Dianne Reeves
Encyclopedia
Dianne Reeves is an American
jazz
singer. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado
.
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 Duke
, is a well known piano and keyboard player and producer. Dianne and her sister Sharon were raised by their mother in Denver, Colorado
. 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 Fitzgerald
to Billie Holiday
. She was especially impressed by Sarah Vaughan
.
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 Terry
, who became her mentor.
A year later Reeves began studying music at the University of Colorado
, before she moved in 1976 to Los Angeles
. 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 Sérgio Mendes
.
From 1983 until 1986 Reeves toured with Harry Belafonte
as a lead singer. This period saw her first experiences with world music
.
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
, tours regularly with her.
She is the only singer to have won this Grammy for three consecutive recordings.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
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...
singer. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
Early life
Reeves was born in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
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 Duke
George Duke
George Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
, is a well known piano and keyboard player and producer. Dianne and her sister Sharon were raised by their mother in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of 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
Denver Symphony Orchestra
The Denver Symphony Orchestra, established in 1934 and dissolved in 1989, was a professional American orchestra in Denver, Colorado. Until 1978, when the Boettcher Concert Hall was built to house the symphony orchestra, it performed in a succession of theaters, amphitheaters and auditoriums...
, introduced her to the music of jazz singers, from Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
to Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. She was especially impressed by Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
.
Career
At the age of 16, Reeves was singing at the George Washington High School (Denver)George Washington High School (Denver)
George Washington High School is located near the intersection of South Monaco Parkway and Leetsdale Drive in Denver, Colorado. The school is located in the Glendale neighborhood on the southeast side of Denver. GW is recognized as the first school in Colorado to offer International Baccalaureate...
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 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...
, who became her mentor.
A year later Reeves began studying music at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, before she moved in 1976 to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune 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 Sérgio Mendes
Sergio Mendes
Sérgio 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 Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
as a lead singer. This period saw her first experiences with world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
.
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
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 ConcertIn the Moment - Live In ConcertIn 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 VaughanThe Calling: Celebrating Sarah VaughanThe Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan is a 2001 studio album by Dianne Reeves, recorded in tribute to Sarah Vaughan.Reeves her second consecutive Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her performance on this album.- Song list :...
- 2003 A Little MoonlightA Little MoonlightA 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.
Studio albums
- 1982: Welcome to My Love
- 1984: For Every Heart
- 1986: Jazzvisions: Echoes of EllingtonJazzvisionsJazzvisions: Made in America was a series of Jazz concerts held in December 1986 at the Wiltern Theater."Find a voice -- and fill it."According to veteran music and entertainment producer Jack Lewis , this American entrepreneurial challenge was his motivation to fill one of the biggest voids in...
- 1987: Dianne Reeves
- 1990: Never Too Far
- 1991: I Remember
- 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
- 2001: The Calling: Celebrating Sarah VaughanThe Calling: Celebrating Sarah VaughanThe Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan is a 2001 studio album by Dianne Reeves, recorded in tribute to Sarah Vaughan.Reeves her second consecutive Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her performance on this album.- Song list :...
- 2003: A Little MoonlightA Little MoonlightA 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 KnowWhen You KnowWhen You Know is an album by American jazz singer Dianne Reeves released in 2008.-Track listing:...
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 IslandsSky Islands (album)-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 ChanceTime and Chance (Caldera album)-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)
Filmography
- 2005 played the jazz singer in "Good Night and Good Luck"
- 2005 Dianne Reeves "Live in Montreal" (Montreal International Jazz Festival 2000)
- 2008 Dianne Reeves: The Early Years with Billy Childs and Snooky YoungSnooky YoungEugene Edward "Snooky" Young was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds.-Biography:...