- Diane Schuur
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Diane Schuur 
Diane Schuur in 2009Background information Also known as Deedles Born December 10, 1953
Tacoma, Washington
United StatesGenres Jazz, Blues, Pop Occupations Musician Instruments Vocals, Piano Years active 1979–present Labels GRP, Concord Website www.DianeSchuur.com Diane Schuur (b. 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, and Stevie Wonder. Like Stevie Wonder, Schuur was blinded at birth due to retinopathy of prematurity.
Contents
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. Attending the Washington State 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 once 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).[1]
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 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) [2] 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.
Selective discography
Year Title Genre Label 2011 The Gathering Jazz Vanguard Records 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 with Maynard Ferguson Jazz Concord 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 1996 Love Walked In 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 1985 Schuur Thing Jazz GRP 1984 Deedles Jazz Digital Master Grammy history
- Career Nominations: 5
- Career Wins: 2[3]
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 References
- ^ Gelly, Dave (2005). Stan Getz: Nobody Else But Me. Backbeat Books. p. 159. ISBN 0-87930-729-3.
- ^ Billboard Chart History for Diane Schuur
- ^ Grammy Awards Data Base: Diane Schuur
Further reading
- Zimmerman, David (March 7, 1988). "A Schuur bet as the next jazz superstar". USA Today: p. D4. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/55813337.html?dids=55813337:55813337&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT.
- Kohlhaase, Bill (January 14, 1995). "Happiness Is Now a Schuur Thing Jazz: After years of personal struggle, the singer, who performs tonight in Cerritos with the Count Basie Orchestra, is wearing a smile". Los Angeles Times: p. F2. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/21445926.html?dids=21445926:21445926&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT.
- Kimura, Donna (2001). "Swingin' with Diane Schuur". Jazz Review. http://www.jazzreview.com/articledetails.cfm?ID=547. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
External links
Categories:- American jazz singers
- American jazz pianists
- 1953 births
- Living people
- People from Tacoma, Washington
- Grammy Award winners
- Blind musicians
- Musicians from Washington (state)
- Women in jazz
- GRP Records artists
- Heads Up International artists
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