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Dee Bell

A dusky vocalist whose warm sound evokes the breezy sophistication of ‚50s West Coast jazz, Dee Bell first came to the public‘s attention with her 1982 debut, Let There Be Love, featuring legendary saxophonist Stan Getz. A regular presence in the Bay Area, Bell spent several years away from performing before returning to consistent work in the 2010s. In 2014, she debuted her ongoing collaboration with Brazilian pianist Marcos Silva on Silva Bell Elation.

Born in 1950 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Bell was encouraged to play music from a young age, and started out on clarinet. She also sang, and from age ten onward performed in an a cappella trio. After high school she attended Indiana University, where she earned her bachelor of science in arts education. While there, she further honed her vocal skills studying with noted opera singer Eileen Farrell. Interested in nutrition, she initially pivoted away from the arts, instead founding the Earth Kitchen vegetarian restaurant in 1972. During this period, she lived in a two-room cabin on the edge of the Hoosier National Forest, where she often spent her off hours singing outdoors. In 1978, she moved to Northern California with hopes of pursuing her singing career. It was there, while waitressing at the Sausalito restaurant Trident on the San Francisco Bay, that she befriended jazz guitarist Eddie Duran and began sitting in with his trio. Around the same time, a chance encounter with Stan Getz at the famed Keystone Korner nightclub led to Bell recording her debut album, Let There Be Love. Released on Concord in 1982, the album showcased Bell alongside Getz and Duran. A second album, One by One, followed in 1984 and featured a guest appearance by trumpeter Tom Harrell.

While Bell enjoyed a steady flow of gigs and a loyal following, she still made ends meet by working a day job at an ad agency. In 1990, she planned on releasing her third album, Sagacious Grace, featuring saxophonist Houston Person. However, a recording glitch discovered during mastering rendered the album unreleasable. Over the next decade Bell slowly moved away from performing, balancing the occasional live show with raising her son and working as a children‘s music teacher. It would be over 20 years before she returned to more active performing. By then, advancements in digital remastering allowed the Sagacious Grace tapes to be salvaged, and Bell finally issued the album in 2011.

Around this time, while performing at a tribute to longtime Bay Area jazz publicist Merrilee Trost, Bell caught the ear of Brazilian-born multi-instrumentalist Marcos Silva.

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Take Five With...

Take Five With Dee Bell

Read "Take Five With Dee Bell" reviewed by Dee Bell


Meet Dee Bell: Dee Bell has three jazz albums that have all been at the top of the airplay charts. The most recent, Sagacious Grace (Laser Records) with Houston Person, was released in August 2011 and hit the JazzWeek charts at 31. Bell's debut album, Let There Be Love with Stan Getz on saxophone and Eddie Duran (a Benny Goodman Band graduate) on guitar, was released on the Concord Jazz label as an LP for Valentine's Day in 1983. ...

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Recording

Dee Bell & Marcos Silva Release "Silva • Bell • Elation" January 21 (Laser Records)

Dee Bell & Marcos Silva Release "Silva • Bell • Elation" January 21 (Laser Records)

Source: Michael Bloom Media Relations

“Silver Bells” was the Bell Family signature Christmas song. It was a tradition in our family holiday jam sessions. Because of this, the merging of the two names Marcos Silva and Dee Bell seemed tunefully obvious. Elation was the result of the Silva Bell musical partnership. From the first recording with Stan Getz to the present, the rhythms and music of Brazil have infused new tonal colors and energy into the music that enlivens my spirit. Stan and Eddie Duran ...

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Recording

Dee Bell releases "Sagacious Grace" with Houston Person, Al Plank, John Stowell, Michael Spiro, Colin Bailey and John Wiitala

Dee Bell releases "Sagacious Grace" with Houston Person, Al Plank, John Stowell, Michael Spiro, Colin Bailey and John Wiitala

Source: Dee Bell

Former Concord Jazz Recording Artist Dee Bell Moves to the Laser Label with the new album Sagacious Grace (Cat #0708). Available on CD Baby, Amazon, and ITunes as of 15 August 2011 Featuring Al Plank: piano; Houston Person: saxophone; John Stowell: guitar; Michael Spiro: percussion; Colin Bailey: drums; John Wiitala: bass. Praised by critics both abroad and in the United States for her “gorgeous phrasing" and “clear and easy delivery (Stereo Review)" of the lyrics of a song, West Coast ...

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Obituary

Dee Dee Bellson Singer, Daughter of Pearl Bailey and Louie Bellson

Dee Dee Bellson Singer, Daughter of Pearl Bailey and Louie Bellson

Source: Michael Ricci

Dee Dee Bellson, 49, the daughter of Broadway entertainer and singer Pearl Bailey and jazz drummer Louie Bellson who went on to craft her own singing career, died July 4 at her home in Charlottesville, Va., after a heart attack. Bailey and Louis Bellson married in London in 1952 and later adopted two children, Dee Dee and Tony. The family settled in Northridge. Dee Dee, who was born April 20, 1960, often traveled with her mother on tour. She began ...

Critical reception

Leonard Feather of the Los Angeles Times wrote in a 1985 article that "Bell has a haunting, jazz-infected sound, her diction and phrasing flawless." Jay Roebuck at the Orange County Register chose One by One as the third best album of 1985, stating that "Dee Bell sings with a beautiful, clear voice that brings to mind Jackie Cain with just a touch of Chris Connor here and there. It's a pleasant combination,and she definitely has style of her own."

In the British 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."

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Primary Instrument

Vocals

Location

Santa Rosa

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Lins, Lennox, & Life

Laser Records, LLC
2018

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Silva • Bell •...

Laser Records, LLC
2014

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Sagacious Grace

Laser Records, LLC
2010

buy

One By One

Concord Jazz Records
1985

buy

Let There Be Love

Concord Jazz Records
1983

buy

Videos

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