Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater shares her knowledge and enthusiasm about jazz as host of National Public Radio’s popular series JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater. The weekly, hour-long program of live jazz recordings is produced by WBGO 88.3 FM/Newark, New Jersey.

Only a handful of entertainers have ever commanded such depth of artistry in every medium. Fewer still have won a Tony, two Grammy’s, and the top musical honor in France -- the Victoire de la Musique -- plus been nominated for London theater's Laurence Oliver Award. Dee Dee captured the hearts of audiences worldwide in The Wiz with her signature song, "If You Believe." Nick Ashford of Ashford and Simpson said Dee Dee's rendition "personified a generation and gave us all hope."

As a sparkling ambassador for jazz, she bathed in its music before she could walk. Her mother played the greatest albums of Ella Fitzgerald, whose artistry provided an inspiration for Dee Dee throughout her career. Her father was a trumpeter who taught music to Booker Little, Charles Lloyd and George Coleman, among others. It's the kind of background that leaves its mark on an adolescent, especially one who appeared solo and with a trio as soon as she was able.

Dee Dee's other vocation, that of globetrotter, reared its head when she toured the Soviet Union in 1969 with the University of Illinois Big Band. A year later, she followed her then husband, Cecil Bridgewater, to New York.

Dee Dee made her phenomenal New York debut in 1970 as the lead vocalist for the band led by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, one of the premier jazz orchestras of the time. These New York years marked an early career in concerts and on recordings with such giants as Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach and Roland Kirk, and rich experiences with Norman Connors, Stanley Clarke and Frank Foster's Loud Minority.

Dee Dee doesn't care much for labels, and in 1974 she jumped at the chance to act and sing on Broadway where her voice, beauty and stage presence won her great success and a Tony Award for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wiz. This began a long line of awards and accolades as well as opportunities to work in Tokyo, Los Angeles, Paris and in London where she garnered the coveted Laurence Olivier Award nomination as Best Actress for her portrayal of jazz legend Billie Holiday in Stephen Stahl's Lady Day.

Performing the lead in equally demanding acting/singing roles as Sophisticated Ladies, Cosmopolitan Greetings, Black Ballad, Carmen Jazz and the musical Cabaret (as the first black actress to star as Sally Bowles), she secured her reputation as a consummate entertainer.

Named Ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in October 1999, Dee Dee joined the battle against world hunger. Appealing for international solidarity to finance global grassroots projects, the FAO's Ambassadors aid in developing self-reliance in long-term conservation and management of sustainable agriculture, rural development and the conservation and management of natural resources.

Bridgewater’s Major Appearances

TELEVISION
All Major Television Shows: France/Italy • Various Television Shows: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Holland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, USA • Home & Family 1997 November and Christmas Special (duet with Lou Rawls) • KTLA Morning News L.A. 1996 Special Guest (March 4) • CBS This Morning 1996 Grammy® Nominees Special (February 28) • CNN 1996 Grammy® Nominees Special (February 27) • BET 1996 Grammy® Nominees Special (February 25) • CBS Sunday Morning 1994 Profile • Highlander 1993 Guest Star (TV Series – Episode "The Beast Below") • 52nd Street 1990 Host/Presenter (Jazz TV Show-Interviews, Live Music) • Le Chinois 1989 with Charles Aznavour (TV Movie)

THEATER
Ain’t Misbehavin’ 1998 (Montréal) • Cabaret 1995 (Paris) – as Sally Bowles • Carmen Jazz 1998 (Vienne, France) – as Carmen • Black Ballad 1991 (Paris) • Cosmopolitan Greetings 1988 (Hamburg) • Lady Day 1986 (Paris)/1987 (London) – as Billie Holiday • Sophisticated Ladies 1982 (Los Angeles) – Starring Role 1983-1984 (National Tour/Japan/Paris) • The 1940’s Radio Hour 1979 (New York on Broadway/Florida) – as Geneva Lee Brown/Starring Role • The Wiz 1974-1977 (New York on Broadway, Los Angeles, San Francisco) – as Glinda, Good Witch of the South

FILM
The Brother From Another Planet 1984 A-Train Films (Starring Role-John Sayles: Director/Producer/Writer) • The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh 1979 Lorimar Pictures (Co-Starring Role-Gilbert Moses: Director)

RADIO
JazzSet 2001 Host (NPR Syndicated) • Jazzy 1990 Host (Europe2: France ) • Le Jazz Club From Paris 1989-1992 Narrator (NPR Syndicated: USA )

ALBUM AWARDS

LIVE AT YOSHI'S
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Producer
Nomination: GRAMMY® Award -“Best Jazz Vocal Album” (2001)

DEAR ELLA
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Producer
GRAMMY® Award-"Best Jazz Vocal Album” (1998)
GRAMMY® Award-"Best Arrangement for Vocal" Cottontail - Slide Hampton-Arranger (1998)
Victoires de la Musique -"Best Jazz Vocal Album" (1998-France )
Nomination: Echo Award -“Best Jazz Album” (1998-Germany)

LOVE AND PEACE: A TRIBUTE TO HORACE SILVER
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Producer
"Best Jazz Vocal Album" - Gavin Report (1995)
"Best Jazz Vocal Album" - Swing Journal (1995-Japan)
Billie Holiday Award - "Best Jazz Vocal" - Jazz Academy Awards (1995-France)
Choc de L'Année - Jazzman Magazine (1995-France)
Nomination: GRAMMY® Award - "Best Jazz Vocal” (1996)

KEEPING TRADITION
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Producer
Django D'Or (1994-France)
Nomination: GRAMMY® Award -"Best Jazz Vocal" (1994)

LIVE IN PARIS
Billie Holiday Award - "Best Jazz Vocal" -Jazz Academy Awards (1988-France)
Nomination: GRAMMY® Award - "Best Jazz Vocal" (1991)

ACTING AWARDS
"LADY DAY"
Nomination: Laurence Olivier Award
"Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actress in a Musical” (1987-England)