Congrats to Judith Z. of Roseville!
Judith won 2 tickets to see Ramsey Lewis & Dee Dee Bridgewater live in concert at The Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis! She’ll get to choose from either the June 19th or 20th show at 9:00 PM. Thank you to everyone who entered the ticket giveaway contest at Twin Cities Schmitt Music stores.
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Learn more about Ramsey Lewis and Dee Dee Bridgewater, and watch videos below!
Ramsey Lewis recently released his 80th collection of songs entitled “Ramsey, Taking Another Look” in fall of 2011. Ramsey has been an iconic leader in the contemporary jazz movement for over 50 years, with an unforgettable sound and outgoing personality that has allowed him to cross over to the pop and R&B charts.
The Ramsey Lewis Trio, with bassist Eldee Young and percussionist Redd Holt, became a fixture on the Chicago jazz scene, releasing their debut album, Ramsey Lewis & His Gentlemen of Jazz, back in 1956. Lewis earned his first gold record, as well as a Grammy award for Best Jazz Performance, for their swinging version of Dobie Gray’s hit “The In Crowd.” He returned to the pop charts in 1966 with versions of “Hang On Sloopy” and “Wade In The Water.” Throughout the years, Lewis’ trio has undergone membership changes, all the while staying true to Lewis’ high musical standards.
Famous for his passion for Steinway pianos, this is the first time Lewis has played the Fender Rhodes electric piano in over a decade. Lewis observed, “I was pleasantly brought back to what I loved about the instrument. Unlike an acoustic piano, you get that groove-oriented electric sound. And, you can add vibrato, enhance bass and treble. As a musician, it allows me to take on different and exciting roles. I feel almost like a horn player or even a singer because of the Fender Rhodes’ unique qualities and capabilities.
Learn more about Ramsey on his website: www.ramseylewis.com
Watch Ramsey Lewis and his Electric Band perform “Living for the City”:
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Dee Dee Bridgewater is a three-time Grammy Award-winning American jazz singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress and host of National Public Radio’s syndicated radio show JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater.
One of the best jazz singers of her generation, Dee Dee Bridgewater (who was married to trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater in the early ’70s) had to move to France to find herself. She performed in Michigan during the ’60s and toured the Soviet Union in 1969 with the University of Illinois Big Band. She sang with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis orchestra (1972-1974) and appeared in the Broadway musical The Wiz (1974-1976). Due to erratic records and a lack of direction, Bridgewater was largely overlooked in the jazz world by the time she moved to France in the ’80s.
She appeared in the show Lady Day and at European jazz festivals, and eventually formed her own backup group. By the late ’80s, Bridgewater’s Verve recordings were starting to alert American listeners as to her singing talents. Her 1995 Horace Silver tribute disc (Love and Peace) is a gem, and resulted in the singer extensively touring the U.S, reintroducing her to American audiences. She would find even more success with her tribute album, Dear Ella, which won a Grammy in 1997. This Is New, released in 2002, featured Bridgewater singing Kurt Weill songs, while 2005’s J’ai Deux Amours found her tackling French classics. For 2010’s Eleanora Fagan (1917-1959): To Billie with Love from Dee Dee, Bridgewater moved from Verve to Decca/Emarcy, and offered her versions of several songs associated with Billie Holiday.
She followed this in August 2011 with her sophomore effort for the label; a compilation collection of jazz standards entitled Midnight Sun, with tunes fom previously albums ranging from “Angel Eyes” to Horace Silver’s “Lonely Woman,” and included one cut, “L’Hymne a la Amour (J’ai Deux Amours),” which was released previously only in Japan. She is a United Nations Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Visit Dee Dee’s website here: www.deedeebridgewater.com
Watch Dee Dee perform “Don’t Explain” at the 2009 Victoria Jazz Festival:
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