Memphis soul finds welcome home at jazz fest

If Saskatoon needs a new nickname, the Bridgewater City would be a good one.

Triple Grammy winner Dee Dee Bridgewater returned to the Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival Tuesday and owned the city for the night.

The irrepressible, infectiously enthusiastic singer led the large and uber-tight Memphis Soul Phony band in a show that combined nostalgia and virtuosity with camp and theatrics.

From her wild dance entrance to the long, long group bow at the end, it was about fun but it was also about respect — for your roots, for the shoulders you stand on (Bridgewater did The Thrill Is Gone in tribute to her friend BB King), for the audience (with interesting stories introducing the songs) and for your band mates.

When is the last time a show started with the headliner introducing the band, including the usually anonymous backup singers (Skylar Jordan and Monet Owens)?

The centre of attention was Bridgewater’s most recent album Memphis ... Yes I’m Ready.

Bridgewater was born in Memphis but moved at the age of three with her parents to Flint, Mich. In her teens, she secretly listened to a transistor radio at night (foil wrapped around the antenna, she noted, to laughs of recognition from the audience) and listened to WDIA Radio for blues and soul music.

It is a personal show with heart and humour, and Bridgewater invests every ounce of her energy into it. Far from being just a singer, she’s a performer. On Bobby Bland’s Goin’ Down Slow, she added a shaky walk to get the point across. For Hound Dog (Elvis gets credit but Willie Mae Thornton recorded it first), it was pure power with Bridgewater casting her feigned derision on poor bassist Barry Campbell and enlisting Jordan and Owens to help her bring the man literally to his knees.

Every song had something going on, like Bridgewater’s sultry gestures and scalding hot flirting with guitar player Charlton Johnson, and the sensational interplay with sax man Bryant Lockhart that created the coolest version of Don’t Be Cruel you’ll ever hear.

If Dee Dee Bridgewater asks this town for a return engagement, you know the answer: Yes, I’m ready.

Saskatoon’s own Sonia Reid Noble opened the show with bandmates Hal Schrenk (drums), Graham Tilsley (guitar) and Jesse Dawson ( bass).

Noble moved here from Hamilton several years ago but put her singing aspirations on hold while she and her husband were busy raising their two daughters. She’s performing more often lately, however, and that’s got to sound good for soul and gospel fans.

Reid opened with Born Free (Dione Taylor), reminding us of liberty so easily taken for granted.

Reid’s rich, strong and controlled vocals lent a gentle character to This Little Light of Mine. And her take on the 1960s classic Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You was a nostalgic delight, an Impala convertible of a song cruising the boulevard.

If Dee Dee Bridgewater asks this town for a return engagement, you know the answer: Yes, I’m ready.