Dianne Reeves believes in giving audiences something they can sink their teeth into.
By:Susan Van Dongen
The atmospheric jazz soundtrack to Good Night, and Good Luck is just one of the elements helping to give the film a certain amount of pre-Oscar buzz.
Performed by pre-eminent vocalist Dianne Reeves, the song lyrics echo the film’s plot, which pits legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow (David Straithairn) against Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his tyrannical House Un-American Activities Committee.
For example, there’s "Too Close for Comfort," "Straighten Up and Fly Right" and "Smile (When Your Heart is Breaking)."
Hand-picked by director and star George Clooney, these gems from the ’50s were an upbeat background to a time that wasn’t quite as happy and squeaky clean as it is sometimes depicted. The McCarthy hearings alone attest to that.
Ms. Reeves agrees that times were tough, people were on edge but the music helped soothe the nation’s collective soul.
"It was the same thing during the Depression, you had all these happy songs that were trying to lift the spirits of people in hardship," she says. "It must have been awful (during the ‘red’ scare). People were turning their friends in, neighbors were turning against neighbors. They needed someone to go up against McCarthy and when Murrow did that, people felt like they finally had a voice."
Ms. Reeves will bring her sultry song stylings and gift for improvisation to McCarter Theatre in Princeton Dec. 19. There’s not only jazz on tap from the soundtrack to Good Night, and Good Luck (Concord) but also favorites from Ms. Reeves’ 2004 holiday album, Christmas Time is Here (Blue Note). Jazz vocalist and pianist Freddie Cole opens the show.
Speaking from Los Angeles, Ms. Reeves says she’s done much more work on the small, rather than large, screen. Mr. Clooney learned of her music through his aunt, the late Rosemary Clooney, and personally invited Ms. Reeves to be part of the project.
One of the only other films she’s appeared in was also about the McCarthy Era: 1991’s Guilty by Suspicion examined how the HUAC dealt a blow to a number of talented individuals in Hollywood.
Woven in and out of the newsroom and on-air scenes of Good Night, and Good Luck are snippets of Ms. Reeves in gorgeous formal attire, performing with a small ensemble in the CBS television studios. The scenes evoke a bygone era when live jazz could be seen in prime time a scenario about as likely today as an anchorperson smoking onscreen during a broadcast.
The singer watched old footage of Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae and Dinah Washington to help shape her character.
"I watched how they worked and just took it from there," Ms. Reeves says. "It was kind of a fantasy because I’ve always been in love with that (time) period, that kind of clothing. I also loved the fact that it was done in black and white.
"All the cuts on the soundtrack were recorded live," she continues. "That’s the only way I like to work, so it was a pleasure that (Mr. Clooney) allowed us to do it that way. It was really in the moment. George is super-intelligent and his instincts and direction are great. It’s easy to work with him."
One of the most acclaimed vocalists in the national and international jazz scene, Ms. Reeves is the only performer to win the Grammy for Best Jazz Recording for three CDs in a row. The critically praised Christmas album and Good Night, and Good Luck soundtrack were preceded by 2002’s A Little Moonlight (Blue Note) and more than half a dozen other releases.
Drawing on a variety of influences, she was the first vocalist signed to the reactivated Blue Note/EMI label in 1987.
She records and performs extensively with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Ms. Reeves has concertized with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Ms. Reeves has been the featured soloist with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Ms. Reeves was the first Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In this role, she’s overseen the scheduling of jazz programming and educational workshops at both the Hollywood Bowl and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. An Ella Fitzgerald Award recipient, Ms. Reeves performed at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. She also appeared and sang on season six’s closing episode of Sex and the City.
Ms. Reeves is planning to go into the studio again in early 2006, then go on tour with acclaimed guitarists Romero Lubambo and Russell Malone. She’s looking forward to teaching a master class at Carnegie Hall in the spring.
Ms. Reeves says the best part of Good Night, and Good Luck was simply being included in such an intelligent project.
"It doesn’t have any action scenes, no pyrotechnics or car chases it’s all about the dialogue," she says. "It’s very smart and it tells the story with enough levity to keep you there. I loved that this movie isn’t like so many of the others that are out there.
"What I learned was that people really want something they can sink their teeth into," she continues. "They’re seeing the film and telling others to see it too. It goes to show that if you put out quality work, you will find your audience."
Dianne Reeves will perform at McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place, Princeton, Dec. 19, 8 p.m. Freddie Cole opens. Tickets cost $35-$48. For information, call (609) 258-2787. On the Web: www.mccarter.org. Dianne Reeves on the Web: www.diannereeves.com

