Dianne Reeves

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Dianne Reeves, born 23 October 1956 in Detroit, Michigan, is an American jazz singer, known more for her live performances than her albums. Alongside her peers Dee Dee Bridgewater, Diana Krall and Cassandra Wilson she is considered one of the most important female jazz singers of our time. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

Contents

[edit] Childhood

Dianne came from 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 grandmother 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 Burell, 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.

[edit] Career

  • 1974

At the age of sixteen she was singing at the George Washington High school 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 after discovering her became her mentor.

  • 1975

A year later she began studying music at the University of Colorado, before she moving in 1976 to Los Angeles. In L.A. her interest in Latin-American music grew, and she began experimenting with different kinds of vocal music and finally decided to pursue a career as a singer. She met Eduardo del Barrio, and she toured with his group "Caldera" and sang in Billy Child's jazz band "Night Flights". Later she tour with Sergio Mendes.

From 1983 until 1986 she toured with Harry Belafonte as a lead singer. This period saw her first experiences with world music. In 1987 she became the first vocalist to sign with Blue Note records. She moved back to Denver from Los Angeles in 1992. She sang at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

[edit] Grammy Awards

She has currently won 4 Grammy Awards for "Best Jazz Vocal Performance" for her albums

She is the only singer to have won this Grammy for three consecutive recordings.

[edit] Discography

  • 1977 - Welcome to My Love
  • 1987 - Better Days
  • 1988 - I Remember
  • 1990 - Never Too Far
  • 1991 - Dianne Reeves (same as Better Days)
  • 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... produced by George Duke.
  • 2000 - In The Moment (live)
  • 2001 - The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan
  • 2002 - Best of Dianne Reeves
  • 2003 - A Little Moonlight
  • 2004 - Christmas Time is Here
  • 2005 - Good Night, And Good Luck (Soundtrack)


[edit] Sideman

  • 1975 Best of Ronnie Laws (Ronnie Laws)(bckgr)
  • 1976 Yesterday's Dreams (Alphonso Johnson)
  • 1977 Comin' Through (Eddie Henderson) - From Me to You (George Duke), Sky Islands (Caldera)
  • 1978 Black Forest (Luis Conte) (bckgr), Kinsman Dazz (Kinsman Dazz) (bckgr), Steamline (Lenny White)(bckgr), Time and Chance (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)
  • 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)

bckgr. = Background vocals

[edit] DVD

  • Dianne Reeves "Live in Montreal" (Montreal International Jazz Festival 2000)


[edit] External links

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