Singer Dianne Reeves (1956) was awarded the Edison Jazz Oeuvre Prize in 2009, recognition that made her feel somewhat uncomfortable at the time: “I hope I remain worthy of this over the next thirty years...,” she responded. False modesty? She has won no fewer than five Grammys, including for three consecutive albums, a feat no one had ever accomplished before. Reeves is a familiar face at North Sea Jazz. The singer from Detroit has been making albums for over forty years, each time with a surprising sound. Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday originally awakened her to vocal jazz, but later her main source of inspiration was Sarah Vaughan. Early in her career she was accompanied by trumpeter Clark Terry and afterwards she developed a thriving solo career. Her last album was Beautiful Life (2013), on which she sings with Gregory Porter, Robert Glasper and Esperanza Spalding, among others.
