JOINING THE THAD JONES/MEL LEWIS ORCHESTRA [:60]

RUFFIN: NOW A JAZZ MOMENT

IN 1970, DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER GOT WORD THAT THE THAD JONES/MEL LEWIS ORCHESTRA WANTED A FEMALE SINGER. WITHOUT ANY MUSICAL TRAINING, SHE SHOWED UP TO THE VILLAGE VANGUARD TO AUDITION.

Dee Dee Bridgewater: So I gathered up the nerve and I went down to the club, and Thad called me up, and I auditioned. And I think I sang “Bye Bye Blackbird” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” They were some arrangements that—that the band had. I didn’t know the keys or anything. I just got up and sang.

Bye Bye Blackbird up, under

And I remember the audience really kind of going crazy. I was 20 and I got hired. And so, that’s how I started.