Dianne Reeves (born 23 October 1956) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
singer, known for her live performances as much as her albums. She is considered one of the most important contemporary jazz singers.
She lives in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
.
Reeves was born in
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
to a very musical family. Her father, who died when she was two years old, was also a singer. Her mother, Vada Swanson, played trumpet.
Dianne Reeves (born 23 October 1956) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
singer, known for her live performances as much as her albums. She is considered one of the most important contemporary jazz singers.
She lives in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
.
Early life
Reeves was born in
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
to a very musical family. Her father, who died when she was two years old, was also a singer. Her mother, Vada Swanson, played trumpet. A cousin,
George DukeGeorge Duke is a piano and synthesizer pioneer and singer. He made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio...
is a well known piano and keyboard player and producer. Dianne and her sister Sharon were raised by their mother in
Denver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the state of Colorado, in the United States. Denver is a consolidated city-county located in the South Platte River Valley on the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. As a child Dianne took piano lessons and sang at every opportunity. When she was 11 years old her interest in music was enhanced by an inspiring teacher who thought that music was the best way to bring students together. Dianne discovered a love of music and that she wanted to be a singer.
Her uncle, Charles Burrell, a bass player with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, introduced her to the music of jazz singers, from
Ella FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as "Lady Ella", and the "First Lady of Song", was an American jazz vocalist....
to
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing...
. She was especially impressed by
Sarah VaughanSarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century". She had a contralto vocal range....
.
Career
At the age of 16, Reeves was singing at the
George Washington High School (Denver)George Washington High School is located near the intersection of South Monaco Parkway and Leetsdale Drive in Denver, Colorado. GW is recognized as the first school in Colorado to offer International Baccalaureate courses, beginning in 1984. GW is a large urban high school serving grades 9-12...
in Denver, in a high school big-band. That same year the band played at a music festival (Convention of the National Association of Jazz Educators). Her band won first place and it was there she met the trumpeter
Clark TerryClark Terry , is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, and NEA Jazz Masters inductee....
, who became her mentor.
A year later Reeves began studying music at the
University of ColoradoThe University of Colorado at Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system and was founded five months before Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876...
, before she moved in 1976 to
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
. In L.A. her interest in Latin-American music grew. She began experimenting with different kinds of vocal music and finally decided to pursue a career as a singer. She met Eduardo del Barrio, toured with his group "Caldera" and sang in Billy Childs' jazz band "Night Flight". Later she toured with
Sergio MendesSérgio Santos Mendes is a Brazilian musician. He has released over thirty-five albums, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk....
.
From 1983 until 1986 Reeves toured with
Harry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. , is an American musician, actor and social activist. One of the most successful popular singers in history, he was dubbed the "King of Calypso", a title which he was very reluctant to accept for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an...
as a lead singer. This period saw her first experiences with
world musicWorld music is the traditional music or folk music of a culture that is created and played by indigenous musicians that is closely related to the music of the regions of their origin.-Terminology:...
.
In 1987 Reeves was the first vocalist signed to the reactivated Blue Note/EMI label. Reeves moved back to Denver from Los Angeles in 1992. Reeves sang at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
Reeves' Musical Director,
Peter Martin (Jazz Pianist)Peter Martin is an American jazz pianist. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri and currently resides there. He has released two albums on the Max Jazz label, Something Unexpected and In The P.M....
tours regularly with her.
Grammy Awards
She has to date won 4 Grammy Awards for "Best Jazz Vocal Performance" for her albums
- 2001 In the Moment - Live In Concert
In the Moment - Live in Concert is an album by Dianne Reeves released in 2000.For this album Reeves won her first Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2001.- Song list :# Morning Has Broken# Afro Blue# The First Five Chapters# Triste# Bridges...
- 2002 The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan
The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan is an album by Dianne Reeves released in 2001, recorded as a tribute to Sarah Vaughan.The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan won Reeves her second consecutive Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album....
- 2003 A Little Moonlight
A Little Moonlight is an album by Dianne Reeves released in 2003.A Little Moonlight won Reeves her third consecutive Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.- Track listing :#"Loads of Love" - 4:24...
- 2006 Good Night, and Good Luck (Soundtrack)
She is the only singer to have won this Grammy for three consecutive recordings.
