Dirk Etienne knew by sixth grade that he wanted to sing professionally. He began performing at the age of 5 and by 20 was singing in local Hollywood clubs. At the age of 23, Dirk opened on a top national tour and performed for over 1 million fans. He has worked with Grammy-winning producer Robert Margouleff and multi-platinum producers Kenny Kerner and Michael Lloyd, among others. After touring the U.S. in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Dirk married and settled in Carmel Valley, California, where he has continued to work as a producer and recording engineer while pursuing other business interests.

Dirk grew up attending the Monterey Jazz Festival every summer with his father who served as a voluteer there for over 50 years. He was exposed to the sweet sounds of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett and many more. In 2007, Dirk recorded “Fly Me to the Moon” for his mother who was sick in the hospital and with that his passion for singing and passion for jazz became one. He fell in love with the jazz genre all over again and he began conceptualizing his first album, High Standards. The songs on the album are those that Dirk heard during “cocktail hour” at home and at the Jazz Festival throughout his childhood. Dirk is inspired by his pure love for music and he feels that “these songs tell a story and set a mood.”