Art & Survival

Last updated

Art & Survival
Art & Survival.jpg
Studio album by
Dianne Reeves
Released1994
Genre Vocal jazz
Label EMI [1]
Producer Eddie del Barrio, Terri Lyne Carrington
Dianne Reeves chronology
I Remember
(1991)		Art & Survival
(1994)		Quiet After the Storm
(1994)

Art & Survival is an album by the American vocal jazz singer Dianne Reeves, released in 1994. [2] [3]

Contents

The album peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. [4] It has sold more than 500,000 copies. [5] Sheryl Lee Ralph sang part of "Endangered Species" during her 2022 Emmy Awards acceptance speech. [6]

Production

The album was produced by Eddie del Barrio and Terri Lyne Carrington. [7] Reeves cowrote more than half the songs on Art & Survival. [8] Due to industry and personal issues, she went into the recording studio knowing that Art & Survival could be her final album. [9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau-dud.svg [11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Indianapolis Star Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [8]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [7]
USA Today Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]

The Los Angeles Times thought that "this multitextured experiment, with its frequent spiritual-based stories, is Reeves' most ambitious effort." [13] The Washington Post wrote: "By far her most personal and soul-searching recording, the album seems as much therapy as a musical expression for the gifted singer." [15] The Philadelphia Daily News said that, "in an incantational style sometimes reminiscent of Leon Thomas and Roberta Flack, the singer/composer evokes ancient spirits and the freeing powers of the Lord, explaining how she's come through the wringer a changed woman." [16]

Newsday deemed the album "a song cycle about self-discovery." [17] Essence called it an "album of powerfully rendered, personal yet universal compositions that run the rhythmic gamut from hard-swinging jazz to plaintive ballads to a cappella African chants." [18] USA Today wrote that "Body and Soul" is "a scat-driven, Afro-Cuban tour de force." [14]

AllMusic considered the album "neither '90s revisited bop nor overtly commercial Quiet Storm fodder ... [Reeves] is really seeking a middle ground between her two audiences." [10]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Old Souls"5:20
2."Come to the River"5:36
3."One More Time"5:37
4."Anthem"5:26
5."Freedom Dance"6:55
6."Endangered Species"3:23
7."Josa Lee"6:54
8."Body and Soul"10:06
9."Silent Tears and Roses"6:49
10."Lament for a Lonely Child"6:48
11."Bird Alone"6:46

References

  1. ↑ Norment, Lynn (April 1994). "Sounding Off". Ebony. Vol. 49, no. 6. p. 16.
  2. ↑ George, Nelson (August 1994). "Music — Art & Survival by Dianne Reeves". Playboy. Vol. 41, no. 8. p. 24.
  3. ↑ Rogers, Charles E. (April 23, 1994). "Dianne Reeves' 'Art & Survival'". New York Amsterdam News. p. 22.
  4. ↑ "Dianne Reeves". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Dianne Reeves to Headline First Regent Theatre MLK Concert Event". New Pittsburgh Courier. No. 101. December 24, 1994. p. B4.
  6. ↑ Del Rosario, Alexandra (September 13, 2022). "The Emmys". Los Angeles Times. p. E2.
  7. 1 2 MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 477.
  8. 1 2 Ford, Lynn Dean (July 25, 1994). "Record Reviews". The Indianapolis Star. p. C5.
  9. ↑ Summers, Juana (September 13, 2022). "Jazz icon Dianne Reeves 'lost her breath' as Sheryl Lee Ralph sang her song at Emmys". All Things Considered. NPR.
  10. 1 2 "Art & Survival". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Dianne Reeves". Robert Christgau. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  12. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 830.
  13. 1 2 "Reeves Scores with an Ambitious Effort". Los Angeles Times. April 22, 1994. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  14. 1 2 Jones IV, James T. (June 6, 1994). "Summer of singers: Jazz albums play up the pipes". USA Today. p. 4D.
  15. ↑ "Reeve's 'Survival' a Soulful Journey". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  16. ↑ Takiff, Jonathan (April 29, 1994). "Art and Survival Dianne Reeves". Features Yo!. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 46.
  17. ↑ "New This Week". Newsday. April 18, 1994. p. B2.
  18. ↑ Chambers, Gordon (June 1994). "Dianne Reeves: Songs of healing". Essence. Vol. 25, no. 2. p. 48.
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