Her modest home off of Colfax in Denver is as warm and inviting as the music of its owner. The jazz singer's melodic style can be as smooth as silk or as powerful as the Rockies that surround her.
"When You Know" is her latest release. It is a collection of mostly jazz standards sung as only Reeves can sing them.
"The longer I'm here, the more grounded I become," she said. "People ask me all of the time, 'Why live in Denver?' You couldn't pay me to leave."
Her mother, 83-year-old Vada Reeves, continues to be a source of inspiration for the jazz singer.
"When Dianne was six months old, the first words she sang out was her sisters name, Shaaaanon, Shannnnon," said Vada, her raw warmth and grace emanating from her as she shares a couch with her daughter.
Dianne chimed in that she eventually learned to say her sister's name properly: Sharon.
The sole original track on the CD, "Today Will Be a Good Day," is dedicated to Vada. It is a rowdy, rhythm of old-time gospel with words of wisdom.
"I think for me with my mother, she has had a lot of health challenges as of late. I've watched her go through these health challenges in a way that has really made me understand the power of God in someone's life. It's like a miracle and how the power of God can work in my life," Reeves said.
Making the decision to make "Today Will Be a Good Day" in spite of hard times came to Dianne after her mother quipped, "I do not entertain illness, boredom or depression... I feel them sometimes, but I don't entertain them!"
The still spry Vada drives and is out of the house most mornings at 8:30 a.m.
A very close knit family, Vada has taught her two daughters life lessons with a firm hand and an unflinching faith.
"We know life is a circle we learn to talk to each other, we don't have to scream or yell, and that is such a wonderful blessing for me," she said.
Dianne has a special message this Mother's Day: "Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers out there – peace, light, love, joy and good health, and may all of your stories have happy endings, but more importantly, tell your life stories, they are the fabric of our families that keep us together."
"And love on one another!" Vada added.
