Photo: Rich Moffitt / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Dianne Reeves is the kind of singer who makes other singers stop and take notes. Her voice has that warm, enveloping contralto, but it's her fearless improvisation that gets me, scatting and bending phrases without ever losing the emotional thread of a song. The string of Grammy wins for Best Jazz Vocal Album, including consecutive years, is almost unheard of, and her work on the soundtrack for Good Night, and Good Luck showed she could carry a whole film's mood. Being named an NEA Jazz Master just confirms what jazz fans already knew. She is a living link to the tradition while pushing it forward.
Overview
Dianne Reeves (born October 23, 1956, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American jazz singer widely regarded as one of the preeminent jazz vocalists of her generation. Known for her rich contralto voice and improvisational range, she has won multiple Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album. In 2018 she was named an NEA Jazz Master, the United States' highest honor in jazz.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Dianne Reeves
- Name (Japanese)
- ダイアン・リーヴス
- Reading
- だいあん・りーゔす
- Born
- October 23, 1956 (age 69)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Monkey
- Origin
- Detroit, Michigan, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- Jazz singer / Recording artist / Singer / Musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- East High School
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- NEA Jazz Masters
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Recording artist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.