Dee Bell (b. July 16, 1950, in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is an American jazz singer.
| Dee Bell | Concord Jazz and Laser Records Recording and Performing Vocalist | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born, July 16, 1950 | Origin, Fort Wayne, Indiana | Genre(s), Jazz, Swing | Occupation(s) Singer, performer, songwriter | Years active, 1983-Present | Label(s), Concord Jazz Inc | Website, https://www.deebell.net |
Her debut album, Let There Be Love on the [Concord Jazz]Media:www.concordmusicgroup.com/ label (CJ-206) was released for Valentine's Day in 1983 as an lp with the great [Stan Getz] on saxophone (one of the original four brothers), and Eddie Duran (a Benny Goodman Band graduate) on guitar, along with other top Bay Area musicians: Al Plank, Vince Lateano, Dean Reilly and more. This album was posted in the top ten in Radio and Records Media:www.radioandrecords.com/jazz airplay charts in the spring of 1983. Her follow-up recording in 1985 of One by One (CJ-271), also on the Concord Jazz label, reached number 13 on the Radio and Records jazz airplay charts in the early summer of 1985. This album featured trumpeter, Tom Harrell, and Eddie Duran, Al Plank, and other Bay Area jazz greats. Let There Be Love was chosen as a [BillBoard Magazine]Media:www.billboard.com/ Recommended LP Jazz Pick in their March 26, 1983 issue. Bell was also nominated by [Down beat magazine] 'Media:www.downbeat.com/ in their Jazz Critic's Poll of 1984 and 1985 as "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition". [BAM Magazine]Media:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAM_(magazine) nominated Let There Be Love as the Best Debut Album in their 1983 Awards.
A veteran performer both internationally and domestically, Bell has appeared at the Golden Globe Awards, in The Russian River Jazz Festival, the well-known Jazz in the City Festival, the first and only Mill Valley Jazz Festival, the Napa Valley Mustard Festival and the Cotati Jazz Festival to name a few. She has appeared both on television and on the hotel circuit. Leonard Feather of the [Los Angeles Times] Media:www.latimes.com/wrote in a 1985 article that "Bell has a haunting, jazz-infected sound, her diction and phrasing flawless." Jay Roebuck writer for the [Orange County Register] chose One by One as the third best album of 1985s top ten for his newspaper where in one of his articles he stated that "Dee Bell sings with a beautiful, clear voice that brings to mind Jackie Cain with just atouch of Chris Connor here and there. It's a pleasant combination, and she definitely has style of her own." In England's [Jazz Journal], Derrick-Stewart Baxter also wrote in 1985 that "Dee Bell is more than just a good professional. She knows just how to bring the best out in a song. She does her own thing, lazy, hazy smoky singing." Other articles can be found about Bell in the 1983, 1984, and 1985 archives of the San Francisco ChronicleMedia:www.sfchron.com/, the Stereo Review, The Washington Post, The Indianapolis Star, The Ft. Lauderdale Tribune, and The Jazz Times International to name a few.
Her first musical training began in her musical family where everyone played an instrument and sang. She was first chair clarinet in her high school band and was part of an acapella trio from the age of ten through her senior year at Plainfield High School. Dee Bell graduated from Indiana University in December of 1972 with a BS in Art Education, lived on the edge of the Hoosier National Forest in a 2-room cabin with a woodstove for heat, and was co-founder and head chef of the Earth Kitchen vegetarian restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana (the restaurant fostered the food cooperative and grocery store, Bloomingfoods).
Bell now resides in Dillon Beach, California with her son and husband. She continues to perform and write lyrics and music.
| Discography |
|---|
| Year Title Genre Label |
| 1983, Let There be Love, Jazz, Concord Jazz, CJ206 |
| 1985, One by One, Jazz, Concord Jazz, CJ271 |
| 2010, Sagacious Grace, Jazz, Laser Records, 0708 |
| 2014, Silva.Bell.Elation, Brazilian Swing Jazz, Laser Records, 0716 |
| 2018, Lins, Lennox& Life, Brazilian Swing Jazz, Laser Records, 0721 |
| 2022, Love for Sailin' Over Seas: Then & Now, Brazilian Swing Jazz, Laser Records, 0740 |