Ledisi for Dinah / José James / Spilata / DJ Kultured Child

On the opening night of its 40th Anniversary season, SummerStage and the Blue Note Jazz Festival will showcase a supreme talent paying homage to jazz and R&B legend Dinah Washington. GRAMMY-winning vocalist Ledisi will perform selections from her new album For Dinah, an 8-song tribute to genre trailblazer Dinah Washington, who breathed new life into R&B in the ‘50s and ‘60s with her gospel, jazz, and blues roots, influencing the likes of Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, and more. The album is “a love letter to a beautiful Black woman who has inspired me. Made Me,” said Ledisi, who imbues Washington’s classics such as “This Bitter Earth,” and “What a Difference a Day Made,” with her own neo-soul and contemporary jazz stylings. Also appearing on the program is SummerStage alumnus José James, a jazz artist with a hip-hop soul who’s been blurring genre lines with his rich baritone since his 2008 debut album The Dreamer. His latest work is focused on connecting the dots between soul, hip-hop, disco, funk, jazz, and jazz-adjacent styles of 2024’s 1978 and last year’s 1978: Revenge of the Dragon. Like Ledisi, James has also been known to pay tribute to his forebears, dedicating sessions to the likes of Billie Holiday, Bill Withers, and Erykah Badu. Rounding out the lineup is Spilata, led by the titular jazz vocalist and songwriter who’s already made his mark at classic venues such as Birdland, Minton’s Playhouse, and Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The evening also features Spilata, who’s already made his mark at classic venues such as Birdland, Minton’s Playhouse, and Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Multi-talented DJ and producer of Milestones: Celebrating the Culture podcast Angélika Beener aka DJ Kultured Child is on the ones and twos.