It’s ten o’clock in the morning in Chicago, and the agreement says that Dee Dee Bridgewater will turn off the camera during our online interview. But she herself has a different opinion. She wears bright earrings, black-rimmed round myopia glasses, and her long nails are painted gold. Even now, when she sits in front of the computer and drinks her morning orange juice, she remains a diva. A contemporary great lady of jazz, a three-time Grammy and Tony award-winning artist, a woman striding into her eighth decade of life with such energy and dynamism that it is contagious. He has a huge warm smile and an innate gift for communication.

Young, despite being 72 years old, Bridgewater will take the SNFCC stage next Monday with a girl group for a one-off concert. “My pianist is American, Carmen Staff, bassist Rosa Brunello and my drummer Evita Politoro is Italian,” he tells us. “A female group on stage, yes, it’s not common, but it’s happening more and more often,” she adds, and then lists all-female jazz orchestras and musical groups that are internationally successful: Diva Jazz Orchestra, Artemis – “Pianist’s Children and composer Rini Rosnes,” he explains and continues to add new great jazz singers such as Jasmia Horn, Cecile MacLaurin Salvan, Frenchman Cyril Aimé. “We are doing it now! There is a big difference with the past,” he says.

Born in Memphis but raised in Fleet, Michigan. “My musical influence comes from both my parents, we mostly listened to jazz at home,” he explains. “I was also greatly influenced by the music that was played on the radio, which was especially popular in my time.”

It was the famous 60s and early 70s in America. At nights when her mother thought she was asleep, she secretly listened to WDIA, the first radio station in the US to play black music. He didn’t have the money yet to buy Motown Records, but he liked them. In addition, the studio was only 45 km from where he lived. “One of the first bands that signed to Motown were the Marvelettes, and some of those girls lived across the street from us,” Bridgewater recalls.

Since the beginning of her career, she has collaborated with jazz pioneers, from Sonny Rollins to Dizzy Gillespie and Thad Jones. These were her mentors, but next to them were always her teenage idols: Nancy Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, whom they met years later in Paris. “All these were already very successful singers. So I never felt like I couldn’t make a career as a jazz performer too,” she says.

Instinct and … hearing

I did not study music at the conservatory and am part of a long tradition of self-taught jazz musicians.

In her first steps, she passed the test next to the great artists. She performed vocal improvisations from the very beginning, although she was never taught to do so. “I did not study music at the conservatory and am part of a long tradition of self-taught jazz musicians. I have always relied on my instincts and musical ear and boldly followed the path that my inclination showed me, ”he explains.

Her talent, cooperation, character gradually formed a singer – she prefers to be called a “musician” – self-sufficient, with high performance standards and a pronounced artistic personality. Every album in her 50-year career is different, every performance is a surprise.

“Are you a classical jazz singer?” I ask her. “In a way, yes,” he replies. “I have a traditional performing side in improv and vocals with influences from Ella Fitzgerald or Betty Carter. On the other hand, I have followed various musical paths in jazz that set me apart from the norms of the genre. My artistic role model is Miles Davis. I never understood why, as a woman, I had to limit myself to the jazz genre. Because I couldn’t explore other aspects of this music, be inspired freely. Indeed, each of my works is different from the other. I’ve been criticized for my choices, but now my style is established and that’s part of what the public expects from me.”

Tribute to Chick Corea

In Athens, her program will be dedicated to the great Tsik Koria, the musician who inspired her and helped her take her first steps on stage. We will also hear songs from her French album “J’ ai deux amours”. And, of course, he will play the blues. Her current favorite tracks are “Fine and Mellow”, a composition by Billie Holiday, and “Blue Monk”, a composition by pianist Thelonious Monk with lyrics by Abby Lincoln. And, as always, her presence will overwhelm the acting and flirting with the audience.

“I talk with my hands, I like to move and fill the space where I appear. I love this scene,” he says. “I want to create a little narrative for each song, play out its story, because I think that’s a way to keep the audience interested. From the moment I step on stage to the moment I leave, I am in dialogue with the musicians and the audience. I want those who come to listen to me to know that they are stepping into a place where they will be taken care of, which will make them forget their problems. And they will return home with new strength to continue their lives.”