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Diane Schuur

Nicknamed "Deedles" as a child (her mother's endearment), Tacoma-born Schuur grew up steeped in traditional American jazz, courtesy of both parents: David Schuur was a local police captain and amateur pianist, and Joanie Schuur kept a formidable collection of Duke Ellington and Dinah Washington albums in their suburban-Seattle home.

Not surprisingly, Dinah Washington is often listed as Schuur's major vocal influence. She learned the iconic singer's "What a Difference a Day Makes" while still a toddler and began developing her own rich, resonant vocal style. Jazziz Magazine describes her approach as one that encompasses her whole lifetime of singing: "Schuur's vocal chops move from little-girl innocence to bawdy-mama blues in a hair's breadth, but always at the service of the song." Schuur is also an accomplished pianist, accompanying herself onstage as well as on many of her recording projects.

Her most recent album is an homage to two of her important mentors, both jazz giants: Frank Sinatra and Stan Getz. I Remember You (With Love To Stan and Frank), released in 2014, also commemorates her "official" discovery by towering sax virtuoso Getz at the 1979 Monterey Jazz Festival. "She's consistently combined fine artistic efforts with the pizazz of an entertainer and held sway in both concert halls and small clubs," observed All About Jazz's Victor L. Schermer in his rave review. "Her style incorporates both subtle jazz interpretation and the power of rhythm and blues."

I Remember You finds Schuur in an intimate setting, surrounded by her quintet, with compositions both understated and sophisticated. Featuring all-new arrangements by Grammy winner Alan Broadbent, the material blossoms under Schuur's improvisational scatting and deeply poignant delivery. I Remember You is Schuur's 24th album, and what is evident throughout, is the musical wisdom and innate grace she has continued to evolve, all through her expansive, 40-plus-year career.

That much-laureled career includes two Grammy Awards—- each for Best Jazz Vocal Performance—-on Timeless (1986) and Diane Schuur and The Count Basie Orchestra (1987). Both were released by GRP Records, the label that had launched her recording career. Schuur scored three additional Grammy nominations for subsequent albums Pure Schuur and Love Songs, as well as for the individual track "The Christmas Song."

Her music has explored almost every locale on the American musical landscape, and her attendant studio collaborations—-showcasing Schuur's pitch-perfect execution and crystalline, three-and-a-half-octave vocal range—-are a who's who of superstellar American originators in a plethora of styles. They include the albums Heart To Heart with B.B. King and Swingin' for Schuur" with Maynard Ferguson, alongside assorted tracks with Stan Getz, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Mark Knopfler, Jose Feliciano, and Karrin Allyson, among countless others.

Distinguished producers who have joined forces with Schuur include Phil Ramone (Friends For Schuur), André Fisher (Pure Schuur, In Tribute), Barry Manilow (Midnight), Steve Buckingham (The Gathering), Dave Grusin (Schuur Thing, Deedles, Timeless) Al Schmitt (Blues for Schuur, Love Walked In) and Oscar Castro-Neves (Schuur Fire).

Schuur's voice is bold and expressive, traversing a straight-ahead brand of jazz in her trademark style—-simultaneously romantic and mischievous, radiating warmth and soulful passion. And, as noted above, it all started very early in her life; the precocious jazz singer made her stage debut at nine years old, performing at a local Holiday Inn.

An audio souvenir of another formative gig is actually captured on her 2008 album, Some Other Time, which contains 11-year-old Deedles' 1964 performance of "September In The Rain." The vintage track displays an uncannily accurate template for all the elements present in her mature style today: the alternating qualities of intimate tenderness and outgoing theatricality, the assured sense of rhythm and phrasing, the unerring perfect-pitch sensibility. An especially touching piece on this recording is classic Irish heartbreaker "Danny Boy," which opens with a brief snippet of her mother's voice asking, "Diane, do you know the song Danny Boy?" and Schuur responding, "I'm going to record it, Mom. Just for you." Her mother, sadly, never got to hear that 2008 release," as she died of cancer in 1967, when Diane was 13.

The artist has been blind since her premature birth in 1953, having lost her sight to the disorder Retinopathy of Prematurity. It affected babies receiving high-oxygen therapy during neonatal intensive care—-which was standard practice until, tragically, 1954. She first learned to play piano by ear, picking out tunes on the keys with two fingers at the age of 3. "I sang to myself at night," recalls Schuur. "Mom and Dad would open the door a crack and yell ‘Diane, shut up,' so I progressed from there to the closet." By age 6, Schuur was giving regular command performances amid her corduroy jumpers.

Her formal study of piano began while at the Washington State School for the Blind which Schuur attended until she was 11 years old. A significant inspiration came at the age of 12 when her mother brought home an LP by the great George Shearing, Concerto for My Love. Young Diane learned all the pieces (by ear, of course), soaking up the distinctive style of Shearing—-who was blind himself. Her family arranged a meeting with Shearing during a local stint in Seattle, and she learned from that encounter that a life in music was indeed within her grasp, despite her handicap. Deedles finished her studies in public schools, eventually studying voice at the University of Puget Sound.

