Dee Dee Bridgewater
Live in Paris

For those unfamiliar with Dee Dee, this could be an excellent starting point. A "live" performance generally reveals the soul of the artist. Especially when it comes to a jazz musician. In this case, we are in the presence of one of the most powerful, precise, in-tune, and soulful voices around.

Having been based in France for quite some time, where she is very well received, she continues to produce beautiful albums. Her latest, "J'ai deux amoeurs," doesn't have much to do with jazz, but more with French popular songs; but still, that's another story altogether. In this 1989 recording, we find the vocalist superbly assisted, delightful, and full of swing by the indispensable Dedè Ciccarelli on drums, Antoine Bonfils on bass, and Hervé Sellin on piano.

1) "All blues" opens with very long vocal lines and beautiful vocalese-scat singing that suggest a fourth instrument, a trumpet or a sax. Skillful use of dynamics. 2) "Misty" is interpreted with much pathos, and Dee Dee's ability to deliver and interpret makes her one of the major contenders for a theoretical throne post-Ella Fitzgerald, her main inspiration (see also her tribute "Dear Ella" from '97)
3) "On a clear day" kicks off and she expertly plays with the material at hand. A cat playing with an entire ball of jazz, magnificently supported by a rhythm section entirely at the service of a bloody and swing-filled album, for an afternoon of good music. A lot of vocalese and scat singing here too.
4) "Dr. Feelgood" is an old blues standard kicked off by the supporting trio (all three are excellent) and carried forward, indeed: dragged on for over 5 minutes.
5) "There's no greater love" opens with an attempt to speak in French and the audience appreciates it. Then comes the inevitable beautiful standard set on a medium swing, powerful as an inexorable Cadillac cruising down a USA south belt turnpike in the summer. Fat music. The essence of true jazz. Powerful bass bows, relentless drums, and elegant piano chords support the structure with great respect for the singer (who soars high here), in accordance with the first and sacred commandment in jazz: "Never step on the vocal." Short but orgasmic piano solo for reprise and landing.
6) "Here's that rainy day" for seven minutes drags you with an impressive vocal play and magical piano into the world of jazz. If you've never been inside before, this is a golden gate: cross it. Resistance is futile.
7) Medley "Everyday I have the blues/Stormy Monday". Again, so much bloody blues, a breeding ground and natural meeting space for musicians from different countries. The United States didn't just invent Baseball: most importantly, the Blues. The piano weaves into the vocal interstices under and alongside Dee Dee, with a play of beautiful and extended notes to the end. What an effort, I presume.
8) "Cherokee" is an old standard from the Kansas City area, the capital of Kansas, right? Wrong: of Missouri! 15 km away is Lee's Summit, the hometown of Pat Metheny, hence "Missouri Sky". This piece has been one of Charlie Parker's "gymnasiums", used to drop the jaws of fellow musicians; hence it is performed here at three hundred per hour, as is fitting for a respectful tribute, only to end in parade-shuffle time with a swing that lifts you from your chair and makes you wish you were there playing or listening (which is the same), at the moment of the concert.

The initial idea was to give it four stars, but the more I hear it play, the more it insinuates into the (few) synapses remaining in my skull; and the more its rating grows.

To purchase; preferably along with the "Live in Montreux", "Dear Ella", "Tribute to Horace Silver", a... ... .