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Art & Survival

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Art & Survival
Studio album by
Released1994
GenreVocal jazz
LabelEMI[1]
ProducerEddie 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]

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

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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

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Robert Christgau(dud)[11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]
The Indianapolis Star[8]
Los Angeles Times[13]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide[7]
USA Today[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

[edit]
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

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  1. ^ Norment, Lynn (Apr 1994). "Sounding Off". Ebony. Vol. 49, no. 6. p. 16.
  2. ^ George, Nelson (Aug 1994). "Music — Art & Survival by Dianne Reeves". Playboy. Vol. 41, no. 8. p. 24.
  3. ^ Rogers, Charles E. (23 Apr 1994). "Dianne Reeves' 'Art & Survival'". New York Amsterdam News. p. 22.
  4. ^ "Dianne Reeves". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  5. ^ "Dianne Reeves to Headline First Regent Theatre MLK Concert Event". New Pittsburgh Courier. No. 101. 24 Dec 1994. p. B4.
  6. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (13 Sep 2022). "The Emmys". Los Angeles Times. p. E2.
  7. ^ a b MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 477.
  8. ^ a b Ford, Lynn Dean (25 July 1994). "Record Reviews". The Indianapolis Star. p. C5.
  9. ^ Summers, Juana (Sep 13, 2022). "Jazz icon Dianne Reeves 'lost her breath' as Sheryl Lee Ralph sang her song at Emmys". All Things Considered. NPR.
  10. ^ a b "Art & Survival". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  11. ^ "Dianne Reeves". Robert Christgau. Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  12. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 830.
  13. ^ a b "Reeves Scores with an Ambitious Effort". Los Angeles Times. April 22, 1994. Archived from the original on 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  14. ^ a b Jones IV, James T. (6 June 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 19 October 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  16. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (29 Apr 1994). "Art and Survival Dianne Reeves". Features Yo!. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 46.
  17. ^ "New This Week". Newsday. 18 Apr 1994. p. B2.
  18. ^ Chambers, Gordon (Jun 1994). "Dianne Reeves: Songs of healing". Essence. Vol. 25, no. 2. p. 48.