MUS331 – History of Jazz

Term Project

By Kemal Ege Dalyan - 2224806

From the slums of New Orleans to a global phenomenon, once a type of music

considered unsophisticated, Jazz has now become one of America’s signature art forms. Jazz

also hosted a great number of talented artists, from Ella Fitzgerald to Louis Armstrong, many

names known by many people all around the world have participated in this stray art form.

Jazz holds a special place in my heart not only because it is very enjoyable to listen to, but

also because it stands for more than just entertainment. At a time where racial discrimination

was at an all-time high in the United States, Jazz paved the way to fame, glory and

opportunity for many black people of the time. Jazz is black and black is Jazz, and the two

can’t be separated. However, out of many black artists that deserve recognition, in this essay I

will be talking about Dee Dee Bridgewater, specifically her Jazzwoche Burghausen

performance in 1998, because as a black female Jazz artist, I think she deserves her own

spotlight.

Dee Dee Bridgewater, with her big smile and vibrant personality, comes on stage and

is immediately memorable. She then begins her show with a 9 track songlist. I’ll talk about

each song in the order she sings them. Side note: I will refer to the rest of the band members

of this concert with their names; Thierry Eliez on the piano and the organ, Thomas Bramerie

on the bass, André Ceccarelli on drums.

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 The song she starts the concert with is called “Undecided”. She begins the song at

moderate energy, but what seems to be an everyday Jazz song turns into a party popper as she

begins her trademark scat singing, which really keeps one up and going. I am a hip-hop

dancer, and I physically had to get up and dance to the song, it was that good. Her energy is

extremely high and this brings the audience’s energy up as well. Also, it is noticeable that she

turns to her band members during scat singing to be further aligned with them as they (most

likely) improvise, which is quite impressive. We also get to see Bramerie perform an amazing

bass solo during this song, which is a big plus. I think “Undecided” is a mainstream jazz song

with added scat singing elements by the artist. It is an ideal song to start the performance too,

it really sets the mood in the hall and lets the listeners know that they are in for a ride.

The second song she proceeds with is “Stairway to the Stars”, a rather calm and

romantic song. She starts out by setting the atmosphere to a rather more relaxed state, and

showcases her amazing soft voice, which we didn’t get to see in the previous performance.

This change of pace is much appreciated. I also noticed that, unlike “Undecided”, she makes

much more eye contact with the audience with this song, perhaps to better convey her

emotions to them in this sentimental song. At some point, she begins scat singing again, and I

couldn’t believe it. She sounds like an instrument, and she gets a special round of applause

from the audience as well once she finishes. For this one, I think it’s a cool jazz song with

added scat singing elements. Her ending the song with “that’s all” which isn’t in the original

lyrics of the song (by Ella Fitzgerald) just shows how far improvisation in the Jazz music can

go. Overall, a very impressive performance that exhibits multiple qualities of the Jazz music.

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 The third song she performs is “Just One of Those Things” again introduces a drastic

change of pace, which is a welcome change of course. It is never a monotonous time with

Dee Dee Bridgewater, after all. The song starts at a really high tempo and gives Bebop vibes

immediately. Her snapping fingers according to the rhythm and doing a little dance where she

stands further contributes to establishing such energetic vibe, which wasn’t present in the

previous song performances. Every time she begins a new song, she brings something new to

the stage, and perhaps this is a testament to how flexible Jazz music is. At one point during

the song, she turns to Ceccarelli, doing scat singing again while he keeps up with her and

then delivers an amazing drum solo. Overall, this is quite the enjoyable performance that

never gets boring from the first second to last.

The fourth song that is played is “Slow Boat to China”, which is the most impressive

one so far in terms of vocals. As if this was a lifetime opportunity for Dee Dee to show

everything she got, she gives this song everything she has. Extremely difficult vocals to

execute, yet she doesn’t stop smiling. As a listener, I couldn’t stop but clap along with the

song. Also, I noticed how good of a communication she has with her band members, she

looks at them, laughs with them, almost feels like they are having friendly banter during the

performance. We also get to witness an incredible piano solo by Eliez, further showing that in

Jazz music, all instruments are valid and equally important. It is particularly interesting for

me to see that every instrument is given so much spotlight, because in modern popular music,

we don’t ever see an instrument solo, and if we do it’s either the guitar or the piano. Overall,

this song felt like another mainstream jazz song with scat singing elements.

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 The fifth song in the concert is “Caravan”, which made me think about the stamina

Dee Dee has. After the previous performance, which looked extremely taxing, energy and

vocal capacity-wise, this performance left me wondering just how strong her vocal cords are.

