Dianne Reeves


Dianne Elizabeth Reeves is an American jazz singer. Reeves has won five Grammy awards from a total nine nominations.

Early life and education

Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, into a musical family. Her father sang, her mother played trumpet, her uncle is bassist Charles Burrell, and her cousin was George Duke. Her father died when she was two years old, and she was raised in Denver, Colorado, by her mother, Vada Swanson, and maternal family. Reeves was raised Catholic and attended Cure D'Ars Catholic School in Denver for much of her early schooling.

Career

In 1971, Reeves started singing and playing piano. 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.
She signed with Blue Note in 1987 and that year her eponymous album, featuring Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, and Tony Williams, was nominated for a Grammy Award. She went on to win five Grammy Awards.
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.
Reeves performed at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In 2005, she appeared in the film Good Night, and Good Luck singing 1950s standards. In 2006, the soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Reeves appeared in the 2021 documentary film JazzTown.

Discography

  • Welcome to My Love
  • For Every Heart
  • Ballerina with Marcy Levy
  • Dianne Reeves
  • The Nearness of You
  • Never Too Far
  • I Remember
  • Quiet After the Storm
  • Art & Survival
  • Three Ladies of Jazz: Live in New York
  • The Grand Encounter
  • New Morning
  • That Day
  • Bridges
  • In the Moment – Live in Concert
  • The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan
  • A Little Moonlight
  • Christmas Time Is Here
  • Good Night, and Good Luck
  • Music For Lovers
  • When You Know
  • Beautiful Life
  • ''Light Up the Night: Live in Marciac''

    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"
  • 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.
YearCategoryNominated workResult
1990Best Jazz Vocal Performance, FemaleI Got It Bad And That Ain't Good Nomitated
1995Best Jazz Vocal PerformanceQuiet After The Storm Nomitated
1998Best Jazz Vocal Performance"That Day... "Nomitated
1999Best Jazz Vocal PerformanceBridges Nomitated
2000Best Jazz Vocal AlbumIn the Moment – Live in ConcertWon
2001Best Jazz Vocal AlbumThe Calling: Celebrating Sarah VaughanWon
2003Best Jazz Vocal AlbumA Little MoonlightWon
2005Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary Or Inspirational"Good Night, and Good Luck"Won
2014Best Jazz Vocal Album"Beautiful Life"Won