Dee Dee Bridgewater
Red Earth (Decca/Universal Music, 2007)
American jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater ventured into the exciting sounds of Mali for her latest recording, Red Earth. It is not secret that Mali has some of the most exhilarating music in west Africa and has attracted many musicians from the blues, rock and world music fields.
For Red Earth, Bridgewater used her usual band, formed by Edsel Gómez, Ira Coleman and Minino Garray plus 41 Malian musicians, including stars such as Toumani Diabate, Oumou Sangare, Kasse Mady Diabaté, Bassekou Kouyate and Cheick-Tidiane Seck.
On some songs, Bridgewater sings solo, accompanied by her jazz band, a powerful Malian percussion section, kora and various other Malian instruments. On other spectacular pieces, Bridgewater sings with one more Malian vocalists, such as Oumou Sangare and Kasse Mady Diabaté.
The Malian grooves are hard to beat and they blend perfectly with American jazz. The African Diaspora meets modern Africa in an explosion of captivating sounds.
Buy Red Earth.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
