(August 23, 2022) Dione Bullard possesses the kind of voice that makes people stop in their tracks and ask who is that? I played his soulful cover of the Great American Songbook standard “Here’s To Life” to give it a listen before writing this First Listen. Now, usually I’ll listen to a song with whatever listening device I am using hooked to my Bluetooth earbuds because I don’t want to disturb anyone.
Today, I decided to skip the headphones and my wife, who was walking from the back of the house to the front, stopped and asked who was singing. I told her who the vocalist was, and Gail said that Bullard was an excellent singer who reminded her of Luther Vandross.
(August 23, 2022) Dione Bullard possesses the kind of voice that makes people stop in their tracks and ask who is that? I played his soulful cover of the Great American Songbook standard “Here’s To Life” to give it a listen before writing this First Listen. Now, usually I’ll listen to a song with whatever listening device I am using hooked to my Bluetooth earbuds because I don’t want to disturb anyone.
Today, I decided to skip the headphones and my wife, who was walking from the back of the house to the front, stopped and asked who was singing. I told her who the vocalist was, and Gail said that Bullard was an excellent singer who reminded her of Luther Vandross.
The praise can’t get much higher than that, but I’ll try. I thought “Here’s To Life” was a tune from the Golden Age of song that had been featured in a play written in the 1940s or 50s. Truth is, Artie Butler composed the song and Phyllis Molinary wrote the lyrics in 1987 with the intention that it be performed and recorded by Peggy Lee. Lee performed it, but “Here’s To Life” became the Shirley Horn’s signature song after the legendary jazz singer recorded it for her Grammy winning album by the same name.
I remember Horn’s masterful version with being backed by lush strings in an orchestral jazz version, and Bullard’s version shows that adding a heaping helping of soul to his jazzy piano and synthesized piano is every bit as stunning. Bullard possesses a rangy baritone that he controls pristinely as he moves into tenor and even falsetto territory. The matching of his vocal, which draws equally from the church and the piano bar scene, with the jazz-infused improvisation on the piano produces a contrast in styles that makes Bullard’s rendition one that you just want to put on repeat. Whoever said they don’t make ‘em like they used to should listen to this.
And dig this, the guy’s also a cook who goes by Chef Dione Bullard on Twitter. Bullard can cook your meal and sing you happy. That’s a cabaret show that I’d pay to see.
By Howard Dukes
Dione Bullard - "Here's To Life"