Dianne Reeves took the stage in front of nearly 3,000 people at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City on New Year’s Eve.
The jazz vocalist performed a series of Gershwin brothers classics alongside Broadway singer Norm Lewis, backed by her own band and the New York Philharmonic.
In a review of the show, the New York Times said Reeves “proved an endless font of invention, bending melodies, harmonies and rhythms to new shapes without ever falsifying the spirit or mood of the original.”
She then returned to her suite with her friends and family and cooked some black eyed peas, rice and other comfort foods to celebrate the start of 2015.
“Black eyed peas are meant to bring good luck,” Reeves, an avid cook, said in a phone interview last week from her hometown of Denver. “People had a ball. My suite had a very nice kitchen, so I was able to really rattle some pots.”
We can only imagine what Reeves will prepare, besides her usual mastery of jazz standards and original material, when she performs at the Fox Theatre Sunday as part of the UA Presents concert series and the Tucson Jazz Festival
Reeves is arguably one of the finest jazz vocalists out there today with multiple Grammy Awards to prove it.
She comes to town with her latest project “Beautiful Life,” released in February of 2014 on the Concord Music Group label.
The album, Reeve’s first solo recording in five years, includes a blend of new works and interpretations of an eclectic mix of songs adapted to Reeve’s own distinct vocal style.
“Beautiful Life” kicks off with Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You,” but also features Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain,” Ani DiFranco’s “32 Flavors” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”
“When a lyric speaks to you, you figure out how to make it work,” said Reeves, explaining how tracks from the album were chosen. “These songs, all of the artists, have been a part of my life.”
The release features sit-ins from a who’s who in contemporary jazz, including trumpeter Sean Jones, bassist Esperanza Spalding and pianist Robert Glasper.
Glasper will appear at the Rialto Theater with his band, the Robert Glasper Experiment as part of the Tucson Jazz Festival on Saturday.
The album also features accompaniment from keyboardist and longtime Frank Zappa collaborator George Duke on the track “Feels so Good (Lifted).”
Duke, who was Reeves’ cousin, died from leukemia in August of 2013.
Reeves said she invited Duke to perform with him earlier that year at Carnegie Hall to lift his spirits after his wife, Corine Duke, had died the year before.
While they were in the same city, Reeves suggested they go into the studio and work on a track.
“He was so excited to be in the show and do the record,” Reeves said. “We were celebrating being together.”
Reeves said she was satisfied with how the album turned out. She has had time to evolve the music even further by touring it over the course of the last year.
“The live versions end up being more powerful than the recorded versions,” she said.
