Dee Dee Bridgewater at the Palm Springs Women's Jazz Festival

Palm Springs Womens Jazz Festival 2016 Jazz Master Award Honoree, Dee Dee Bridgewater takes the stage Saturday night. Recipient of Broadways coveted Tony Award (Best Featured Actress in a Musical, The Wiz), nominated for the Laurence Oliver Award (Best Actress in a Musical, Lady Day), winner of three Grammy Awards (2011s Best Jazz Vocal Album for Eleanora Fagan: To Billie with Love from Dee Dee Bridgewater, 1998s Best Jazz Vocal Performance and Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocal for "Cottontail" Slide Hampton, arranger "Dear Ella"), and winner of Frances 1998 top honor Victoire de la Musique (Best Jazz Vocal Album). Dee Dee made her New York debut in 1970 as the lead vocalist for the band led by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, one of the premier jazz orchestras of the time. Her early career included concerts and recordings with such giants as Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach and Roland Kirk, and rich experiences with Norman Connors, Stanley Clarke and Frank Fosters "Loud Minority." Bridgewater doesn't care for labels, and in 1974 she jumped at the chance to act and sing on Broadway where she received a Tony Award for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wiz. She captured the hearts of audiences worldwide in The Wiz with her signature song, If You Believe. On stage in London, she garnered the coveted Laurence Olivier Award nomination as Best Actress for her tour de force portrayal of jazz legend Billie Holiday in Stephen Stahls Lady Day. Her successful stage performances continued with leads in Sophisticated Ladies, Cosmopolitan Greetings, Black Ballad, Carmen Jazz and the musical Cabaret (the first black actress to star as Sally Bowles), she secured her reputation as a consummate entertainer. Her most recent album release is Dee Dees Feathers. Recorded and Mastered at Esplanade Studios - New Orleans, LA. Produced by Irvin Mayfield, Jr. featuring The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.