Dianne Reeves has been considered one of the best female jazz singers in the world since the late eighties; a worthy ‘successor’ to Dinah Washington and Carmen McRea. She grew up around music: her father was a singer and her mother a trumpeter. As a child, Reeves started playing piano and eventually developed into a superior interpreter of lyrics and a skilled scat singer. She also explored areas outside of jazz, working with Sergio Mendes and touring with Harry Belafonte. Her latest album Beautiful Life was released earlier this year. Produced by Terri Lynne Carrington, the album featured an all-star cast of, among others, Esperanza Spalding, Sheila E. and Robert Glasper.