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Five-time Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves regularly crosses musical boundaries, interpreting tunes from the Great American Songbook, contemporary pop and Brazilian music.

Early in the coronavirus pandemic, Reeves took her longest-ever break from the stage. She emerged with a renewed desire to collaborate with musicians from different musical backgrounds.

Reeves and her band at the Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries.

© 2024 ÍâÍøÌìÌÃ’s Jeremy D. Goodwin asked Reeves how the pandemic affected her approach to performing.

Jeremy D. Goodwin: Do you have a different view of your work now, after staying away for so much of the pandemic?

Dianne Reeves: It’s given me another kind of clarity on what I want to do and how I want to present it.

At first I thought: This is crazy, I’m not working. But it actually was good for me to not work for a minute.

Goodwin: To just catch your breath?

Reeves: Well, I’ve been out here for 45 years nonstop, basically.

Goodwin: Do you come back to the music with a refreshed outlook?

Reeves: I think so. There’s a peacefulness now that I’ve gotten over the pandemic — a peacefulness and an understanding of, just, grace for myself and the people around me. And the music just came out in a totally different way. I’m really, really enjoying what I’ve become and how I’ve emerged out of the pandemic.

Now I’ve been doing all sorts of projects with other people. I did a tour, and it will continue on, with the great . So I’ve been collaborating with different people. I have my own band, I have a Brazilian band now. Two bands. I just love it.

Goodwin: What does that present to you as an artist, to change it up like that?

Reeves: It’s not change for me. It’s all music.

People who listen to my music know that my music is very, very broad. So I think that they should expect that from me. It’s just what I do, and now I’m more focused on that. I can go out [and play] with my guitarist who’s from Brazil, I can go out with Chucho Valdés and do duets with him and Joe Lovano. It’s been really magical.

Goodwin: What songs are on your mind lately? What’s speaking to you? What do you think you may bring out on the road?

Reeves: The repertoires are different with the different configurations. When I’m out with Chucho, it’s a totally different way of singing.

People will hear things, especially when I come to the Sheldon, that they are familiar with. In this particular show there will be some of the beautiful, reimagined standards, and Brazilian music.

Goodwin: You debuted an ensemble dedicated to Brazilian music in 2019, featuring guitarist . Did anything in particular spark a renewed interest in exploring that music?

Reeves: I don’t think I have done a record that does not have a nod to Brazil. It’s been in almost every record I’ve recorded. It’s just a lifetime interest and connection.

Goodwin: I get the sense that the learning never stops for you.

Reeves: We live in this huge world, where there’s just so much to learn about. I want to just learn more, do more, see more, experience more, sing more. That keeps me going forward.

Goodwin: As you look to the immediate future right now, you sound pretty optimistic.

Reeves: Oh, I’m obvious. I’m out here. I’m excited to be back out in it, doing it, listening to it, sharing with my musicians. I was just in Miami, and I got a chance after the show to go see other music. It was just nice. So I’m just enjoying all of it. And I’m inspired.

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