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Art & Survival
Studio album by Dianne Reeves
Released	1994
Genre	Vocal jazz
Label	EMI
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.

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

Production

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

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
The Indianapolis Star
Los Angeles Times
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide
USA Today

The Los Angeles Times thought that "this multitextured experiment, with its frequent spiritual-based stories, is Reeves' most ambitious effort." 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." 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."

Newsday deemed the album "a song cycle about self-discovery." 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." USA Today wrote that "Body and Soul" is "a scat-driven, Afro-Cuban tour de force."

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

Track listing

References

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. ^ MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 477.
8. ^ 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. ^ "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. ^ "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. ^ 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.

• Dianne Reeves albums
• 1994 albums
• EMI Records albums