Denver’s Own

Fate? Destiny? Preordination? Whatever you want to call it, for jazz singer Dianne Reeves, music was in her genes. She was born in Detroit in 1956 to a musical family that included her trumpet-playing mother, her singer father, an uncle who was a bass player with the Denver Symphony Orchestra and a cousin, well-known musician and record producer George Duke.

Sadly, Dianne’s father died when she was two and the family subsequently moved to Denver. She began taking piano lessons at an early age, but it was a school teacher who so inspired her with music that Dianne decided at age 11 she was going to be a singer. It was when the George Washington High School Band – with Dianne as lead singer – took first place in a competition that Dianne met her mentor,  Clark Terry, and music went from passion to calling. After a time spent at CU studying music, Dianne packed her bags and headed to Los Angeles in 1976. Among the many new art forms she encountered was Latin American music, and the young singer was hooked.  She played with Eduardo del Barrio and his band, Caldera, and later with the famed Sergio Mendes.

Dianne also loved the music of Sarah Vaughan, whom her uncle had introduced her to, and, in that vein, spent the mid-1980s as the lead singer for Harry Belafonte.  Her versatility and smooth vocals gained wide recognition and she was heralded as “a skilled scat singer and a superior interpreter of lyrics.” She could sing just about anything — jazz, R&B, pop, scat – and over the years, her talent was rewarded with five Grammys!

Dianne moved back to Denver in 1992 and her music continued to flourish. She sang at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and last year was awarded an honorary degree from the prestigious Julliard School of Music.  Though she still performs around the country, her most important title to us at KUVO and Rocky Mountain PBS  is that of beloved local entertainer and generous supporter of the arts!