Born Denise Eileen Garrett in Memphis, Tennessee, she grew up in Flint, Michigan. Her father, Matthew Garrett, was a jazz trumpeter and teacher at Manassas High School, and through his playing, Denise was exposed to jazz early on. At the age of sixteen, she was a member of a rock and rhythm'n'blues trio, singing in clubs in Michigan. At 18, she studied at Michigan State University before she went to the University of Illinois. With their jazz band, she toured the Soviet Union in 1969. The next year, she met trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, and after their marriage, they moved to New York City, where Cecil played in Horace Silver's band.
In 1971, Dee Dee Bridgewater joined the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra as the lead vocalist. The next years marked the beginning of her jazz career, and she performed with many of the great jazz musicians of the time, such as Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach, and others. In 1974, her first own album, entitled Afro Blue, appeared, and she also performed on Broadway in the musical The Wiz. For her role as Glinda the Good Witch she won a Tony Award in 1975 as "best-featured actress", and the musical also won the 1976 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.
She subsequently appeared in several other stage productions. After touring France in 1984 with the musical Sophisticated Ladies, she moved to Paris in 1986. The same year saw her in Lady Day as Billie Holliday, for which role she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she returned from the world of musical to jazz. She performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1990, and four years later, she finally collaborated with Horace Silver, whom she had admired for a long time, and released the album Love and Peace: A Tribute to Horace Silver. Her 1997 tribute album Dear Ella won her the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and the 1998 album Live at Yoshi's was also worth a Grammy nomination. She has also explored on This is New the songs of Kurt Weill, and, on her latest album J'ai Deux Amours, the French Classics.
Dee Dee Bridgewater is the first American to be inducted to the Haut Conseil de la Francophonie. She has received the Award of Arts and Letters in France.
Dee Dee Bridgewater is mother to three children, Tulani Bridgewater (from her marriage to Cecil Bridgewater), China Moses (from her marriage to theater, film and television director Gilbert Moses) and Gabriel Durand (from her current marriage to French concert promoter Jean-Marie Durand).
Afro Blue
Dee Dee Bridgewater Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hear a hand stroke on a drum
Shades of delight cocoa hue
Rich as the night, afro blue
Elegant boy, beautiful girl
Dancing for joy, delicate whirl
Shades of delight cocoa hue
Rich as the night, afro blue
Two lovers dance face to face with undulating grace
They gently sway then slip away to some secluded place
Shades of delight cocoa hue
Rich as the night, afro blue
The lyrics of Dee Dee Bridgewater's song Afro Blue depict an ethereal, dreamlike state evoked by the sound of a drum. The singer wistfully imagines a land that her soul belongs to, as if she is remembering a place from a past life. The mention of a hand striking a drum suggests that this dream state is being initiated by the sound of music, which is a powerful trigger for nostalgia and memories. The next verse describes an elegant boy and beautiful girl dancing with joyful delicacy, perhaps symbolizing the beauty and freedom of African culture. The phrase "cocoa hue" adds to the sensual and exotic imagery of the song, evoking the rich, warm colors of chocolate.
The chorus repeats the phrase "shades of delight, cocoa hue, rich as the night, afro blue," which highlights the centrality of color and sensuality to the song. The phrase "afro blue" is particularly intriguing, as it is not clear what it refers to specifically (it could be a color or a type of music, for example) but the emotional resonance of the phrase is clear. The final verse describes two lovers dancing with "undulating grace" and slipping away to a "secluded place," which suggests a sense of intimacy and sensuality.
Overall, the lyrics of Afro Blue create a sense of dreamy nostalgia and sensuality through their vivid imagery and rhythm.
Line by Line Meaning
Dreaming of the place where my soul originated
The desire for connection to one's cultural roots
Hearing the rhythmic beating of a drum
The call to engage and participate in cultural practices
A range of delightful colors with the beauty of cocoa
The celebration of diversity, uniqueness and difference
A richness that is comparable to the deep, dark night
The inherent value, strength and beauty of diversity
An elegant young man and a gorgeous young woman
The celebration of human connection and community
Dancing with joy and grace
The act of celebration of life, love, and joy
In a gentle, intricate swirl
The display of artistry, creativity, and skill
A range of delightful colors with the beauty of cocoa
The celebration of diversity, uniqueness and difference
A richness that is comparable to the deep, dark night
The inherent value, strength, and beauty of diversity
Two lovers dancing closely with grace
The beauty of human connection, intimacy and affection
With a fluid movement and a gentle pace
The expression of love, tenderness, and affection
Into a concealed, intimate space
A secretive, private place where love and intimacy can thrive
A range of delightful colors with the beauty of cocoa
The celebration of diversity, uniqueness, and difference
A richness that is comparable to the deep, dark night
The inherent value, strength, and beauty of diversity
Writer(s): Mongo Santamaria
Contributed by Gianna N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.