Art & Survival

Last updated

Art & Survival
Art & Survival.jpg
Studio album by
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.