Diane Schuur

Diane Schuur
Background information
Born (1953-12-10) December 10, 1953
Tacoma, Washington United States
Genres Jazz, blues, pop
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Vocals, piano
Years active 1979–present
Labels GRP, Concord
Website www.dianeschuur.com

Diane Schuur (born December 10, 1953 in Tacoma, Washington) is an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Deedles", she has won two Grammy Awards, headlined many of the world's most prestigious music venues, including Carnegie Hall and The White House and has toured the world performing with such greats as Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, B. B. King, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Ray Charles, Joe Williams and Stevie Wonder. Like Stevie Wonder, Schuur was blinded at birth due to retinopathy of prematurity.

Biography

Diane Schuur grew up in suburban Seattle, Washington and was encouraged by both her parents to sing. She started singing when she was two-and-a-half, and by age nine, was getting professional gigs. She has said that as a small child she would often retreat to the closet to be alone with herself and sing.[1] Her early childhood music heroines were Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. Schuur had her first gig at Tacoma's Holiday Inn at age ten in which she sang country music. Attending the Washington School for the Blind, she began performing original material, and starting at the young age of sixteen, revealed a distinctive voice and began performing. Her big break came when Stan Getz became positive about her work on hearing her sing "Amazing Grace" at legendary Monterey Jazz Festival in 1979, returning in '88 and '91. In 1982, Getz asked her to join him at a performance at the White House. Nancy Reagan invited her to perform again as a vocalist with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1987. Stan Getz later played on Schuur's first three albums, Deedles (1984), Schuur Thing (1985 also with Jose Feliciano ) and Timeless (1986).[2]

Schuur's debut album, Deedles, was released in 1984, the first of several recordings to showcase her vocal abilities. In 1985, while on tour in the Far East, Schuur met B.B. King when the two of them played a music festival in Tokyo. Schuur and King eventually made an album together, Heart to Heart released May 1994, which topped the Billboard charts to number one. Twelve of Schuur's albums have reached the Top 10 Jazz Albums on Billboard history charts, including Diane Schuur: Live In London (2006) [3] She received her first Grammy for the album Timeless (1986), and the following year received another, for Diane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra (1987).

Schuur proved her staying power through the 1990s and into the 2000s, first with her 1991 follow up to Talkin' 'Bout You, Pure Schuur, and then with nearly an album a year from then on, including In Tribute (1992]), Love Songs (1993), Heart to Heart (1994), Love Walked In (1995), Blues for Schuur (1997), Music Is My Life (1999), Friends for Schuur (2000), and Swingin' for Schuur (2001). Late in 2003, Schuur released Midnight, featuring original songs written for the album by Barry Manilow. Manilow also performs alongside Schuur on the album, along with Alan Broadbent on piano, Chuck Berghofer on bass, and the drummers Harvey Mason and Peter Erskine.

Her second live album, Diane Schuur: Live In London, was released in June 2006. It is her first release on the GR2 Classics label, the 20th album of her career and was recorded at Ronnie Scott's in Soho, London.

In 2008 she released a new studio collection entitled Some Other Time.

In 2011, she came out with The Gathering Her latest release came in 2014 with I Remember You: Love to Stan and Frank

Selective discography

Year Title Genre Label
1984 Deedles Jazz Digital Master
1985 Schuur Thing Jazz GRP
1986 Timeless Jazz GRP
1987 Diane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra Jazz GRP
1988 Talkin' 'bout You Jazz GRP
1988 A GRP Christmas Collection Gospel GRP
1989 Diane Schuur Collection Jazz GRP
1991 Pure Schuur Jazz GRP
1992 In Tribute Jazz GRP
1993 Love Songs Jazz GRP
1994 Heart to Heart w/B. B. King Jazz GRP
1996 Love Walked In Jazz GRP
1997 Blues for Schuur Blues, Jazz GRP
1997 The Best of Diane Schuur Jazz GRP
1999 Music Is My Life Jazz Atlantic / Wea
2000 Friends for Schuur Jazz Concord
2001 Swingin' for Schuur with Maynard Ferguson Jazz Concord
2003 Midnight Jazz, Pop Concord
2005 Schuur Fire Jazz Concord
2006 Diane Schuur: Live in London Jazz GR2 Classics
2008 Some Other Time Jazz Concord
2011 The Gathering Jazz Vanguard Records
2014 I Remember You:Love to Stan and Frank Jazz Jazzheads Inc./Planetworks

Grammy history

Diane Schuur Grammy Awards History
Year Category Title Genre Label Result
1986 Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Female Timeless Jazz GRP Won
1987 Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Female Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra Jazz GRP Won
1989 Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Female The Christmas Song Jazz GRP Nominated
1991 Traditional Pop Performance Pure Schuur Pop GRP Nominated
1993 Traditional Pop Performance Love Songs Pop GRP Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Ability Magazine: Diane Schuur - The Hot Lady of Cool Jazz" (2009)". Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  2. ↑ Gelly, Dave (2005). Stan Getz: Nobody Else But Me. Backbeat Books. p. 159. ISBN 0-87930-729-3.
  3. ↑ Billboard Chart History for Diane Schuur
  4. ↑ Grammy Awards Data Base: Diane Schuur

Further reading

External links

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