Dianne Elizabeth Reeves (born October 23, 1956) is an American jazz singer. Reeves has won five Grammy awards from a total nine nominations. Reeves was raised Catholic and attended Cure D'Ars Catholic School in Denver for much of her early schooling. She was a member of her high-school band and while performing at a convention in Chicago was noticed by trumpeter Clark Terry, who invited her to sing with him. "He had these amazing all-star bands, but I had no idea who they all were! The thing I loved about it was the way they interacted with each other – the kind of intimate exchange that I wasn't part of. For a young singer, it was fertile soil." She studied classical voice at the University of Colorado.
Reeves moved to Los Angeles, where she sang and recorded with Stanley Turrentine, Lenny White, and Billy Childs. She recorded with the band Caldera, then founded the band Night Flight with Billy Childs, with whom she would collaborate again in the 1990s. She moved to New York City and from 1983 to 1986 toured with Harry Belafonte.
Music critic Scott Yanow has said of her: "A logical successor to Dinah Washington and Carmen McRae, Reeves is a superior interpreter of lyrics and a skilled scat singer." Her sound has been compared to that of Patti Austin, Vanessa Rubin, Anita Baker, and Regina Belle.
Discography
thumb|Reeves in April 2011
- Welcome to My Love (Palo Alto, 1982)
- For Every Heart (TBA & Tapes, 1984)
- Ballerina with Marcy Levy (BBC, 1984)
- Dianne Reeves (Blue Note, 1987)
- The Nearness of You (Blue Note, 1988)
- Never Too Far (EMI, 1989)
- I Remember (Blue Note, 1991)
- Quiet After the Storm (Blue Note, 1994)
- Art & Survival (EMI, 1994)
- Three Ladies of Jazz: Live in New York (Jazz Door, 1995)
- The Grand Encounter (Blue Note, 1996)
- New Morning (Blue Note, 1997)
- That Day (Blue Note, 1997)
- Bridges (Blue Note, 1999)
- In the Moment – Live in Concert (Blue Note, 2000)
- The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan (Blue Note, 2001)
- A Little Moonlight (Blue Note, 2003)
- Christmas Time Is Here (Blue Note, 2004)
- Good Night, and Good Luck (Concord Jazz, 2005)
- Music For Lovers (Blue Note, 2006)
- When You Know (Blue Note, 2008)
- Beautiful Life (Concord, 2013)
- Light Up the Night: Live in Marciac (Concord, 2016)
- Star Child (Arkadia, 2026)
Filmography
- 1991: Appeared as singer in Guilty by Suspicion, directed by Irwin Winkler
- 2005: Appeared as jazz singer in Good Night, and Good Luck, directed by George Clooney
- 2005: Dianne Reeves "Live in Montreal" (Montreal International Jazz Festival 2000)
- 2008: Dianne Reeves: The Early Years, with Billy Childs and Snooky Young
Awards and honors
Grammy awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Reeves has received five awards out of nine nominations.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
|-
|1990
|Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female
|I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good (Track)
|
|-
|1995
|Best Jazz Vocal Performance
|Quiet After The Storm (Album)
|
|-
|1998
|Best Jazz Vocal Performance
|"That Day... (Album)"
|
|-
|1999
|Best Jazz Vocal Performance
| Bridges (Album)
|
|-
|2000
|Best Jazz Vocal Album
|In the Moment – Live in Concert
|
|-
|2001
|Best Jazz Vocal Album
|The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan
|
|-
|2003
|Best Jazz Vocal Album
|A Little Moonlight
|
|-
|2005
|Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary Or Inspirational
|"Good Night, and Good Luck"
|
|-
|2014
|Best Jazz Vocal Album
|"Beautiful Life"
|
|-
|}
- 2003: Honorary doctorate, Berklee College of Music
- 2015: Best Album, Jazz FM Awards, Beautiful Life
- 2015: Honorary doctorate, The Juilliard School
- 2018: NEA Jazz Masters
References
External links
- Interview video Bamboo-music.com (English & French), March 2008.
- Thierry Quénum, "In Conversation with Dianne Reeves", Jazz.com, June 15, 2008
<!-- dead link* Dianne Reeves with Russel Malone (2011) on YouTube-->
- Felix Contreras, "Dianne Reeves: A Jazz Voice With Pop Sensibilities", NPR, February 1, 2011.