Some collaborations are born in record label HQs. Others arrive on the wings of coincidence. But Elemental, the first duo album from jazz powerhouses Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap, wasn’t planned at all. It was summoned.

“I hear voices,” Bridgewater says with a laugh. “I woke up one morning and a voice said, ‘Bill Charlap.’” An unexpected name, even to her. After all, she’d never worked with the acclaimed pianist, known for his elegant touch, encyclopedic knowledge of the Great American Songbook, and Grammy-winning collaboration with Tony Bennett. Still, when the universe calls, you answer. Charlap was just as surprised to get the call. “I thought she’d be sitting in with my trio,” he recalls. “When I heard she wanted to do this as a duo, a bunch of lights went on.”

And so began a partnership that no one, perhaps not even them, saw coming. For Bridgewater, a three-time Grammy winner, Tony Award recipient, NEA Jazz Master, and 2024 Bruce Lundvall Visionary Award honoree, creative leaps of faith are nothing new. Her six-decade career has been built on instinct and bold choices. Charlap, too, has long been a musician’s musician, a sensitive accompanist who’s worked with legends from Barbra Streisand to Freddy Cole, while maintaining a stellar solo career.

Yet even with all that experience between them, their first meeting on stage in 2019 was a gamble. Would their worlds collide or quietly fizzle? “Chemistry happens or it doesn’t happen,” says Charlap. “And when it happens, it happens – boom! – instantaneously.” Boom, indeed! That lightning-in-a-bottle connection is now captured on Elemental, a live album born from a handful of sold-out concerts. The title hints at the raw, almost alchemical bond these two artists share; one that transcends technical mastery to tap into something deeper, more instinctual.

Throughout Elemental, Bridgewater and Charlap navigate a curated set of jazz standards with the ease of old friends and the spark of new collaborators. On “Beginning to See the Light,” Bridgewater’s rhythmic phrasing dances in lockstep with Charlap’s percussive piano strikes. Their take on “Honeysuckle Rose” feels like a lively conversation, full of playful jabs and joyful leaps. One minute, they’re careening through a breathless “Caravan;” the next, they’re stripping it back to fragile silences on “Here’s That Rainy Day.”

Elemental clearly isn't merely a showcase for their individual brilliance, though there’s plenty of that. It’s the way they listen to each other, push each other, and find fresh life in songs that have been sung a thousand times. They balance whimsy with heartbreak, spontaneity with precision, creating performances that feel as immediate as they are timeless.

Dee Bridgwater and Bill Charlap are celebrating the release of Elemental as a duo at these select dates:
June 12: Hyot Sherman Place | Des Moines, IA
June 14: Hollywood Bowl | Los Angeles, CA
August 24: Charlie Parker Festival | New York, NYC