Review | Grammy-winning jazz singer Dianne Reeves returns with triumphant Hong Kong show
With her commanding stage presence, huge vocal range and some top-notch backing, Dianne Reeves delivered a soulful, polished performance
It has been a long time between drinks, as they say in America.
Veteran jazz songstress Dianne Reeves last sang in Hong Kong 20 years ago, and the five-time Grammy winner made no bones about it when she sang the opening number “What’s New?” at Hong Kong’s Xiqu Centre on November 10, weaving in the line “It’s been a while, Hong Kong!” to the delight of the audience.
Reeves’ return to the city was a much-anticipated highlight of the WestK Performing Arts season, and while little has changed in her radiant stage presence and her ability to “own” the stage from go to whoa, the venue was certainly in stark contrast to Sha Tin Town Hall, where she performed back in 2005.
Foretastes of the 90-minute extravaganza came courtesy of keyboardist John Beasley, guitarist Romero Lubambo, bassist/guitarist Reuben Rogers and drummer extraordinaire Terreon Gully, who warmed things up with a lively jazz exchange that whetted listeners’ appetites for the stellar solo licks that were to follow and the arrival of the jazz queen herself.
When Reeves appeared, her signature vocal robustness, clarity and massive range were on full display as she switched fluidly between jazz, gospel, R&B, scat singing and Latin, delighting throughout in the interaction with her fabulous band members and the audience.
Reeves was particularly poignant and reflective in her heartfelt take on Horace Silver’s “Peace”, where she toyed with such familiar lyrics as “There’s a place that I know – Where the sycamores grow …” with great sensuality, wrapping the classic ballad in gold coatings of sound.