Dianne Reeves

[zootsi]

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to catch a Dianne Reeves concert at Dartmouth College.

What an amazing performer - she was accompanied by two guitarists, Russ Malone, and Romero Lubambo. This show may well be the best jazz performance I've ever seen; Reeves is possibly the best jazz vocalist alive. I was a bit leery of a 'just two guitars' show, but Malone and Lumbabo were both outstanding and so different in their approach - Malone the traditional jazz guitarist with a velvety sound and lightining fast runs, Lumbabo representing the consumate Brazillian accoustic school of guitar. Reeves did a whole gamut of genres, from torchy standards to a rousing Bo Diddley-ish fanale.

My only small gripe is that there was also a very much in the background keyboardist on some of the tunes, who got no mention. I highly recommend catching one of her live shows.