Discography
- 1977 Welcome to My Love
- 1984 For Every Heart
- 1987 Dianne Reeves
- 1988 I Remember
- 1990 Never Too Far
- 1993 Art & Survival
- 1994 Quiet After the Storm
- 1996 The Grand Encounter
- 1996 Palo Alto Sessions
- 1997 That Day...
- 1997 New Morning (live)
- 1999 Bridges
- 2000 In the Moment - Live In Concert
In the Moment - Live in Concert is an album by Dianne Reeves released in 2000.For this album Reeves won her first Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2001.- Song list :# Morning Has Broken# Afro Blue# The First Five Chapters# Triste# Bridges...
- 2001 The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan
The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan is an album by Dianne Reeves released in 2001, recorded as a tribute to Sarah Vaughan.The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan won Reeves her second consecutive Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album....
- 2003 A Little Moonlight
A Little Moonlight is an album by Dianne Reeves released in 2003.A Little Moonlight won Reeves her third consecutive Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.- Track listing :#"Loads of Love" - 4:24...
- 2004 Christmas Time is Here
- 2005 Good Night, and Good Luck (Soundtrack)
- 2008 When You Know
-Track listings:# Just My Imagination # Over The Weekend# Lovin' You# I'm In Love Again# Midnight Sun# Once I Loved# Windmills Of Your Mind# Social Call# When You Know# Today Will Be A Good Day...
Sideman
- 1975 Best of Ronnie Laws (Ronnie Laws)
- 1976 Yesterday's Dreams (Alphonso Johnson)
- 1977 Comin' Through (Eddie Henderson) - From Me to You (George Duke), Sky Islands
-Track listing:# "Sky Island" – 6:07# "Ancient Source" – 4:30# "It Used to Be" – 1:12# "Pegasus" – 4:56# "Carnavalito" Eduardo del Barrio) – 4:51...
(Caldera)
- 1978 Black Forest (Luis Conte), Kinsman Dazz (Kinsman Dazz), Steamline (Lenny White)(bckgr), Time and Chance
-Track listing:# "The Arousing" – 2:50# "Reviviscence" – 7:00# "Mosaico " – 7:00# "Magewind" – 1:34# "Crosscountry" – 5:24...
(Caldera)
- 1979 Splendor (Splendor)
- 1981 Seduzir (Djavan)
- 1984 Fiesta (Victor Feldman)
- 1985 Ebony Rain (Mark Winkler), Magnetic (Steps Ahead), Streetshadows (David Diggs)
- 1986 This Side Up (David Benoit)
- 1988 Joy Rider (Wayne Shorter)
- 1989 At Last (Lou Rawls), Ballads (Lou Rawls), Best of Feldman and the Generation Band (Victor Feldman's Generation Band), Straight to My Heart: The Music of Sting (Bob Belden Ensemble)
- 1990 Nova Collection '90 (Various), Yule Struttin' (Various)
- 1991 Continuing the Legacy of Black Music... (Various), Free Play (Eduardo Del Barrio), Keys to Life (Ben Tankard)
- 1992 Christmas Carols & Sacred Songs (The Boys Choir of Harlem), Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration (Various), Legendary Lou Rawls (Lou Rawls), Moonlight Love: Soft Sounds for a Summer Night (Various)
- 1993 Journey (McCoy Tyner Big Band), Let Your Love Flow (Solomon Burke)(bckgr), When the Time is Right (Javon Jackson)
- 1994 Blue Note Now! (Various), For the Love of Music (Lionel Hampton), I've Known Rivers (Billy Childs), Shades of Blue (Bob Belden)
- 1995 Esquire Jazz Collection: Crosstown Traffic (Various), Jazz to the World (Various), Rhythm & Blues Christmas [Cema] (Various), Today's Stars Sing Holiday Classics (Various)
- 1996 Bob Beldon Presents Strawberry Fields (Various), Doky Brothers, Vol. 2 (Niels Lan Doky & Chris Minh Doky), Never Ending Game, Vol. 1 (Dreadformation), New Groove: The Blue Note Remix Project, Vol. 1 (Various), Panasonic Village Jazz Festival 1996 (Various), Place of Hope (Various), Soulful Sounds of Christmas [One Way] (Various), Strawberry Fields (Bob Belden), World Christmas (Various)
