Dee Daniels

by Scott YanowDee Daniels mixes together the influences of Sarah Vaughan, R&B, and gospel in her own appealing style. She started off singing in church as a child and also took piano lessons so she could play for the choirs of her stepfather's church. She earned an art degree from the University of Montana in 1970 and taught art in high school in Seattle. She also sang on the side, at first for the fun of it and then eventually six nights a week with a band that performed rock and R&B. In 1972 she quit her teaching job to concentrate exclusively on singing. Over time, Daniels began to love improvising and gradually drifted toward jazz. While living in Europe during 1982-1987, she worked with such jazz greats as Toots Thielemans, Monty Alexander, Johnny Griffin, and John Clayton. Although she moved back to the U.S. in 1987, she has performed often in other countries including Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, 11 African countries, and throughout Europe, and is actually better known overseas than in the U.S. Daniels has appeared in such shows as the musical comedy Wang Dang Doodle and the 2001 Calgary Stampede, and she has performed with both jazz groups and pops orchestras. Along the way she has recorded for Capri, Mons (with the Metropole Orchestra), Three XD Music, and Origin in addition to releasing a DVD on Challenge.