Diane Schuur Deedles

Diane Joan Schuur (born December 10, 1953), nicknamed "Deedles", is an American jazz singer and pianist. As of 2015, Schuur had released 23 albums, and had extended her jazz repertoire to include essences of Latin, gospel, pop and country music…

One of the premier vocalists in jazz, Seattle native Diane Schuur - nicknamed "Deedles" since the 1984 recording of the same name featuring saxophone icon Stan Getz - has won two Grammy Awards and headlined the most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and The White House. She has also collaborated, toured and/or recorded with Quincy Jones, BB King, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Barry Manilow among many others.

Diane Schuur - Live In London (2006) {GR2 Records 2GR20002}
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© 2006 GR2 Classics / GR2 Records | 2GR20002
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Standards / Contemporary Jazz

Does Diane Schuur still matter? Though the vocalist has been performing actively on the national jazz scene since her 1984 GRP debut, Deedles, came out, and she has won two Grammies, critical interest in her work has waned since the early 1990s. Many critics have lauded her powerful voice and stylistic versatility but lamented her tendency toward histrionics and emotional blandness. Live in London, recorded at Ronnie Scott's, might reassert her potential in the vocal pantheon. The disc is a fine example of Schuur the vocalist and pianist, collaborating with a fine band—bassist Scott Steed, guitarist Rod Fleeman and drummer Reggie Jackson—before an adoring (if subdued) audience. In many ways she represents exactly what is missing from a lot of "contemporary jazz—she knows how to balance jazz technique and feeling with emotional accessibility.

This CD features a logical combination: singer Diane Schuur with the Count Basie big band. In what would be longtime rhythm guitarist Freddie Green's final performance, Schuur and the Basie ghost band (under the direction of Frank Foster) perform material that includes her standards (such as "Deedles' Blues" and "Climbing Higher Mountains"), Dave Brubeck's "Travlin' Blues" and the Joe Williams-associated "Everyday I Have The Blues." Unfortunately, the Basie band is mostly used in accompaniment without any significant solos, but Schuur sounds quite comfortable in this format and her voice is in prime form.

Diane Joan Schuur (born December 10, 1953), nicknamed "Deedles", is an American jazz singer and pianist. As of 2015, Schuur had released 23 albums, and had extended her jazz repertoire to include essences of Latin, gospel, pop and country music. Her most successful album is Diane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra, which remained number one on the Billboard Jazz Charts for 33 weeks. She won Grammy Awards for best female jazz vocal performance in both 1986 and 1987 and has had three other Grammy nominations.

Diane Schuur, who has sometimes been on the periphery of jazz, balances her importance as a dedicated jazz singer with the inclusion of a large dose of pop tunes in her repertoire. Early in her career she had the tendency to screech in her upper register, but with maturity that flaw has largely disappeared and she has become a very impressive singer. Blinded at birth due to a hospital accident, Schuur (who would later be nicknamed "Deedles") imitated singers as a child.