For Dinah (Candid)
Ledisi
Released October 3, 2025
JAZZ.FM91 Best Jazz Albums of 2025
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About:
Powerhouse vocalist and GRAMMY winner Ledisi honors her musical hero Dinah Washington on For Dinah, a soulful tribute to the legendary Queen Of The Blues. Produced by bassist, composer and arranger and nine-time GRAMMY winner Christian McBride the album blends Washingtons signature swing and sass with Ledisis own deeply personal, genre-spanning voice.
She gave me permission to move freely, create freely, and be seen, says Ledisi, who studied jazz before rising to the top of the R&B world. Washington (1924-1963) was one of the 20th centurys most important and influential singers. Among her most devoted disciples was a gospel singer from Detroit named Aretha Franklin. But whereas Franklin is a household name and cultural icon, Washington, despite being wildly popular in her heyday, is tragically overlooked by the general public.
For Dinah aims to correct that. Featuring powerful reinterpretations of classics like Caravan and This Bitter Earth, and guest appearances by Gregory Porter, guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., and rising pianist Michael King, the album is more than a musical tribute. The project is a thank-you letter across generations to an innovator who was bold, feminine, and unapologetically Black. This is my way of saying her name out loud, Ledisi says. She deserves to be heard.
Track Listing:
1. What A Difference A Day Made (Maria Grever / Stanley Adams) 04:45
2. If I Never Get To Heaven (Dinah Washington / Juanita Hill) 06:05
3. Caravan (Edward K. Ellington / Irving Mills, Juan Tizol) 02:42
4. Let’s Do It (Cole Porter) 02:56
5. You Don’t Know What Love Is (Don Raye / Gene De Paul) 05:13
6. You’ve Got What It Takes (Clyde Otis / Murray Stein) 03:18
7. You Go To My Head (Haven Gillespie / Fred Coots) 03:10
8. This Bitter Earth (Clyde Otis / Max Richter) 05:04
Personnel:
Ledisi: vocals
Christian McBride: bass (1-6, 8)
McClenty Hunter: drums (1-6, 8)
Michael King: piano (1, 2, 5, 6, 8)
Carl Maraghi: baritone saxophone (3, 4)
Doug Purviance: bass trombone (3, 4)
Rodney Jones: guitar (3, 4)
Xavier Davis: piano (3, 4)
Dan Pratt, Ron Blake, Steve Wilson, Todd Bashore: saxophone (3, 4)
James Burton III, Michael Dease, Steve Davis: trombone (3, 4)
Alex Norris, Frank Greene, Freddie Hendrix, Nebate Isles: trumpet (3, 4)
Sarah Hewitt-Roth: cello (5, 8)
Antoine Silverman, Lisa Matricardi, Yuko Naito-Gotay: violin, viola (5, 8)
Gregory Porter: vocals (6)
Paul Jackson Jr.: electric guitar (7)
Executive-Producer: John Burk & Ledisi Young
Produced by Christian McBride
Co-produced by Rex Rideout
Recorded at Power Station, Sear Sound and Jazz At Lincoln Center Studio, by Todd Whitelock
Vocals Recorded at The Greene Room, Los Angeles, by Rex Rideout, assisted by Marc Greene
Mixed by Todd Whitelock
Mastering: Reuben Cohen
Creative Director – Ledisi
Photography and Album Artwork: Ron T. Young
Review:
From portraying gospel giant Mahalia Jackson in Ava DuVernay’s acclaimed Selma and the biopic Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story to earning a Grammy nomination for her Nina Simone tribute, the mighty Ledisi has proven herself a supreme interpreter of music history’s most important voices.
She now turns her attention to one of the 20th century’s most influential singers, Dinah Washington. Enveloped by an exquisite arrangement, her utterly beguiling timbre welcomes us into this heartfelt homage with ‘What a Difference a Day Made’. She also reveals her deep feeling for the blues in ‘If I Never Get To Heaven’ (excerpted from Washington’s 1963 Back to the Blues), complete with Ella-inspired scatting. Christian McBride’s ear-catching arrangement of ‘Caravan’ evokes Quincy Jones’ classic arrangement for Washington, while subtle strings light up a heart-melting ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is’. Originally a 1960 chart-topper for Washington and Brook Benton, ‘You’ve Got What It Takes’ becomes a joyous conversation between Ledisi and Gregory Porter’s wondrous baritone.
Elsewhere, gorgeous versions of ‘This Bitter Earth’ and ‘You Go To My Head’ (featuring guitarist Paul Jackson Jr.) showcase Ledisi’s remarkable vocal range, playfully intimate one moment, deeply soulful the next.
Peter Quinn (Jazzwise)
