Dee Dee Bridgewater Returns to The Sheldon with 'LADY DAY'

The Sheldon presents Dee Dee Bridgewater, "Lady Day: A Tribute to Billie Holiday," Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 8 p.m. in the perfect acoustics of the Sheldon Concert Hall. Grammy and Tony Award-winning vocalist and host of NPR's JazzSet, Dee Dee Bridgewater returns to The Sheldon stage performing "Lady Day: A Tribute to Billie Holiday." This broad-ranging, theatrical portrayal of the legendary singer, one of music's most talented yet tragic figures, helped earned Bridgewater a prestigious Laurence Olivier nomination.

Dee Dee Bridgewater earned her first professional experience singing with the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band and went on to perform with jazz notables such as Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and Dizzy Gillespie. She won Broadway's coveted Tony Award for her role as Glenda the Good Witch in The Wiz and was the first African-American actress to play the role of Sally Bowles in a production of the musical Cabaret staged in Paris . She earned two Grammy Awards for her Ella Fitzgerald tribute recording, Dear Ella, which also won France 's top honor, Victoire de la Musique, for best jazz album.

Among her other notable recent CD's are This is New featuring the music of Kurt Weill, the Grammy-nominated Live at Yoshi's, and J'ai Deux Amours - a recording of French songs including the title song strongly associated with Josephine Baker to whom Bridgewater paid tribute in a gala concert at The Sheldon in 2006. After living in Paris for a number of years, Dee Dee Bridgewater now divides her time between Las Vegas and Paris and hosts NPR's award-winning weekly program "JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater."

Don't miss Dee Dee Bridgewater , "Lady Day: A Tribute to Billie Holiday," Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 8 p.m. at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Tickets are $45 orchestra / $40 balcony and are available through MetroTix at 314.534.1111 or at www.TheSheldon.org. For more information, call The Sheldon at 314.533.9900 during normal business hours, Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.