Biography
Dee Bell possesses a dusky vocal timbre that recalls the relaxed elegance of West Coast jazz from the 1950s. Her initial exposure came through the 1982 release Let There Be Love on Concord, which paired her with saxophonist Stan Getz. Long a fixture in Bay Area clubs, she stepped back from regular performances for an extended period before resuming steady activity during the 2010s. That resurgence included the launch of her partnership with Brazilian pianist Marcos Silva, documented on the 2014 album Silva Bell Elation.
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1950, Bell received early encouragement to pursue music and began on clarinet before adding vocals; from the age of ten she appeared in an a cappella trio. She later attended Indiana University, completing a bachelor of science in arts education while refining her technique under opera singer Eileen Farrell. Drawn instead to nutrition, she opened the vegetarian restaurant Earth Kitchen in 1972 and resided in a two-room cabin bordering Hoosier National Forest, where she frequently sang outdoors during her free time. In 1978 she relocated to Northern California intent on building a singing career. While employed at the Sausalito waterfront restaurant Trident, she met jazz guitarist Eddie Duran and began performing with his trio. A subsequent meeting with Stan Getz at Keystone Korner resulted in her debut recording, Let There Be Love, issued in 1982 and featuring both Getz and Duran. The follow-up, One by One, appeared in 1984 and included a contribution from trumpeter Tom Harrell.
Although Bell maintained a devoted local audience and regular bookings, she continued to rely on daytime employment at an advertising agency. In 1990 she prepared a third album, Sagacious Grace, with saxophonist Houston Person, yet a mastering defect made the tapes unusable at the time. Over the ensuing decade she gradually withdrew from performing, limiting herself to occasional appearances while raising her son and teaching children’s music. More than twenty years later, improved digital restoration techniques enabled recovery of the Sagacious Grace masters, allowing its release in 2011.
During a tribute concert honoring longtime Bay Area jazz publicist Merrilee Trost, Bell drew the attention of Brazilian-born multi-instrumentalist Marcos Silva. Having lost her previous music director, Al Plank, to cancer in 2003, she sought new collaborators. The two formed a close working relationship that produced Silva Bell Elation in 2014, an album of reimagined standards, pop material, and Brazilian compositions. Their second joint effort, Lins, Lennox, & Life, arrived in 2018 and incorporated Brazilian-inflected jazz with guest trumpeter Erik Jekabson.
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1950, Bell received early encouragement to pursue music and began on clarinet before adding vocals; from the age of ten she appeared in an a cappella trio. She later attended Indiana University, completing a bachelor of science in arts education while refining her technique under opera singer Eileen Farrell. Drawn instead to nutrition, she opened the vegetarian restaurant Earth Kitchen in 1972 and resided in a two-room cabin bordering Hoosier National Forest, where she frequently sang outdoors during her free time. In 1978 she relocated to Northern California intent on building a singing career. While employed at the Sausalito waterfront restaurant Trident, she met jazz guitarist Eddie Duran and began performing with his trio. A subsequent meeting with Stan Getz at Keystone Korner resulted in her debut recording, Let There Be Love, issued in 1982 and featuring both Getz and Duran. The follow-up, One by One, appeared in 1984 and included a contribution from trumpeter Tom Harrell.
Although Bell maintained a devoted local audience and regular bookings, she continued to rely on daytime employment at an advertising agency. In 1990 she prepared a third album, Sagacious Grace, with saxophonist Houston Person, yet a mastering defect made the tapes unusable at the time. Over the ensuing decade she gradually withdrew from performing, limiting herself to occasional appearances while raising her son and teaching children’s music. More than twenty years later, improved digital restoration techniques enabled recovery of the Sagacious Grace masters, allowing its release in 2011.
During a tribute concert honoring longtime Bay Area jazz publicist Merrilee Trost, Bell drew the attention of Brazilian-born multi-instrumentalist Marcos Silva. Having lost her previous music director, Al Plank, to cancer in 2003, she sought new collaborators. The two formed a close working relationship that produced Silva Bell Elation in 2014, an album of reimagined standards, pop material, and Brazilian compositions. Their second joint effort, Lins, Lennox, & Life, arrived in 2018 and incorporated Brazilian-inflected jazz with guest trumpeter Erik Jekabson.
Albums
