Red Earth (Dee Dee Bridgewater album)


Red Earth is a 2007 studio album by Dee Dee Bridgewater. It carries the subtitle "A Malian Journey" to celebrate and explore her African and Malian ancestry. Nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards, it reached Number 16 on Billboard's Top Jazz Album chart.

Reception

John L. Walters of The Guardian stated "After a few underwhelming "crossover" projects, US singer Dee Dee Bridgewater has made a cracking album that unites great jazz singing with the Malian griot tradition. Red Earth is neither fusion nor compromise but a happy meeting of African musicianship and Afro-American romanticism. Mostly recorded in Bamako, it includes several Malian songs: a sparkling version of Kasse Mady Diabaté's Bad Spirits, featuring Toumani Diabaté, and a joyous duet with Ramata Diakité on the latter's Mama Don't Ever Go Away. Bridgewater makes a point of incorporating music and performances by several fine women singers and writers: Oumou Sangare, Mamani Keita, Fatamata "Mama" Kouyaté and Tata Kouyaté on Bambo, her famous protest against forced marriage. An amazing cast of Malian musicians make classics such as Afro Blue and Long Time Ago sound reborn, giving Nina Simone's Four Women new depth and power. Wonderful."

Track listing

All compositions by Dee Dee Bridgewater, except as noted.
  1. "Afro Blue"
  2. "Bad Spirits"
  3. "Dee Dee"
  4. "Mama Don't Ever Go Away"
  5. "Long Time Ago"
  6. "Children Go 'Round"
  7. "The Griots"
  8. "Oh My Love"
  9. "Four Women"
  10. "No More"
  11. "Red Earth"
  12. "Meanwhile"
  13. "Compared to What"
All tracks recorded in Bamako At Studio Bogolan except tracks 11, 12 and 13 recorded in Paris at Davout studios.

Personnel