Diane Schuur
(b. December 10, 1953 in Tacoma, Washington) is an American jazz singer and pianist. Blinded at birth due to a hospital accident, [1] Schuur, nicknamed "Deedles," has won Two Grammy awards. Schuur has 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 Stan Getz, B. B. King, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Quincy Jones.
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DIANE SCHUUR TICKETS
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Biography
Diane Schuur grew up in suburban
Seattle, Washington and was encouraged by both her parents to sing. 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. Later attending the Washington State School for the Blind where she performed original material and wowed audiences with her playful and distinctive voice. She started performing songs she wrote starting at sixteen. 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, returned there again 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) and
Timeless
(
1988).
[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. Schurr and King eventually made an album together,
Heart to Heart
released May of
1994, which top the
Billboard charts to number one. Twelve of Schuur's albums have reached the Top 10 Jazz Albums on Billboard history charts, including her latest
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
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
.
Selective discography
Year
| Title
| Genre
| Label
|
2008
| Some Other Time
| Jazz
| Concord
|
|
2006
| Diane Schuur: Live in London
| Jazz
| GR2 Classics
|
|
2005
| Schuur Fire
| Jazz
| Concord
|
|
2003
| Midnight
| Jazz, Pop
| Concord
|
|
2001
| Swingin' for Schuur
| Jazz
| Concord
|
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2000
| Friends for Schuur
| Jazz
| Concord
|
|
1999
| Music Is My Life
| Jazz
| Atlantic / Wea
|
|
1997
| The Best of Diane Schuur
| Jazz
| GRP
|
|
1997
| Blues for Schuur
| Blues, Jazz
| GRP
|
|
1994
| Heart to Heart
w/B. B. King
| Jazz
| GRP
|
|
1993
| Love Songs
| Jazz
| GRP
|
|
1992
| In Tribute
| Jazz
| GRP
|
|
1991
| Pure Schuur
| Jazz
| GRP
|
|
1989
| Diane Schuur Collection
| Jazz
| GRP
|
|
1988
| A GRP Christmas Collection
| Gospel
| GRP
|
|
1988
| ''Talkin' 'bout You''
| Jazz
| GRP
|
|
1987
| Diane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra
| Jazz
| GRP
|
|
1986
| Timeless
| Jazz
| GRP
|
|
1984
| Deedles
| Jazz
| Digital Master
|
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Grammy history
- Career Nominations: 5
- Career Wins: 2 [4]
Diane Schuur Grammy Awards History
|
Year
| Category
| Title
| Genre
| Label
| Result
|
1993
| Traditional Pop Performance
| Love Songs
| Pop
| GRP
| Nominee
|
1991
| Traditional Pop Performance
| Pure Schuur
| Pop
| GRP
| Nominee
|
1989
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Female
| The Christmas Song
| Jazz
| GRP
| Nominee
|
1987
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Female
| Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra
| Jazz
| GRP
| Winner
|
1986
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Female
| Timeless
| Jazz
| GRP
| Winner
|
Footnotes
- Pure Jazz for Schuur!
- Gelly, Dave. ''Stan Getz: Nobody Else But Me'', Backbeat Books, page 159, (2005) ISBN 0879307293
- Billboard Chart History for Diane Schuur
- Grammy Awards Data Base: Diane Schuur