Dee Dee Bridgewater & The Memphis Soulphony

Incognito

Tue, 12 July - hours 21:00
Arena Santa Giuliana

Dee Dee Bridgewater & The Memphis Soulphony

Dee Dee Bridgewater’s return to Umbria Jazz is always a feast. Dee Dee is part of the Festival’s history and vice versa: in 1973, she was a young singer who performed at the opening concert of the first edition of Umbria Jazz with the formidable Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. At that time, nobody could have imagined that she would become a star and a winner of three Grammys and a Tony Award. Dee Dee is an artist who is equally at home in giving concerts or performing theatrical plays, an activist for civil rights, and an Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization. And nobody could have imagined that she would become so popular in Italy and win the Festival di Sanremo together with Pooh. Now, following her tributes to some of the great leading ladies of jazz, ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Billie Holiday, her latest record project and tour are dedicated to the music of her hometown, Memphis, Tennessee, one of the great capitals of American music. Soulville: that’s how locals call it. We’ll listen to great classics of blues, soul, r&b, from Al Green to Bobby Blue Bland, from Otis Redding to BB King. Dee Dee aims to catch the same magic and the story of the songs that belong to her repertoire and are inevitably associated with Memphis. This journey could not be more emotional: “Much of my heart and soul are here.” _________________________________________________________________________________________

Doors | 7pm
Restaurant stage | 7:30pm
Main stage | 9pm

Incognito

With a career spanning more than forty years and about twenty albums to its credit, Incognito is still a landmark and a cornerstone of the British and global acid jazz scene. Their new single “Could Heaven Ever Be Like This” – the cover of a hit song by Idris Muhammad – is coming out soon.

Formed in 1979, the band has changed its lineup several times, but it has remained true to its style and evolved it over the years, from its debut album, “Jazz Funk” (a real programmatic manifesto), to the latest release, “Tomorrow’s New Dream”. Composer, producer, guitarist, and singer Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick, born in Mauritius and grown up in London, has always been its bandleader and frontman. The artistic breakthrough happened when the band signed for Gilles Peterson’s Talkin’ Loud, which helped significantly launch the acid jazz movement. The British band still has a prominent place in contemporary music. Its mix of jazz, funk, soul, and hip hop is combined with elegance and sensuality. They boast many excellent collaborations: George Benson, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Philip Bailey, Jocelyn Brown, George Duke, Al Jarreau, Marcus Miller, Paul Weller, Maxi Priest, Mario Biondi. In 2009, Incognito celebrated its thirty years of music with a live performance in London, and a CD/DVD set including the 35th-anniversary show was released in 2014. This is the fourth time at the summer edition of Umbria Jazz for Bluey’s band, after the performances in 1993 (with JB’s Horns), 2010 (with Mario Biondi), and 2015 (with Brand New Heavies). In addition to these, they performed twice in Terni for Umbria Jazz Spring in 2017. _________________________________________________________________________________________

Doors | 7pm
Restaurant stage | 7:30 pm
Main stage | 9pm

Dee Dee Bridgewater & The Memphis Soulphony

Incognito

Dee Dee Bridgewater & The Memphis Soulphony

Incognito

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