Fatoumata Diawara, Thursday, July 2, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Saturday, July 18, two great women, two great voices: Bergamo Jazz returns to the Lazzaretto in the name of female musicianship that carries strong messages that are more relevant and necessary today than ever before. Organized by Fondazione Teatro Donizetti with theBergamo Association of Friends of the International Piano Festival, with support from BCC Oglio e Serio and, for Dee Dee Bridgewater's concert, A2A, the two events are among the summer events promoted at Lazzaretto by the Bergamo City CouncilCulture Department . The series kicks off on Thursday, July 2 (9:30 p.m.; tickets 30 and 40 euros) with one of the most intense, powerful, and visionary voices on today’s African music scene and in the international world music scene: Fatoumata Diawara will present her new, just-released album, *Massa*, accompanied by her band featuring Jurandir Da Silva Santana on guitar, Fernando Javier Tejero Velez on keyboards, Juan Finger on electric bass, and William Ombe Monkama on drums. In *Massa*, Fatoumata Diawara’s most personal work to date and her first since *London Ko* (2023), the Malian singer and guitarist tackles themes such as motherhood, faith, memory, and the ability to transform difficulties into new awareness, weaving personal experiences and reflections on society’s fragilities into a story with universal resonance. Through the songs on the album, Fatoumata Diawara invites listeners from all walks of life to embrace gratitude and recognize destiny as an inevitable part of the human journey. Musically, *Massa* expands Fatoumata Diawara’s sonic universe, weaving Malian tradition with contemporary sounds under the artistic direction of French pop icon -M-, striking a balance between roots and experimentation. “This album carries something personal—a part of me, of my life, of my family, and of my emotions—as I turn forty-three and try to balance my career as an artist with my role as a mother of two,” says Fatoumata Diawara herself. “I address the ills plaguing our society: the deterioration of human relationships, betrayal, disappointment, and jealousy—so often present in polygamous families. With these songs, full of wisdom and advice, I invite people—rich and poor alike—to appreciate life and not to complain all the time, because no one can escape their destiny. And for this, I thank the Almighty, the one who made it all possible. In this album, I also pay tribute to my late father, who always surrounded me with a love that I continue to feel even after his death.”