When Dianne Reeves was designated a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts back in 2018, it was a well-deserved honor for someone receiving the highest
honor the United States can bestow on a jazz artist. A mentee of storied trumpeter/flugelhornist Clark Terry, Reeves will be bringing her considerable vocal skills to Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Tilles Center.
A multiple Grammy-winner, the Colorado resident is excited about 2026 as she’ll be dusting off songs from upcoming projects, which is a big deal given the fact that she hasn’t released any material since 2013’s “Beautiful Life.”
“I did a record with my guitarist Romero Lubambo, who I have been working with since the late ‘90s,” she said. “He’s recorded on every record since then, but we’ve never really done our own thing. So we did a duo project called ‘Us,’ which we’re going to be celebrating. I also did the ‘John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman’ record last year with Branford [Marsalis] and it’s going to be coming out in the late summer. It came out beautifully.”
Along with Lubambo, Reeves’ current band is rounded out by pianist John Beasley, drummer Terreon Gully and bassist Dezron Douglas filling in for Reuben Rogers. It’s a
combo Reeves is thrilled to be working with on this string of dates.
“I’m really excited because I love my band,” she said. “We have had a tradition at Jazz at Lincoln Center for many years, where we do a night of songs that are very light. It’s become a very traditional thing. My band and myself are always looking forward to coming and doing that.”
Born in Detroit, Reeves grew up in Denver at a time when busing as a desegregation tool was being instituted.
While she grew up counting future jazz great George Duke as a cousin and early memories of her great aunt and Uncle Charles playing piano and bass while singing
ribald blues tunes at family get-togethers, music wasn’t a serious consideration. That is until a special educator showed the young Reeves the way.
“I had a music teacher from Marshall, TX and her name was Betty Williams,” Reeves recalled. “She was a Black music teacher who understood what students were going
through. She had us put together this wonderful school production and I performed in the show. I’ll never forget how I felt on stage. The Edwin Hawkins album had come out with ‘Oh, Happy Day’ on it and I sang a song on it called ‘Joy.’ It changed my life right there. My grandmother always said not to put all my eggs in one basket, but I remember specifically walking down the hall to class and thinking I was going to put all my eggs in that basket.”
Reeves’ next stroke of luck came when Terry saw the young vocalist performing with her high school jazz band after winning a city-wide competition that afforded them a chance to perform before the National Association of Jazz Educators (“There were a lot of clinicians and Clark was one of the biggest—he loved teaching this music.”)
A temporary relocation to California to play in groups like the World Music-flavored outfit Caldera and the Phillip Bailey-produced soul-jazz group Free Life convinced Reeves she was happier flying solo. A pair of albums for independent label Palo Alto Records (1982’s “Welcome to My Love” and 1984’s “For Every Heart”) preceded her self-titled 1987 major label debut, which came about following the vocalist’s confidence-fueled connection with Blue Note imprint President Bruce Lundvall.
“I found out Bruce was staying in a certain hotel, went over and met him,” Reeves said. “I went to Bruce and told him he needed me on his label. I gave him two tickets and told him to come see me at the Wiltern, where I was doing this ‘Echoes of Ellington’ program, and that’s how it started.”
Since then Reeves has racked up five Grammys, performed at the White House on multiple occasions and was a major musical component of George Clooney’s 2005
Academy Award-nominated drama “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Through it all, Reeves had clung to the same advice she’s given countless young people.
“Everyone’s voice is unique, so refine your voice, define your voice, respect your voice and protect your voice,” she said. “What I mean by voice is that part of you that allows your instrument to soar.”
Dianne Reeves will be appearing on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, 10 Columbus Circle, NYC. For more information, visit www.jazz.org or call 212-258-9800. Reeves will also be appearing on Feb. 15 at The Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, 720 Northern Blvd. in Greenvale. For more information, visit www.tillescenter.org or call 516-299-3100.
