Dee Dee Bridgewater - Live at Yoshi's
Year: 1998
Label: Verve (released 2000)
Total time: 67:59
Bitrate: 320 kbps

13 years after her prior in-performance release Live in Paris, Bridgewater has not so much matured or refined her approach as she has gotten bolder. This CD was recorded on what would have been her idol Ella Fitzgerald's 80th birthday weekend at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA. She scats in the style of Fitzgerald on most of these numbers -- not quite in the higher range, but comfortably in the middle -- while also displaying some of Sarah Vaughan's more deeply soulful traits. It's a combination of the two, with a little bawdiness for spice, that has made Bridgewater a prime purveyor of excitable jazz vocalizing these days. The set begins with the Charlie Shavers evergreen "Undecided," as the singer stops and starts the band on several dimes for the initial lines, exacting choppy phrases and similar scatting á la Fitzgerald on the bridge. In an Ella-cum-Betty Carter mode for "What a Little Moonlight Can Do
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Dee Dee Bridgewater - Live at Yoshi's
Year: 1998
Label: Verve (released 2000)
Total time: 67:59
Bitrate: 320 kbps

13 years after her prior in-performance release Live in Paris, Bridgewater has not so much matured or refined her approach as she has gotten bolder. This CD was recorded on what would have been her idol Ella Fitzgerald's 80th birthday weekend at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA. She scats in the style of Fitzgerald on most of these numbers -- not quite in the higher range, but comfortably in the middle -- while also displaying some of Sarah Vaughan's more deeply soulful traits. It's a combination of the two, with a little bawdiness for spice, that has made Bridgewater a prime purveyor of excitable jazz vocalizing these days. The set begins with the Charlie Shavers evergreen "Undecided," as the singer stops and starts the band on several dimes for the initial lines, exacting choppy phrases and similar scatting á la Fitzgerald on the bridge. In an Ella-cum-Betty Carter mode for "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," Bridgewater waxes frantically on the effect of an obviously full moon turning her into a scatting monster during two different uptempos. Then she brings out the Sarah Vaughan nightshade for "Midnight Sun," a memorable rendition especially buoyed by Eliez, with rubato intro of bass and piano underneath cat-walking, stealth phrases, stunningly set between the bass and piano lock-step with the vocal line. Then they dive headlong into "Love for Sale" for just over 14 minutes, and more delicate vocals lead to a scat much faster than the band's rhythm. The finale "Cotton Tail" is a three-ring exercise in scat. This program comprises a side of Bridgewater's well-known vehicles used for years as a springboard for her formidable talent -- unabashed and unafraid. ~ by Michael G. Nastos, AMG

Dee Dee Bridgewater's Live at Yoshi's is more than just a glorious paean to the art of scat singing by one of its foremost practitioners. Impeccably recorded, Yoshi's is also that rare live recording that captures the excitement and spontaneity of a performance without sacrificing the crystal-clear sound quality that listeners expect from a studio album. The audio is so good it's easy to imagine yourself smack in the middle of the Oakland, California, nightclub for one of these April 1998 shows. And what shows those were. Bridgewater and her topflight quartet--pianist/organist Thierry Eliez, bassist Thomas Bramerie, and drummer Ali Jackson--put on a fireworks display that showcases the group's thrilling interplay and playfulness while giving Bridgewater ample room to demonstrate why she is one of the jazz world's hottest vocalists, especially when it comes to the vocalizations of scat. A commanding presence in any setting, Bridgewater demonstrates her versatility by shifting gears in a heartbeat from the up-tempo scatted bebop of "Cherokee" to beautiful ballads like "Slow Boat to China" and "Stairway to the Stars." What's more, she takes up the greasy funk of James Brown's "Sex Machine" and a long version of Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" that weaves in snippets of Herbie Hancock's funky Headhunters arrangement of "Watermelon Man." You'll be forgiven if, after the set's rousing finale of "Cotton Tail," you stand and applaud along with the crowd at Yoshi's. ~ Ezra Gale

Personnel:
Dee Dee Bridgewater (Vocals, Scat)
Thierry Eliez (Piano and Organ)
Ali Jackson (Drums and Percussion)
Thomas Bramerie (Double Bass)

Dee Dee Bridgewater - Live at Yoshi's Tracks:
01 Undecided
02 Slow Boat To China
03 Stairway To The Stars
04 What A Little Moonlight Can Do
05 Sex Machine
06 Midnight Sun
07 Cherokee
08 Love For Sale
09 Cotton Tail