I saw it on Facebook on June 21st. (that was yesterday afternoon). Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Memphis Soulphony to play at the Royal Theatre June 22nd. It sounded interesting. A quick phone call to a friend confirmed that we both wanted to attend, never having seen or heard of Dee Dee Bridgewater before. But jazz was offered on this opening night of the 35th annual Victoria JazzFest so a spur of the moment decision was made. Tickets surprisingly were still available so I booked them last evening. Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Memphis Soulphony was a sparkling discovery on this quiet Friday evening.
The Tony Genge Organ Trio, a local group, opened the evening with jazz medleys on organ, guitar and drums. They were lively and entertaining warming up the audience for the exciting performance to follow. Dee Dee Bridgewater, a three time Grammy winner and a Tony Award winner has had a colourful career including acting and directing. Born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1950 her music career began in her high school years and is still going strong. Full of energy, she shared the stage with her back up singers and her band, specifically singing and sometimes dancing with each of them. She, and the Memphis Soulphony, engaged the audience in rhythm and song. We heard some history of jazz (a babysitter of her’s was Carla Thomas, daughter of jazz legend Rufus Thomas), history of The Little Rock Nine in 1957 and just plain story telling. At the end of the performance, she insisted that we all stand up and share in the music and so we did. Clapping and responding to her music, swaying and dancing in the small spaces of this grand opera theatre. We had fun.
“I like musicians who look at the public. You have to bring
the music to the largest number. Otherwise, we’ll [the jazz players]
stay in the clubs. Jazz must be accessible to everyone.”
~ Dee Dee Bridgewater
Author's note: Edited March 12, 2024
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