Review | Grammy-winning jazz singer Dianne Reeves returns with triumphant Hong Kong show

Reeves’ return to the city was a much-anticipated highlight of the WestK Performing Arts season, and while little has changed in her radiant stage presence and her ability to “own” the stage from go to whoa, the venue was certainly in stark contrast to Sha Tin Town Hall, where she performed back in 2005.

Foretastes of the 90-minute extravaganza came courtesy of keyboardist John Beasley, guitarist Romero Lubambo, bassist/guitarist Reuben Rogers and drummer extraordinaire Terreon Gully, who warmed things up with a lively jazz exchange that whetted listeners’ appetites for the stellar solo licks that were to follow and the arrival of the jazz queen herself.

When Reeves appeared, her signature vocal robustness, clarity and massive range were on full display as she switched fluidly between jazz, gospel, R&B, scat singing and Latin, delighting throughout in the interaction with her fabulous band members and the audience.

Reeves was particularly poignant and reflective in her heartfelt take on Horace Silver’s “Peace”, where she toyed with such familiar lyrics as “There’s a place that I know – Where the sycamores grow …” with great sensuality, wrapping the classic ballad in gold coatings of sound.