Album of the Week – ‘Dee Dee’s Feathers’ by Dee Dee Bridgewater, Irvin Mayfield and The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra

The album takes listeners on a journey throughout the rich historical tradition of New Orleans Jazz, a founding musical genre that grounds much of it’s contemporaries. With that said, the Sony Music release is nothing short of reinvention, revitalisation and an outstanding showcase passion and love for all things music. The fifteen strong outfit features The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra as the album’s instrumental ensemble, lead by Grammy Award winning trumpeter Irvin Mayfield and centres around the legendary vocals of Dee Dee Bridgewater. Mayfield’s unique orchestration see’s the clarinet lead the score, paired with the return of the banjo to an orchestral setting and a five-man strong traditional trumpet section including a slide trumpet and tuba.

Mayfield also offered his musical stylings to the lyrical cultivation process. In his own words, “I love the whole idea that people could write about a town, and people can bring a lot of imagination to a place, and they might not have necessarily had to be from there”. Whilst reflecting on the process of making the album, Bridgewater commented on its overarching message that she hopes it sends throughout the globe that, “New Orleans is alive and well and the music is alive and well”. As part of their ongoing world tour of the album, the group recently headlined the Melbourne International Jazz Festival and also stopped by Sydney’s City Recital Hall, Angel Place to rave reviews. This is a release to truly treasure and serves as a celebratory memento for the past and guide to the future of jazz.

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