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. The album brought her the seventh nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards. On Billboard's Top Jazz Album chart it reached Number 16.
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 Kassé Mady Diabaté's Bad Spirits (Bani), featuring Toumani Diabaté, and a joyous duet with Ramata Diakité on the latter's Mama Don't Ever Go Away (Mama Digna Sara Ye). Bridgewater makes a point of incorporating music and performances by several fine women singers and writers: Oumou Sangare, Mamani Keita, Fatamata "Mama" Kouyaté (on the bluesy title track) and Tata Kouyaté on Bambo (No More), her famous protest against forced marriage. An amazing cast of Malian musicians make classics such as Afro Blue and Long Time Ago (Wayne Shorter's Footprints with lyrics) sound reborn, giving Nina Simone's Four Women new depth and power. Wonderful."
Track listing.
All compositions by Dee Dee Bridgewater, except as noted.
All tracks recorded in Bamako (Mali) at Studio Bogolan except tracks 11, 12 and 13 recorded in Paris at Davout studios.