This, in my opinion, proves that Jazz music requires so much endurance to excel at, and it is

incredible how Dee Dee finds this in her. She begins the performance with scat singing,

which, at this point, is her brand, and she is amazing at it. We also get to see another piano

solo along with her scat singing, and it is a delight. Although rapid, I still feel like this song is

an example of mainstream jazz. Another unique thing I’ve realized about this song is that

there are some suspension moments. The song will calm down, and then begin again. It feels

like a roller coaster to listen to this song.

The sixth song performed is called “Midnight Sun”, which is definitely my most

favorite out of all the songs performed in this concert. It appears to be a cool jazz song with

no scat singing this time around, yet all the emotions and high sentimentality. Dee Dee’s

facial expressions also give away all the hidden emotions behind the song, she too seems

moved and in character. What’s especially amazing about her is how well she conveys what’s

in her mind during singing, all with her gestures and mimics. This, in some way, shows how

much passion Jazz music requires to be perfectly executed, which Dee Dee has. This is my

favorite song because of its incredible vocals and its calming nature. It brings out the best

feelings, feeds the soul, and I think it is anxiety remedy. Speaking with my limited

knowledge, I consider this one to be the best Jazz song I’ve ever listened to. The instruments,

the harmony, the heavy emotions that come with the song and Dee Dee’s skill, it’s simply

exquisite in every way possible.

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 The seventh song Dee Dee sings is called “Mack the Knife”, a song written by

Germany’s most renowned composers according to Dee Dee herself. Her playfulness is

apparent from the very beginning. She interacts with the audience so much in this part, she

winks, smiles, nods to people in the crowd, perhaps as an acknowledgment that the song is

written by Germans and the festival is held in Germany as well, so she’s just treating the

audience. There’s no scat singing here either, and the song seems to be mainstream jazz. The

song’s lightheartedness and catchy nature reflects on Dee Dee’s behavior, as she does many

fun hand gestures and facial expressions, with some minimal acting even. She demonstrates

another aspect of Jazz music, which is that Jazz music isn’t always either classy, rapid or

romantic. Jazz music is sometimes light and playful, and this performance shows that

perfectly.

The eighth song of the concert is called “Mr. Paganini” seems to be a mainstream jazz

song, and scat singing is back, and the best one at that. Her scat singing is so strong in this

song, and since the song is heavy on the piano, her connection with Eliez is extra important in

this performance. To no one’s surprise, Dee Dee and Eliez seem to be completely in sync.

This song in particular shows that Jazz music also requires coordination and to be able to

move as one with the teammates, and that’s what she does. Also, watching the performance, I

kept thinking that if I turned the audio off, I would still be able to understand the tone and

mood of the song, that’s how expressive Dee Dee is, she makes the audience live and breathe

the song with her. She’s truly an exceptional vocalist.

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 The ninth and final song of the concert “Love for Sale” is also the final demonstration

of the capabilities of Dee Dee and her band. The bass entrance to the song and Dee Dee’s

playful and flirty movement sets the tone to rather classy and suggestive, and creates

suspension for what’s to come. It makes the entire performance all the more engaging for the

audience, because there’s a visual side to it along with the audial side. This part in particular

made me realize that Jazz music isn’t just about the song, it’s about the entire experience that

comes with it. It’s a multi-faceted form of art, not one-dimensional. On another note, Eliez’s

intriguing technique with the piano brings a new sound to the concert that hadn’t been heard

yet. According to Palmer (2019), the technique is called Palm Muting, where the pianist puts

their palm on the strings of the piano with one hand, and plays the piano with another,

effectively creating staccato bass-like sounds with the piano, something that normally isn’t

possible. It’s astonishing how these artists are truly pushing the boundaries of music and

instruments, doing so many out-of-box things. The song seems to be a cool jazz song, with a

lot of snappy scat singings. Strangely, this song’s scat singing reminded me of modern-day

beatbox music, since it is also a way for people to make instrument-like sounds with their

mouths. Although beatbox produces more digital-like sounds while scat singing produces

sounds closer to those of traditional instruments, it still is intriguing to think that beatbox

might have been inspired by Jazz. Finally, the song has a lot of pace changes within. The

song mostly has a romantic vibe, but there are really high-energy breaks every now and then.

The artists handle such drastic transitions quite well, and conclude the final performance of

the concert.

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 I did not know about Dee Dee Bridgewater until now, and I consider myself lucky to

finally have gotten to know her. Her determination is really inspiring, and her music is so

powerful. To conclude, I have learned much valuable knowledge regarding her and Jazz

music as a whole, gained insights, and seen the beauty behind it. From now on, if I had to reel

anyone into the Jazz genre, I’d make sure to give them a headstart with Dee Dee Bridgewater.

Her cheerful personality and addictive scat singing would surely bring any disinterested soul

to the fray!

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 References

Palmer, B. E. (2019, January 17). 5 unconventional ways to play the piano. Pianist.

https://www.pianistmagazine.com/blogs/5-unconventional-ways-to-play-the-piano/