) *

, Best Featured Actress in a Musical, ''

'', 1975 *

Nomination, Best Actress in a Musical, ''Lady Day'', 1987 *

AUDELCO AUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in African American theatre in New York City. AUDELCO presents the Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards (also known as Viv aw ...

Award, Outstanding Performance in a Musical-Female, ''Lady Day'', 2014 *

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

Foundation Champion Award, 2017 *

, 2017 *

Doris Duke Performing Artist Award The Doris Duke Artist Award is undertaken by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and designed to "empower, invest in and celebrate artists by offering multi-year, unrestricted funding as a response to financial and funding challenges both unique t ...

, 2018 *Thelonious Monk

Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education organization founded in 1986. Before 2019, it was known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, but was then renamed after its longtime board chairman, Herbie Hancock. The i ...

Maria Fisher Founder's Award, 2018 * – A Life for Jazz Award, Stuttgart Jazz Open, 2019 *

, 2019

Discography

As guest * Frank Foster – '' The Loud Minority'' (

Mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso * ...

, 1972) *

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

– '' Children of Forever'' (

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

, 1973) *

Roy Ayers Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...

– ''

Coffy ''Coffy'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation action thriller film written and directed by Jack Hill. The story is about a black female vigilante played by Pam Grier who seeks violent revenge against a heroin dealer responsible for her sister's ...

'' (Polydor, 1973) – as Denise Bridgewater *

Buddy Terry Edlin "Buddy" Terry (January 30, 1941 - November 29, 2019) was an American jazz musician and alto/tenor sax player. He was born in Newark, New Jersey. In the 1960s and 1970s Terry made albums for Prestige Records and Mainstream Records. He played w ...

– '' Lean on Him'' (Mainstream, 1973) *

Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is poss ...

– ''Love from the Sun'' ( Buddah, 1974) *

Cecil McBee Cecil McBee (born May 19, 1935) is an American jazz bassist. He has recorded as a leader only a handful of times since the 1970s, but has contributed as a sideman to a number of classic jazz albums. Biography Early life and career McBee was b ...

– '' Mutima'' ( Strata-East, 1974) * Charles Sullivan – ''

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

'' (Strata-East, 1974) *

Carlos Garnett Carlos Garnett (December 1, 1938 - March 3, 2023) was a Panamanian-American jazz saxophonist. Biography Garnett was born on December 1, 1938, in Red Tank, Panama Canal Zone.He became interested in jazz after hearing the music of Louis Jordan an ...

— ''

Black Love Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, 1974) *

– ''I Wanna Play for You'' ( Nemperor, 1979) *

Hollywood Bowl Orchestra The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (HBO) is a symphony orchestra that is managed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and plays the vast majority of its performances at the Hollywood Bowl. John Mauceri led the orchestra from its founding in 1990 ...

– ''Prelude to a Kiss: The Duke Ellington Album'' (

Philips Classics Philips Classics Records, commonly referred to as Philips Classics, was a classical music label founded by PolyGram that existed from 1983 until 2009. A new division called Philips Classics Productions was set up to manage the Philips Classics l ...

, 1996) * Ray Brown — '' Some of My Best Friends Are...Singers'' (

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long assoc ...

, 1998) * BWB – ''Groovin (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, 2002) *

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 400 recordings as a sideman, and is a nine-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of jaz ...

– ''

Conversations with Christian ''Conversations with Christian'' is a studio album by American jazz bassist Christian McBride. It was released on via Mack Avenue Records, Mack Avenue label. Background This is the tenth album by McBride as a leader. The album is special beca ...

'' (

Mack Avenue Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Background Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company is a sponsor ...

, 2011) Film soundtrack *''

'' (dir.

Jack Hill Jack Hill (born January 28, 1933) is an American filmmaker, known for his work in the exploitation genre. He was an early associate of Francis Ford Coppola and Roger Corman, and worked on many films distributed by American International Pictur ...

, 1973) — performer: "Coffy Baby", "Coffy Is the Color (Main Title)" – as Denise Bridgewater *'' Try This One for Size'' (dir.

Guy Hamilton Mervyn Ian Guy Hamilton (16 September 1922 – 20 April 2016) was an English film director. He directed 22 films from the 1950s to the 1980s, including four James Bond films. Early life Hamilton was born in Paris on 16 September 1922, son of ...

, 1989) *''

'' (dir.

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films '' The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), '' Matewan'' (1987), ...

, 1984) — performer: "Getaway", "Boss of the Block" *''Présumé dangereux'' (dir. Georges Lautner, 1990) — performer: "Turning Round" *''

La Vengeance d'une Blonde ''La Vengeance d'une blonde'' is a 1994 French comedy film directed by Jeannot Szwarc. Plot Gérard Breha is journalist on a Breton regional channel. He host, happy, his last Show, as he has been named host to the 23 hours newsreader on the large ...

'' (dir.

Jeannot Szwarc Jeannot Szwarc (21 November 1937 – 14 January 2025) was a French director known for his work in American film and television. His film credits included '' Jaws 2'', ''Somewhere in Time'', ''Supergirl'' and '' Santa Claus: The Movie''. Szwarc ...

, 1994) – performer with

Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. Noted for his fo ...

: "

People and Places ''People and Places'' is a Canadian children's television series which aired on CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast te ...

" *''

Monster-in-Law ''Monster-in-Law'' is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Anya Kochoff and starring Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan and Wanda Sykes. It marked a return to cinema for Fonda, being her first film in 15 ...

'' (dir.

Robert Luketic Robert Luketic ( Croatian: Luketić) is an Australian film director. His films include '' Legally Blonde'' (2001), '' Monster-in-Law'' (2005), '' 21'' (2008), '' Killers'' (2010), and ''Paranoia'' (2013). Early life and education Robert Luketi ...

, 2005) — performer: "Into My Soul" *'' Elsa & Fred'' (dir.

Michael Radford Michael James Radford (born 24 February 1946) is an English film director and screenwriter. He began his career as a documentary director and television comedy writer before transitioning into features in the early 1980s. His best-known credi ...

, 2014) — performer: "Step 1"

References

External links

* – official site * * *
Dee Dee Bridgewater
interview at Rockwired.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgewater, Dee Dee 1950 births Living people 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers African-American actresses African-American jazz musicians American expatriates in France American jazz singers American stage actresses American women jazz singers Food and Agriculture Organization officials Grammy Award winners Jazz musicians from Michigan Jazz musicians from New York (state) Jazz musicians from Tennessee Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Michigan State University alumni Musicians from Flint, Michigan Singers from Memphis, Tennessee Okeh Records artists Record producers from Michigan Record producers from Tennessee Sanremo Music Festival winners Singers from Michigan Tony Award winners Traditional pop music singers Verve Records artists NEA Jazz Masters