Dianne Reeves performs Christmas favs at the College of Saint Benedict

[Lois Gilbert]

Jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves performs Christmas favorites at the College of Saint Benedict
11/10/2006

Fine Arts Programming at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University presents “Dianne Reeves: Christmas Time is Here,” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, in Petters Auditorium at the Benedicta Arts Center of the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph.

Reeves will start the holiday season off swinging to a jazzy beat with her smooth melodies and freshly arranged holiday classics. Reeves is one of the preeminent jazz vocalists in the world today. As a result of her virtuosity, improvisational prowess and unique jazz and R&B stylings, Reeves was awarded the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for three consecutive recordings, a Grammy first in any vocal category.

Reeves has recorded and performed extensively with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. She has also recorded with Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim and was a featured soloist with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. Reeves was the first Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the first singer to perform at the famed Walt Disney Concert Hall.

In late 2002, Reeves worked with legendary producer Arif Mardin on the Grammy winning A Little Moonlight, an intimate collection of 10 standards featuring her touring trio. When Reeves’ first holiday collection, Christmas Time is Here, was released in 2004, Ben Ratliff of The New Your Times wrote, “Reeves, a jazz singer of frequently astonishing skill, takes the assignment seriously; this is one of the best jazz Christmas CD’s I’ve heard.”

Reeves appeared and performed in George Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the Academy Award nominated film that chronicles Edward R. Murrow’s confrontation with Senator Joseph McCarthy. The soundtrack recording of “Good Night, and Good Luck” provided Reeves her fourth Best Jazz Vocal Grammy in 2006.

Tickets for “Dianne Reeves: Christmas Time is Here” are: $26, Senior (60+)/Youth (5-21) $23, CSB/SJU ID $13. For tickets call 320-363-5777 or order online at www.csbsju.edu/finearts (note that senior, youth, and ID discounts are not available online). This is an ASL interpreted performance.