EVEN UNDER THE WEATHER JAZZ VOCALIST DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER DELIVERS AN AMAZING SHOW WITH THE GATHERING ORCHESTRA AT THE CARR CENTER

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Friday evening at the Detroit School of the Arts Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater performed with Detroit’s Gathering Orchestra, which is comprised of some of Detroit’s top jazz musicians. The performance was part of the Carr Center’s 2019 concert series, and Bridgewater was wrapping up a weeklong residency at the DSA, mentoring members of the school’s jazz vocal orchestra. Bridgewater was visibly under the weather although her voice, which is one of the best in jazz, was still in top form. Being sick didn’t hinder Bridgewater from giving the near-capacity audience a wonderful show. Bridgewater divided the concert into two parts, dedicating the first half to tunes the great Ella Fitzgerald immortalized such as “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” and “Undecided,” and the second half to some of Billie Holiday’s staples such as “God Bless the Child.” A few times Bridgewater flubbed. Once starting with the wrong tune, and the second stopping the orchestra to check that she was in the right key. Bridgewater has such a stage-presence the audience didn’t care about her flubs. Each time Bridgewater recovered nicely. It’s amazing watching her work an audience. During the performance, Bridgewater seemed to have tapped the spirits of both Fitzgerald and Holiday. I have never been a big fan of a vocalist backed by an orchestra. Orchestras tend to overwhelm, but that wasn’t the case with the Gathering Orchestra, which has only been around for a few years but sounds as good as any noted jazz orchestra making the rounds these days. What’s wonderful about the Gathering Orchestra is it is comprised of a cross-section of jazz musicians such as vets Michael Deas, Dwight Adams, and Diego Rivera, and some young lions such as Kasan Belgrave, Trunino Lowe, and Ian Finkelstein. The orchestra didn’t step on Bridgewater’s toes as she belted hit after hit.  Hell, it appeared Bridgewater has been touring with the orchestra for years. The evening was full of highlights, and some humorous banter from Bridgewater and the orchestra’s director bassist Rodney Whitaker. One memorable section was when Bridgewater invited the DSA Vocal Jazz Orchestra on stage to perform two selections. The orchestra looked good and sounded even better. It’s good to witness a group of teenage musicians who take the jazz music seriously. The audience rewarded the youngsters with an ovation. After the vocal orchestra exited the stage, Bridgewater returned to work stripping the paint from Billie Holiday staples and modernizing them. Although Bridgewater was under the weather, she delivered a damn good show, which honestly wasn’t surprising