Dena DeRose
Encyclopedia
Dena DeRose is an American jazz
pianist, singer and educator. Although she began her career just as a pianist, medical problems with her hand forced her to become a vocalist as well. She has released seven solo albums.
to a construction worker and a former professional ice skater with the Ice Capades
. She began playing the piano at age three and soon became a fan of jazz. As a child she also played the organ
and percussion, and played the piano in school bands. When she was a teenager, she used to drive to New York City
to see jazz musicians like Hank Jones
and Mulgrew Miller
. After high school, DeRose was offered a scholarship
to Concordia College
but chose to attend Binghamton University
instead. At 21, DeRose was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome
and arthritis
. Suffering severe pain in her right hand, she was forced to stop playing the piano. Not performing for close to a year she became depressed
and turned to drugs and alcohol to help her cope. One night she was in a bar listening to Doug Beardsley's trio when someone suggested that she get up and sing. From then she sang regularly with Beardsley's trio in Binghamton. After approximately another 18 months, she had two surgeries on her right hand which enabled her to begin playing the piano again. She moved to New York City
in 1991 to further her career.
s like "Blue Skies
", "How Deep Is the Ocean?
" and "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
". Scott Yanow
for Allmusic called the album "an impressive beginning". Her second album, Another World, was released in 1999 with a septet
of musicians including Steve Davis
, Steve Wilson
and Ingrid Jensen
. Tracks included standards "Spring Is Here
" and "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
", and "Don't Go", which was co-written by DeRose. She released two more albums on Sharp Nine, I Can See Clearly Now (2000) and Love's Holiday (2002) before moving to MAXJAZZ
. Her first album on that label, and her fifth in all, was 2005's A Walk in the Park which featured bassist Martin Wind and drummer Matt Wilson. It included versions of Duke Ellington
's "The Lonely Ones", John Lennon
's "Imagine
" and Cole Porter
's "I Concentrate on You
". Yanow called it a "generally satisfying effort" and called DeRose's performance "subtle but expressive". She has worked with musicians including Randy Brecker
, Bruce Forman
, the Ray Brown Trio
, Clark Terry
, Benny Golson
, Bill Henderson
, Houston Person
, Ken Peplowski
.
, Austria, since 2006. A regular teacher at the Stanford Jazz Workshop for the past 15 plus years, she also teaches periodically at other summer camp and workshop programs including the Litchfield Summer Camp, Taller de Musics in Spain and the Prince Claus Conservatoire in Groningen, Holland.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist, singer and educator. Although she began her career just as a pianist, medical problems with her hand forced her to become a vocalist as well. She has released seven solo albums.
Early life
DeRose was born in Binghamton, New YorkBinghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
to a construction worker and a former professional ice skater with the Ice Capades
Ice Capades
The Ice Capades was a traveling entertainment show featuring theatrical performances involving ice skating. Shows often featured former Olympicand National Champion figure skaters who had retired from amateur competition....
. She began playing the piano at age three and soon became a fan of jazz. As a child she also played the organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and percussion, and played the piano in school bands. When she was a teenager, she used to drive to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to see jazz musicians like Hank Jones
Hank Jones
Henry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
and Mulgrew Miller
Mulgrew Miller
Mulgrew Miller is an American jazz pianist who performs in a number of jazz idioms. He began his career as member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.-Biography:...
. After high school, DeRose was offered a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to Concordia College
Concordia College, Bronxville
Concordia College is a four-year coeducational liberal arts college located in the village of Bronxville, in Westchester County, New York, United States....
but chose to attend Binghamton University
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
instead. At 21, DeRose was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is an entrapment idiopathic median neuropathy, causing paresthesia, pain, and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpal tunnel. The pathophysiology is not completely understood but can be considered compression...
and arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
. Suffering severe pain in her right hand, she was forced to stop playing the piano. Not performing for close to a year she became depressed
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
and turned to drugs and alcohol to help her cope. One night she was in a bar listening to Doug Beardsley's trio when someone suggested that she get up and sing. From then she sang regularly with Beardsley's trio in Binghamton. After approximately another 18 months, she had two surgeries on her right hand which enabled her to begin playing the piano again. She moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1991 to further her career.
Recording career
She released her debut album Introducing Dena DeRose on the Sharp Nine label in 1996. It included jazz standardJazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
s like "Blue Skies
Blue Skies (song)
-History:The song was composed in 1926 as a last minute addition to the Rodgers and Hart musical, Betsy. Although the show only ran for 39 performances, "Blue Skies" was an instant success, with audiences on opening night demanding 24 encores of the piece from star, Belle Baker. During the final...
", "How Deep Is the Ocean?
How Deep Is the Ocean?
"How Deep Is the Ocean?" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin in 1932, and can be heard in the background of the 1933 film The Life of Jimmy Dolan...
