Bridgewater wows area crowd

If you didn't get a chance to get to New Orleans for Fat Tuesday, last night there was a chance to get a taste of Mardi Gras right here at the Annenberg Center. Bringing that Bourbon Street flavor to the Harold Prince Theater was performer Dee Dee Bridgewater with her tribute to the flavor of New Orleans. In front of a sell-out crowd of community members and a small contingent of Penn students, Bridgewater kicked off the first night of her national tour with her double Grammy-winning 1997 album, Dear Ella. With a lively performance, Bridgewater scatted, danced and jammed the evening away in her interactive show. Throughout the casual performance, the audience shouted feedback to Bridgewater and one lively audience member even climbed on stage to dance with her. "It's really cool watching them do all this improv stuff and watching the way they imitate each other," Engineering senior Brad Edelman said of Bridgewater and the trio that accompanied her vocals. Edelman appreciated how Bridgewater could "enjoy herself" on stage, adding that her "great voice" and lively stage presence contributed to a great performance. The Bridgewater performance as well as various other jazz events coming to Penn this semester are sponsored by the Annenberg Center. Michael Rose, the managing director of the Annenberg Center since last March, said he wants to encourage more students to come to Annenberg events and is taking specific steps to get students interested. The center is saving a certain number of tickets to music, dance and, in the future, theater events to sell to Penn students at a discounted price prior to the show. These tickets will run from $5 to $15, depending on the show, and will allow students access to otherwise sold-out events. Among the acts that will visit Penn soon are Herbie Hancock, a pianist who played at last year's Spring Fling and will be at Annenberg on Saturday, and Joshua Redman, a tenor saxophonist who is slated for April 15. Both shows are co-sponsored by the Annenberg Center and SPEC Jazz -- an arm of the student-run Social Planning and Events Committee. The Penn Jazz Band is opening for Hancock. In an effort to "build a center to serve the University," Rose explained, the Annenberg Center invited students from several college houses to attend Bridgewater's rehearsal on Tuesday night. By offering this program Annenberg hopes to attract the attention of the student body and increase student access to performing arts.

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