NC State Live brought the renowned Dee Dee Bridgewater Quartet to perform in Stewart Theatre in Talley Student Union on Thursday. The quartet, consisting of Bridgewater, bassist Amina Scott, pianist Carmen Staaf and drummer Shirazette Tinnin, gave an incredible show celebrating women in jazz. 

Liza Green, the interim director of NC State Live, said the group scours the globe to find artists at the top of their game. 

“Dee Dee Bridgewater is a good example of that,” Green said. “Dee Dee has won multiple Grammys. She’s won a Tony. But I think what’s interesting about her is she is an arts entrepreneur, so she’s been self-producing with her jazz label since the ‘90s. She’s also a goodwill ambassador for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, so she works to fight against world hunger.”

While maintaining the classic sound of jazz and sometimes throwing in a rock influence, these women use their music to shine a light on the struggles of women, specifically Black women, in the past and the importance of not falling back into such a state. 

“The musicians playing with Dee Dee tonight are all women,” Green said. “So that’s very revolutionary in the world of jazz because it tends to be a male-dominated field, so it’s nice to see four women on stage playing together. I think that’s really unique and special.”

This all-woman jazz quartet calls themselves “We Exist” to promote women in the jazz scene, hoping their listeners will see them, hear them and feel them. 

From Dee Dee Bridgewater’s sparkly earrings to her matching bedazzled shoes, her stage presence filled the room with nothing but good vibes. She danced across the stage and sang with a passion that kindled the love of music from both her band members and her audience. 

“So many good things come out of seeing a performance, especially jazz,” Green said. You know, we can learn a lot from how these artists listen to one another. The musicians on stage — it’s really quite extraordinary to watch. It’s like they know when to step up, when to step back. And they do this after years and years of practice and playing together, of course, and they’re just really fine musicians, but their communication skills are inspiring.”

Each musician manipulated her instrument as if it were an extension of themselves. The connection between the four of them was ethereal. Each artist knew when to let the others take the spotlight if they were really feeling the music. 

Bridgewater was very engaging with her audience, making for two hours of laughter, amusement and admiration. 

Jadyn McLean, a third-year studying criminology and psychology, attended the show.

 “I feel like I need to go listen to all this music,” McLean said. “I already listen because my parents would show me when I was a kid but now I’m like, ‘I need to listen even more.’”

Bridgewater referenced many trailblazers of the jazz industry, some of whom she previously worked with and others who simply influenced her. 

“I enjoyed the songs she picked,” McLean said. “Quite a few of them are classics, and some of them are my favorites, like Nina Simone — love her. She just knew all these people and had experience making music with them. So it was really personal.”

Bridgewater ended the performance with a rendition of “Amazing Grace,” encouraging the audience to sing alongside her and creating a shared moment between its members.

“I just think it was beautiful, super fun,” McLean said. “Recommend to literally anybody and everybody.”

Bridgewater has a history with NC State, having performed at the University in 1999 and then later in 2003.

“Last year, astronaut Christina Koch had a red chair chat with the chancellor, and in that conversation, she mentioned seeing Dee Dee Bridgewater when she was a student here, and that was such an impactful moment for her,” Green said. “You know, it’s a moment where the campus can sort of come together in celebration.”

The Dee Dee Bridgewater Quartet is currently on tour and will continue to make their mark on places, just as they’ve done at NC State. Their performance gives an insight into various ways students can use their talents to promote social issues.

“I think that’s an interesting thing about NC State Live — we really take the University’s land grant mission to heart,” Green said. “We will have many community members in the house tonight, so people who are long-time fans and then others who stumbled upon us. And it gives them a chance to come to the University, have this amazing experience and build those relationships. It’s really a mix of students, faculty, staff and community members.”