When You Know

by Dianne Reeves

Overview

Dianne Reeves has deservedly been hoisted on high as one of the top five jazz voices in the decade of the 2000s. Her four Grammy Awards and her music from the movie soundtrack Good Night, and Good Luck solidified Reeves' upper-echelon placement. When You Know showcases material going off into the shallow end of the pool, away from legitimate jazz, and covering languid and lush pop songs. George Duke, who has over-produced many a recording in his time, is not quite in the realm of Tommy LiPuma or Creed Taylor, but he has done more than his share to give Reeves an orchestrated backdrop to sing songs she likes. While it's good that the setting is acoustic, thanks to a string quartet and the guitar of Romero Lubambo, it seems the vocalist could do these tunes just as well without them. Then again, Reeves, who displays a picture-perfect instrument, has more often than not straddled the commercial line, and has freely crossed over it. This should not be much of a surprise to anyone. Her most impressive straight jazz cover, "Social Call" sports a second-chorus extrapolated lyric over the Wes Montgomery-styled electric guitar of Russell Malone. There's nothing phony or pretentious about this one. "Windmills of Your Mind" has an interesting modal arrangement within a waltz framework. "Once I Loved" is done nicely, but as in the case of the remainder of the other selections, lacks energy and originality. A light funk version of "Midnight Sun" does not compare favorably to Sarah Vaughan's classic version, and Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" should be left alone except for those who wish to sleep and snooze to it. Lubambo is the shining light of the session, heard on nine tracks in his own inimitable, passionate, classy manner. Most indulgent is "Today Will Be a Good Day," a rock shuffle with Malone's bluesy R&B guitar resembling something the Stray Cats might have done in the '80s. A disappointing project, it's a lazy, trite repeat of worn-out material as opposed to Reeves creating pathways for new ways of expression or reinventing great standards. ~ Michael G. Nastos

Product Details

Release Date:	12/02/2022
Label:	Universal
UPC:	4988031525425
Rank:	110806

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dianne Reeves   Primary Artist,Vocals
Oscar Seaton   Drums
Lenny Castro   Percussion
Alma Fernandez   Viola
Sarah Thornblade   Violin
Reginald Veal   Washboard,Tambourine,Bass (Upright),Ampeg Baby Bass,Bass (Acoustic)
Reuben Rogers   Bass (Acoustic),Bass (Electric)
George Duke   Piano
Dave Carpenter   Bass (Acoustic)
Billy Childs   Fender Rhodes
Geoff Keezer   Piano,Fender Rhodes
Russell Malone   Guitar (Electric)
Romero Lubambo   Guitar (Acoustic)
Karen Briggs   Violin
Antonio Sanchez   Drums
Susan A. Wulff   Double Bass
Matthew Funes   Viola
Evang Lillie Crawford Brown   Children's Chorus
Giovanna Clayton   Cello
Steve Wilson   Sax (Soprano)
Billy Childs Trio   Piano,Fender Rhodes
Gregory Hutchinson   Drums

Technical Credits

Johnny Mercer   Composer
Peggy Lee   Composer
Ray Gilbert   Composer
Richard Rudolph   Composer
Michel Legrand   Composer
Minnie Riperton   Composer
George Duke   Arranger,Producer,Orchestration,Audio Production
Alan Bergman   Composer
Sonny Burke   Composer
Antonio Carlos Jobim   Composer
Romero Lubambo   Arranger
Lionel Hampton   Composer
Tom Kimmel   Composer
Bruce Lundvall   Executive Producer
Norman Whitfield   Composer
Corine Duke   Production Assistant
Humphrey Cobb   Stylist
Zach Hochkeppel   Executive Producer
Shanieka D. Brooks   Product Manager
Bill Schluger   Composer
Christian Lantry   Photography
Carla Leighton   Art Direction
Amanda Wray   Package Design
Gordon H. Jee   Creative Director
Keith Karwelies   A&R
Basheer Qusim   Composer
Joseph Allan McCarthy   Composer
Billy Childs Trio   Arranger
Barrett Strong   Composer
Eli Wolf   A&R
Cy Coleman   Composer
Erik Zobler   Mixing,Engineer,Audio Engineer
John Benson Brooks   Composer
Doug Sax   Mastering
Dianne Reeves   Arranger,Composer
Jon Hendricks   Composer
Vinicius de Moraes   Composer
Marilyn Bergman   Composer
Jeff Franzel   Composer