" and "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
Published by Chappell & Company, "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" is a song with lyrics and music by Cole Porter. It was introduced in 1944 in Billy Rose's musical revue, Seven Lively Arts....
". Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
for Allmusic called the album "an impressive beginning". Her second album, Another World, was released in 1999 with a septet
Septet
A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry....
of musicians including Steve Davis
Steve Davis (trombonist)
Steve Davis is an American jazz trombonist who plays hard bop, post-bop, and standards. His primary influences are J. J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Slide Hampton, Jackie McLean, Freddie Hubbard, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane.Davis was raised in...
, Steve Wilson
Steve Wilson (jazz musician)
Steve Wilson is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist.-Biography:As a teenager, he played in various rhythm and blues and funk bands. After a year accompanying singer Stephanie Mills, he attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, where he majored in music. In 1987 he moved to New...
and Ingrid Jensen
Ingrid Jensen
Ingrid Jensen is a Canadian jazz trumpet player.Jensen is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and Malaspina University in Nanaimo, British Columbia. She has been nominated for several Juno awards, winning one with her first release, Vernal Fields...
. Tracks included standards "Spring Is Here
Spring Is Here
"Spring is Here" is a 1938 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical I Married an Angel , where it was introduced by Dennis King and Vivienne Segal.-Notable recordings:...
" and "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
"In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" is a 1955 popular song composed by David Mann, with lyrics by Bob Hilliard. It was introduced as the title track of Frank Sinatra's 1955 album In the Wee Small Hours....
", and "Don't Go", which was co-written by DeRose. She released two more albums on Sharp Nine, I Can See Clearly Now (2000) and Love's Holiday (2002) before moving to MAXJAZZ
Maxjazz
MAXJAZZ is an American jazz record label founded in 1999. Its catalog contains sixty-eight vocal and instrumental recordings. MAXJAZZ recordings are generally regarded as a “straight-ahead” acoustic style of jazz...
. Her first album on that label, and her fifth in all, was 2005's A Walk in the Park which featured bassist Martin Wind and drummer Matt Wilson. It included versions of Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
's "The Lonely Ones", John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "Imagine
Imagine (song)
"Imagine" is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971...
" and Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
's "I Concentrate on You
I Concentrate on You
"I Concentrate on You" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1940 film Broadway Melody of 1940, where it was introduced by Douglas McPhail.-Notable recordings:...
". Yanow called it a "generally satisfying effort" and called DeRose's performance "subtle but expressive". She has worked with musicians including Randy Brecker
Randy Brecker
Randal "Randy" Brecker is an American trumpeter and flugelhornist. He is a highly sought after performer in the genres of jazz, rock, and R&B, and has performed or recorded with Stanley Turrentine, Billy Cobham, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Sandip Burman, Charles Mingus, Blood, Sweat & Tears,...
, Bruce Forman
Bruce Forman
Bruce Forman is an American jazz guitarist.Forman moved to San Francisco in 1971 and led his own groups in the area for several years, in addition to performing regularly at the Monterey Jazz Festival. He played with Richie Cole from 1978 to 1982. His most successful album as a leader was 1992's...
, the Ray Brown Trio
Ray Brown, Jr.
Ray Brown, Jr. is an American jazz and blues pianist and singer.The adopted son of Ray Brown and Ella Fitzgerald, he was born in New York City, New York to Fitzgerald's half-sister Frances...
, Clark Terry
Clark Terry
Clark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
, Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
, Bill Henderson
Bill Henderson (actor)
William Randall "Bill" Henderson is an American jazz vocalist and actor in television and film.Henderson was born in Chicago, Illinois. Henderson's acting credits have been numerous. Beginning in the mid-1970s, and continuing to this day, he has frequently appeared on television in supporting,...
, Houston Person
Houston Person
Houston Person is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. Person is also known for his distinctive sassy sound and his expressive style of playing...
, Ken Peplowski
Ken Peplowski
Ken Peplowski is a jazz clarinetist born in Cleveland, Ohio, known primarily for playing in the swing music idiom. He is sometimes compared to Benny Goodman in terms of tone and virtuosity...
.
Teaching
DeRose has been the Vocal Professor and Head of Jazz Vocals at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in GrazGraz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, Austria, since 2006. A regular teacher at the Stanford Jazz Workshop for the past 15 plus years, she also teaches periodically at other summer camp and workshop programs including the Litchfield Summer Camp, Taller de Musics in Spain and the Prince Claus Conservatoire in Groningen, Holland.
Discography
- Introducing Dena DeRose (1996)
- Another World (1999)
- I Can See Clearly Now (2000)
- Love's Holiday (2002)
- A Walk in the Park (2005) (MAXJAZZ)
- Live at Jazz Standard, Vol. 1 (2007) (MAXJAZZ)
- Live at Jazz Standard, Vol. 2 (2008) (MAXJAZZ)