DIANNE REEVES: THE RIGHT CHOICE
DIANNE REEVES: THE RIGHT CHOICE
by Joyce Jones
When I connected with Dianne Reeves to gather additional information for this feature, she informed me that she took off for the summer. “Girl, I have my LIFE, my house, my enjoyment, my peace – all of those kinds of things,” she says. Even though Dianne had taken a break, she was working on a recording project with her longtime collaborator and “brother from another mother” Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo. “He’s a very close friend of mine. I enjoy working with him,” she says. The recording is scheduled to be released in January 2025. “After many years of working with Romero, and my love for Brazilian music, because I think that every recording that I’ve ever done, there’s some part of Brazil that shows itself in my work,” says Dianne. “We’ve, for years, done duo concerts, and we (have) a lot of fun and joy together. We decided to go into the studio and do what we’ve always done.” Dianne adds, “It’s a small record, but it’s big with heart, and it shows our relationship with music.”
Although Dianne was born in Detroit, MI, she was raised in her family home of Denver, CO, where she has settled in for quite some time now. Dianne’s grandmother’s father was a founding minister of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Denver. However, a large motivation for steering Dianne into music was her family, as many members were entertainers and musicians. Two of her grandmother’s sisters were entertainers. She has an uncle who was a bassist with the Colorado Symphony for over 40 years. He was the first Black member of the San Francisco Symphony, and he played European classical and jazz bass.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/8eb448a8b9.html#page/15.
