Dianne Reeves – A Little Moonlight
Dianne Reeves
A Little Moonlight
(Blue Note – 2003)
by John Thompson
Who is my favorite female singer of all time? I have two: Ella Fitzgerald and Dianne Reeves. Reeves’ latest release, “A Little Moonlight” is equipped with her trademark brightness, clarity, voice control and overall musicianship. The listener will not find finger popping songs catering to smooth jazz, but more towards the Sarah Vaughn sound. Almost all of the songs are familiar to me, with Reeves covering such notable songwriters as Cole Porter, Richard Rogers, Carmichael, Monk, and Mercer.
Backed by a stellar Trio, consisting of Peter Martin (P), Reuben Rogers (B), and Gregory Hutchinson (D), and whether swinging ( “Loads Of Love,” What A Little Moonlight Can Do” ), or displaying ‘touch and feel’ for the ballads (“Reflections,” “Skylark,” and “You Go To My Head,” featuring Nicholas Payton (T). Guitarist Romero Lubambo lends classy support on 3 tracks as well.
One interesting observation I made was when I first opened the cd to look for the liner notes; there is a picture of Reeves looking as if to say, ” Hurry up. I don’t want to hold this smile.” Maybe it’s just me, but at times the voice does not live up to the standards that are usually gifted to us, not top-notched Dianne Reeves. But I’ll still claim her as one of my two all time favorites. You can either listen to the classy voice and music, or look at the beautiful portrait on the cover of this cd. Both are worth it. 4 stars.