- 1997 1997 Panasonic Village Jazz Festival (Various), Best of George Duke: The Elektra Years (George Duke)(bckgr), Fiesta & More (Victor Feldman), Is Love Enough ? (George Duke) (bckgr), Last Time I Committed Suicide (Original Soundtrack), Monk on Monk (T.S. Monk), Sample This (Joe Sample), Sleep Warm (Various), Slow Jams: On the Jazz Tip, Vol. 1 (Various), Soul Control (Gerald Veasley), That Old Feeling (Original Soundtrack), Yule Be Boppin' (Various), Great Jazz Vocalists Sing Strayhorn & Ellington (Various), Ultimate Nina Simone (Nina Simone)
- 1998 Afro-Cuban Fantasy (Cabildo) (Poncho Sanchez), Blue Box, Vol. 2: Finest Jazz Vocalists (Various), Blue Note Salutes Motown (Various), Blue Note Years 1939-1999 (Various), Chez Toots (Toots Thielemans), Colors of a Band (Peter Herbolzheimer), Minh Chris (Minh Doky), Seasons 4 U (Lou Rawls), Soulful Divas, Vol. 3: Softly with a Song (Various), Soulful Divas, Vol. 5: Ladies of Jazz N Soul (Various), Ultimate Divas [Box] (Various), We've Got What You Need (James Williams & ICU)
- 1999 Afro Blue (Various), Art & Soul (Renee Rosnes), Beach Music Anthology, Vol. 2 (Various), Best Blue Note Album in the World Ever (Various), Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz (Various), Blue Movies: Scoring for the Studio (Various), Blue Note Years, Vol. 6: New Era 1975-1998 (Various), Blue Note Years, Vol. 7: Blue Note Now & Then (Various), Blue Valentines (Various), Down Here Below (Jeffery Smith), Edge (Lenny White), Jazznavour (Charles Aznavour), Just the Ticket (Original Soundtrack) (bckgr), Live at the Blue Note: 75th Birthday Celebration (Chico & Von Freeman), Live in Swing City: Swingin with the Duke (Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra & Wynton Marsalis), Manhattan Melodies (Eric Reed), Native Voices (Various), R 'N' Browne (Tom Browne), Tribute to Ellington (Daniel Barenboim)
- 2000 30 Years of Montreux Jazz Festival (Various), Anthology (Eddie Henderson) (bckgr), Going Home: Tribute To Duke Ellington (Various), Love Affair: The Music of Ivan Lins (Jason Miles/Various), Never Gonna Give Up (Lorrich), Pure Cool (Various), Sci-Fi (Christian McBride), Smooth and Straight (Various), Smooth Grooves: Jazzy Soul, Vol. 2 (Various), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (Rodney Whitaker)
- 2001 Dear Louis (Nicholas Payton), Identity Crisis (Affirmation), Let's Get Lost: The Songs of Jimmy McHugh (Terence Blanchard), Phonography (DJ Smash), With a Little Help From My Friends (Renee Rosnes)
- 2002 At His Best (Solomon Burke) (bckgr), Café (Trio da Paz), I Heard It on NPR: Jazz for Blue Nights (Various), Incredible Solomon Burke at His Best (Solomon Burke)(bckgr), Lenny White Collection (Lenny White), Pump It Up (Les McCann), Tom Browne Collection (Tom Browne)
- 2003 I Heard It on NPR CD Box Set: Jazz for Blue Nights (Various), Midnight Music (Various), Wise Children (Tom Harrell)
- 2004 Blue Note Plays the Beatles (Various), Colors of Latin Jazz: Música Romántica (Various), The Magic Hour (Wynton Marsalis)
- 2006 The Phat Pack (Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band)
bckgr. = Background vocals
Filmography
- 2005 Dianne Reeves "Live in Montreal" (Montreal International Jazz Festival 2000)
- 2008 Dianne Reeves: The Early Years with Billy Childs and Snooky Young
Eugene "Snooky" Young is an American jazz trumpeter. He is known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he is able to create a wide range of sounds.Young was lead trumpeter of the Jimmie Lunceford band from 1939 to 1942...
External links