Dee Dee Bridgewater, Irvin Mayfield and The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra Return to Holland Center Tonight

Take a journey through the rich history of New Orleans with Grammy Award-winning Dee Dee Bridgewater, trumpeter Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra at the Holland Performing Arts Center, 12th and Douglas streets, tonight, March 12, 2016, at 8 p.m.

The performers will appear in the Kiewit Concert Hall as part of the Omaha Performing Arts Jazz Series sponsored by First National Bank. This performance is sponsored by Omaha Steaks.

Tickets start at $20 through Ticket Omaha* at 402.345.0606, TicketOmaha.com or the Ticket Omaha office inside the Holland Performing Arts Center.

The legendary vocalist Bridgewater returns to Omaha with a production that is steeped in history but also explores modern music and culture in New Orleans, showing the city as a place like no other. Traditional songs such as "Big Chief" and "What a Wonderful World" co-mingle with new compositions such as "Congo Square" and "C'est Ici Que Je T'Aime." The songs will transport listeners on a sensory trip through New Orleans.

After attending a ground-breaking ceremony for the New Orleans Jazz Market, a facility dedicated to jazz and education, Bridgewater approached Mayfield about collaborating on a recording. Several months later, they recorded "Dee Dee's Feathers" at Esplanade Studios, a studio in a reconverted historical church in a part of the city damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The launch of the CD and tour coincided with the opening of the Jazz Market in 2015, the 10th anniversary of the Katrina hurricane.

"This music is a testament to the continued relevance of New Orleans not only as a thriving city but also as a muse for communicating truth, love and beauty," said Mayfield, who is also returning to Omaha. "Dee Dee Bridgewater proves through her art that New Orleans is not just a city but more importantly an idea that can make your heart and soul

Also an award-winning musician, Mayfield received a Grammy Award® in 2009 for "New Orleans Jazz Orchestra C.D. Book One." That year he also was appointed to the National Endowment of the Arts by President Barack Obama. Mayfield has 15 albums to his credit and in addition to being the founding artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, he currently is artistic director of jazz at the Minnesota Orchestra and the New Orleans Jazz Institute. He's also a professor at the University of New Orleans.

Jazz giant Bridgewater has risen to the top of vocalists by putting unique spins on jazz classics. The three-time Grammy winner most recently won the 2011 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album for "Eleanora Fagan (1915-1959): To Billie With Love From Dee Dee." Early in her career, she was a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Louis Big Band and

performed throughout the 1970s with jazz notables, such as Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and Dizzy Gillespie. She released several critically acclaimed CDs, beginning with "Keeping Tradition" in 1993. All but one, including her double Grammy Award-winning tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, "Dear Ella," received Grammy nominations.

Bridgewater also pursued a career in musical theater and won a Tony Award for her role as Glinda in THE WIZ in 1975.

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