Dianne Reeves Finds Her Voice

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FINDING YOUR VOICE [:89] NOW, A JAZZ MOMENT “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life” under THE WAY CERTAIN SONGS ARE PERFORMED CAN LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION ON YOUNG VOCALISTS. FOR DIANNE REEVES, ONE STAND-OUT MOMENT WAS HEARING FELLOW NEA JAZZ MASTER, SARAH VAUGHAN. DIANNE REEVES [add after Vaughan sings] DIANNE REEVES: And she did “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life,” and I thought I loved the arrangement. I loved the way she sang it, because her voice just seemed to go on forever, every color, every note, every—you know, her—her range was beautiful and wide. I learned the song verbatim, just like she sang it. BEYOND THE SONG ITSELF, WHAT STAYED WITH REEVES WAS HER UNCLE’S ADVICE. DIANNE REEVES: And one day, my uncle said, “You know, that’s probably the take—one of the two or three at the most that she did, but after that, I’m sure she never, ever sang it like that again.”

He said, “You find your own way to sing the song,” and that was the beginning of me trying to find my own voice.

“What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life” up

THIS JAZZ MOMENT WITH DIANNE REEVES WAS PRODUCED BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS.

“What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life” written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, and Michel Legrand and performed by Sarah Vaughan, from the album Sarah Vaughan with Michel Legrand, and used courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment and by permission of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, ASCAP.

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