Dee Dee Bridgewater Just Family CD

The talents of Dee Dee Bridgewater are highly regarded in jazz circles, and this nine track collection is a fine way to experience Dee Dee's sound. Tracks include "Just Family" and "Melody Maker."

Even though Just Family was produced by Stanley Clarke and employs a lot of musicians who had jazz backgrounds -- including Chick Corea, George Duke, Airto Moreira, and Bobby Lyle -- this is an R&B album first and foremost. Dee Dee Bridgewater would return to jazz in a major way in the 1980s, but in the late 1970s, she was emphasizing adult-oriented R&B and going after fans of artists like Phyllis Hyman and Minnie Riperton. The strongest tracks on this LP, which was recorded when Bridgewater was 27, range from the playful title song and the Earth, Wind & Fire-ish "Children Are the Spirit (Of the World)" to the dreamy "Sweet Rain" and an emotional cover of Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word." Also noteworthy is the Brazilian-influenced "Night Moves," a Michael Franks tune. Those who know Bridgewater for her hard-swinging jazz CDs of the 1980s and 1990s should be warned that Just Family isn't a jazz album at all. It must be judged by R&B standards, not jazz standards -- and from an R&B standpoint, Just Family is generally decent, if unspectacular and uneven. ~ Alex Henderson

Neither 1977's Just Family nor 1979's Bad for Me, the two albums combined for this Collectables release, can be considered Dee Dee Bridgewater's best work, but fans of mature, mid- to late-'70s R&B should find them moderately appealing. Though Bridgewater wouldn't really hit her stride until her return to jazz in the '90s, she was more than competent when it came to fitting in with the likes of Phyllis Hyman, Patrice Rushen, Minnie Riperton, and Patti Austin. Confoundingly, her only two chart hits -- the title tracks -- are contained here, while "Children Are the Spirit (Of the World)," "Sweet Rain," "Open Up Your Eyes," and "Don't Say It (If You Don't Mean It)" would have to be included on an anthology of her first five albums. Just Family and Bad for Me would have benefited from a track or two with the contagious energy heard on her version of Allen Toussaint's "It Ain't Easy" (found on her self-titled 1976 album for Atlantic), along with a couple sweeter ballads. ~ Andy Kellman

Digitally remastered digipack special edition with new liner notes by leading jazz writers.