As a young girl in Memphis, Dee Dee Bridgewater used to sing along with her mother to Ella Fitzgerald records. Now, her reputation as one of the world’s leading jazz vocal stylists secure, she’s recorded a tribute to the legendary singer.

Selections from that tribute, the double Grammy-winning “Dear Ella” (Verve), make up a large portion of the music Bridgewater will perform when she opens the 2000-2001 Penn Presents season Sept. 22.

A talented stage performer as well as singer, Bridgewater is a revered superstar in Europe, especially in her adopted homeland, France. Now she’s returning to her native land to continue the female jazz and blues tradition that runs from Ella and Billie Holiday through Betty Carter to Bridgewater.