Elemental (Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap album)
| Elemental | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 13 June 2025 | |||
| Recorded | February 2025 | |||
| Studio | Sear Sound (NYC) | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 43:47 | |||
| Label | Mack Avenue MAC1214 | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Dee Dee Bridgewater chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Jazzwise | [2] |
| Tom Hull | A-[3] |
Elemental is a collaborative studio album by American jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater and pianist Bill Charlap.[4] The album was released on 13 June 2025 by Mack Avenue.[5][6]
Reception
Styart Nicholson of Jazzwise stated: "The synergy songstress and accompanist create, each pushing one another in different directions asking questions like ‘how are you going to handle this?’ means there is never a let up in creativity. It’s demanding stuff with no room for coasting, which makes this studio album a remarkably vibrant affair."[2] Will Friedwald of The Wall Street Journal wrote: "On their new album, “Elemental,” singer Dee Dee Bridgewater and pianist Bill Charlap push interpretation to its limits, starting with some very familiar jazz standards. Rather than digging down into their chord changes and devising new melodies on top of them, as has come to be the common practice in the modern jazz era, they create variations on the tunes as originally written."[7]
The album was nominated for 2026 Grammy Awards in Best Jazz Vocal Album category.[8] The Arts Fuse included the album in its list of the best jazz albums of 2025.[9]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beginning to See the Light" | Lou Reed | 5:13 |
| 2. | "Mood Indigo" | Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard, Irving Mills | 7:01 |
| 3. | "Honeysuckle Rose" | Thomas "Fats" Waller, Andy Razaf | 3:58 |
| 4. | "Here's That Rainy Day" | Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke | 5:40 |
| 5. | "Love for Sale" | Cole Porter | 6:03 |
| 6. | "'S Wonderful" | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 2:40 |
| 7. | "In the Still of the Night" | Cole Porter | 8:35 |
| 8. | "Caravan" | Juan Tizol, Duke Ellington | 4:33 |
| Total length: | 43:47 | ||
Personnel
Band
- Dee Dee Bridgewater – vocals, producing
- Bill Charlap – piano
Production
- Tulani Bridgewater-Kowalski – producer
- Timothy J. Zick – recording, mixing
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | June 13, 2025 |
|
Mack Avenue Records | [10][11] |
References
- ^ "Elemental - Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bill Charlap ... | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ^ a b Nicholson, Stuart. "Dee Dee Bridgewater + Bill Charlap: Elemental". Jazzwise. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ^ "Tom Hull: Grade List: Dee Dee Bridgewater". Tom Hull. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ Amorosi, A. D. (20 June 2025). "Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and Pianist Bill Charlap Get Together for Something Elemental". JazzTimes. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ^ "Jazz Album: Elemental by Dee Dee Bridgewater". All About Jazz. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ^ "Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap / Elemental". Mack Avenue Records. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
- ^ Friedwald, Will (23 June 2025). "'Elemental' Review: Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap's Inventive Interpretations". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ^ "2026 GRAMMYS: See The Full Nominations List | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ^ Garelick, John (21 December 2025). "Music Feature: The Best Jazz Albums of 2025 - The Arts Fuse". The Arts Fuse. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ^ Bridgewater, Dee Dee (September 15, 2017). "Elemental (Liner Notes and Album Information)". Mack Avenue Records. MAC1214LP (LP); MAC1214 (CD).
- ^ "Elemental - Album by Dee Dee Bridgewater". Apple Music. Retrieved 15 February 2026.