# Champions of Jazz Gala Honors Andre Menard, Dee Dee Bridgewater: Photos, Video

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2019/11/10/champions-of-jazz-gala-honors-andre-menard-dee-dee-bridgewater-photos-video/
- Published: 2019-11-10T21:41:46+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Dee Dee Bridgewater traveled a short psychic distance from guest of honor to star
attraction at the 2019 WBGO Champions of Jazz Gala, on Wednesday night at Capitale
in New York.**

During the final stretch of a program full of surprises, she was caught off-guard
by yet one more — when Carla Thomas, the Queen of Memphis Soul, emerged to perform
her 1966 hit “B-A-B-Y.” Bridgewater, who was born in Memphis, stood beaming during
the song, as most of the show’s other featured vocalists filed onstage: Alicia Olatuja,
Lillias White, Dominique Fils-Aimé, Alexis Morrast.

The song stretched out into a vamp, and that’s when Bridgewater shifted into gear,
improvising a refrain (the song’s four-letter title, in syncopated phrasing) and
taking a lead for her fellow vocalists to follow. Her natural leadership, like her
radiant talent, was an incontrovertible fact.

Bridgewater was one of two honorees at the gala, along with her friend and longtime
supporter André Ménard, cofounder of the Montréal International Jazz Festival. The
event also capped a year of 40th-anniversary celebration for WBGO, combining fond
reminiscence and a festive air with a nod to the future. _(See photo highlights 
from the gala in a slide show at the top of this page.)_

[[

Promo shot from ‘The Brother From Another Planet’

The program’s host was Joe Morton, an actor known for his work on both stage and
screen. His first entrance was preceded by a scene from John Sayles’ 1984 film _The
Brother From Another Planet_, in which an extraterrestrial (Morton) falls in love
with a jazz singer (Bridgewater).

A similar This-Is-Your-Life resonance extended to the musical offerings in the show,
as singer after singer performed songs with a personal connection to the honorees.
Kurt Elling luxuriated in a mid-tempo, Latin-flavored take on “Speak Low” — a nod
to Bridgewater’s Kurt Weill songbook album, _This Is New._ And Olatuja delivered
the Nina Simone anthem “Four Women,” which appears on Bridgewater’s _Red Earth._

Fils-Aimé — a Montréal native handpicked for the program by Ménard — made an equally
strong impression with “Strange Fruit,” the searing tone poem that Bridgewater has
performed in multiple tributes to Billie Holiday. Morrast, a young talent with deep
reserves of composure, did the same with “Filthy McNasty,” from _Love and Peace:
A Tribute to Horace Silver_, and “Believe in Yourself,” which Dee Dee sang in the
original Broadway production of _The Wiz. _(Her role, as Glinda the Good Witch, 
earned her a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.)

Another song from _The Wiz,_ “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News,” provided kindling
for a fiery performance by Lillias White; from her seat at the foot of the stage,
Bridgewater held a hand, as if in worship.

[[

Lillias White, arm upraised, performing at the WBGO Champions of Jazz Gala, Nov.
6, 2019.

Here and throughout the show, which was conceived by WBGO president and CEO Amy 
Niles, trumpeter Steven Bernstein served expertly as musical director. He led a 
house band whose members included Craig Handy on saxophones and flute, Natalie Cressman
on trombone, Dell Smith on organ, Jon Cowherd on piano, Steve Cardenas on guitar,
Brad Jones on bass, Daniel Sadownick on percussion and Jerome Jennings on drums.
There was also a special appearance by pianist George Cables (with bassist Ed Howard)
and a high-octane “Caravan” featuring WBGO Latin Jazz Cruise host Bobby Sanabria
on drums.

[[

Andre Menard accepting his award the WBGO Champions of Jazz Gala, Nov. 6, 2019.

Ménard, who retired as a producer of the Montréal Jazz Festival this year, after
its 40th edition, spoke to his longtime bond with Bridgewater: she has appeared 
on the bill in Montréal on a dozen occasions, never repeating a concept. At one 
point in the program, guitarist Pat Metheny appeared onscreen in a prerecorded video
to point out that he may be the only artist to have performed on the festival more
times than Bridgewater.

In the warmth of his remarks, Metheny underscored the sense of community that bound
the program together; he also donated an autographed Pat Metheny Signature hollowbody
Ibanez guitar, which was sold in a live auction (to Bridgewater, who seemed thrilled
by her new acquisition).

Bridgewater, Menard and Metheny were also united in their praise and support of 
WBGO, as the organization rounds the corner on its 40th year. Two of WBGO’s foundational
figures, Dorthaan Kirk and Bob Ottenhoff, delivered remarks reflecting on its growth
and evolution since 1979, when it began with scant resources but an abundance of
pluck and optimism.

Ottenhoff compared the journey to an expedition to Mount Everest, and restated a
sentiment he’d shared in the program notes: “Forty years from now, WBGO will be 
completely the same in its principles and traditions and completely new in ways 
we can’t even imagine.”

⌊Dee Dee Bridgewater, with microphone, with (left to right) Vernell Scovill, Tiffany
Morrast, Dominique Fils-Aime, Alexis Morrast, Carla Thomas, Alicia Olatuja, and 
Lillias White, at the WBGO Champions of Jazz Gala.⌉⌊Dee Dee Bridgewater, with microphone,
with (left to right) Vernell Scovill, Tiffany Morrast, Dominique Fils-Aime, Alexis
Morrast, Carla Thomas, Alicia Olatuja, and Lillias White, at the WBGO Champions 
of Jazz Gala.⌉Dee Dee Bridgewater, with microphone, with (left to right) Vernell
Scovill, Tiffany Morrast, Dominique Fils-Aime, Alexis Morrast, Carla Thomas, Alicia
Olatuja, and Lillias White, at the WBGO Champions of Jazz Gala.

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