Dianne Reeves: bridges 20th anniversary

August 17, 2020 | by Rusty Aceves

Dianne Reeves

For this week's Fridays at Five concert originally filmed in February 2019, vocalist Dianne Reeves celebrated the 20th anniversary of her 1999 Blue Note album Bridges, revisiting the highly personal collection of originals and covers spanning jazz, rock, contemporary gospel, and Brazilian pop. Guitarist Romero Lubambo and bassist Reginald Veal, who performed on Bridges, appear with Reeves for this special occasion.

Produced by Reeves' cousin George Duke and released in May of 1999, Bridges was Reeves’ eleventh album, and one that seemed to represent a transition for the vocalist. By this point she'd firmly established herself as a major figure in jazz with an enviable track record of artistically and commercially successful releases, so she clearly felt less constrained by the programmatic restrictions that so often force singers into staid areas of expression, i.e. standards, bebop, soul, etc. She simply wanted to sing songs that meant something to her, genre or expectation be damned.

As befitting an artist who was in a position to compromise nothing, Reeves gathered a remarkable collection of musicians for the Bridges sessions, including producer Duke, pianists Mulgrew Miller and Billy Childs, saxophonist Kenny Garrett, trumpeter Marcus Printup, bassists Reginald Veal and Stanley Clarke, drummers Brian Blade and Terri Lyne Carrington, percussionists Manolo Badrena and Munyungo Jackson, and steady collaborator Romero Lubambo on guitar.

She filled Bridges with gems, kicking off with an entrancing take on Peter Gabriel’s 1986 mega-hit “In Your Eyes.” She embraced a country feel on her evocative reading of singer/songwriter Patsy Moore’s “I Remember,” and gave wide open, almost cinematic treatments to her versions of Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne” and Joni Mitchell’s “River.” Childs’ piano blends sublimely with layers of Reeves’ overdubbed vocals on “Olókun,” the keyboard master’s meditation on the Yoruban water goddess, followed by “Testify,” “Mista,” and “1863” — a trio of soulful percussion-based originals written in collaboration with percussionist Jackson, drummer Carrington, and pianist Eduardo Del Barrio, respectively.

The literal and figurative centerpiece of Bridges is the title tune written by iconic Brazilian composer Milton Nascimento, featuring an intimate duo introduction from Reeves and guitarist Lubambo before expanding to full ensemble. The track, with it's lyrical focus on the connections that surround us, is treated with a feather-light touch, yet is possessed of a profound longing and depth — a master's take.

The album closes, aptly, with a heartfelt take on Comden and Green’s classic “Make Someone Happy,” featuring a lovely melodic counterpoint by trumpeter Printup.

Bridges resulted in Reeves’ third GRAMMY nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Her live follow-up, In the Moment: Live in Concert, was recorded during the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in support of Bridges, and won Reeves her first GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Originally posted February 15, 2018