After playing clubs and bars around the Pacific Northwest, Schuur's first break came in 1975 at the age of 21, when she did an informal backstage audition for Doc Severinsen during one of The Tonight Show bandleader's tour stops at the Seattle Opera House. Band member and drummer Ed Shaughnessy was so moved by Diane's talent, he invited her to sing a gospel suite at the famed Monterey Jazz Festival the same year. That performance led to a return, high-profile featured spot at Monterey in 1979, where Stan Getz, captivated by her set, became her mentor and advocate.

"She's just like Sarah or Ella to me," Getz once said about Schuur. "She's taking from the tradition, and what comes out is her own conception and advancement of the tradition." A subsequent invitation from Getz had Diane participating in an all-star performance at the White House with Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Jon Faddis, Itzhak Perlman and Getz, filmed for PBS. When GRP Records owner Larry Rosen happened to catch its broadcast, the spellbound Rosen signed her immediately to GRP, and Schuur's career took off. First Lady Nancy Reagan requested Schuur return for an encore performance in 1984, and she was back in D.C. yet again in 1999, as one of the select musical guests invited to sing for Stevie Wonder at the Kennedy Center Honors (when Wonder received that prestigious award).

Between 1984 and 1997, Schuur made 11 albums for GRP, plus two best-of collections. She went on to record four projects for Concord Records, and experienced a dream come true when Ahmet Ertegun, the legendary founder of Atlantic Records, signed her, resulting in the 1999 release Music Is My Life. She has appeared at Carnegie Hall seven times and has racked up numerous Billboard chart-topping jazz releases. Several classic live performances are also available on DVD, including Ray Charles In Concert with Diane Schuur (Image Entertainment), Diane Schuur & The Count Basie Orchestra (Image Entertainment), and Live From Seattle with Maynard Ferguson (Paradise Artist Studios).

Over the years, Schuur has participated in many charitable and educational projects. She is a respected educator, conducting clinics and master classes for students of all ages at universities, high schools, and middle schools. A partial list of organizations she has assisted via fundraisers includes Music Doing Good, Inc., The Braille Institute, Northwest African American Museum, World Institute on Disabilities, Betty Ford Foundation, Library For the Blind, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, and the Jerry Lewis Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Connecting with audiences is what Diane does better than anything else, and after four illustrious decades she's still doing it, on record and in concert. "For the future I plan to continue my reading of classic American song," reflects Schuur, "paying respect to celebrated writers and polishing their gems in the jazz tradition." And she is, indeed, fulfilling that goal. In addition to touring theaters and festivals around the world with her own group—-in which she employs many of the top jazz players in the country—-she also appears as special guest with the Count Basie Orchestra as well as other professional and university big bands.

Additionally, Schuur has a personal library of arrangements for performances with symphony orchestra, and has appeared with Boston Pops, the Pacific Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra to name just a few. Reviewing one performance with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops Orchestra, All About Jazz's Schermer declares, "Ms. Schuur surely is among the very best jazz vocalists, and she exemplifies if not redefines the ‘diva' category with her warm, often humorous, and relaxed interactions with the audience and the musicians. Her mere presence is enough to make for a memorable evening."
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Joy And Wonder - More Holiday Releases

by Mary Foster Conklin
December 19, 2022

This broadcast presents more Christmas goodness to savor, with new holiday releases from from Chris Ruggiero, Sarah Partridge, Sweet Megg and Joe McCarthy's New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band, plus birthday shoutouts to Dave Brubeck and Diane Schuur, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by purchasing their music during this time of pandemic so they can continue to distract, comfort, provoke and inspire. Playlist Jeff Hamilton Trio “Caroling Caroling" from Merry ...

In Pictures

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by Mark Robbins
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Add to pianist/vocalist Diane Deedles" Schuur's, resume comedian as she had the audience of a little over a hundred in stitches during her stories between songs. Whether it was about flying first class years ago for the free booze, (she's been sober for 33 years, a feat she is, and should be, extremely proud of), landing at an airport earlier in the day in jny:Norfolk, VA (a city whose name has been mispronounced since the Navy took over the town ...

Radio & Podcasts

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by Joe Dimino
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Album Review

Diane Schuur: Running on Faith

Read "Running on Faith" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
May 29, 2020

Pianist and vocalist Diane “Deedles" Schuur and Wessell “Warmdaddy" Anderson may be the last jazz artists to have musically-anointed monikers, from a genre replete with them (Lester “Prez" Young, Billie “Lady Day" Holiday, Johnny “Rabbit" Hodges, Julian “Cannonball" Adderley and “John Birks “Dizzy" Gillespie). Schuur was named “Deedles" as a child by her mother. The name stuck and proved both inspirational and descriptive for the accomplished singer and pianist, blind from birth, who has performed with the luminaries of jazz. ...

Radio & Podcasts

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by Mary Foster Conklin
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Includes more Christmas songs penned by women, with holiday recordings by Dave Stryker, Laila Biali, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Rebecca Angel, plus new releases by Youn Sun Nah, Chloe Perrier, Fostina Dixon, and Elena Gilliam, with birthday shout outs to Bob Dorough, Sue Maskaleris, Diane Schuur, Sean Harkness, Edith Piaf, Camille Thurman and Kaylé Brecher, among others. Playlist Dave Stryker “This Christmas" from Eight Track Christmas (Strikezone Records) 00:00 Deanna Witkowski “Love Came Down" ...

Live Review

Diane Schuur at Birdland

by Tyran Grillo
November 20, 2017

Diane Schuur Birdland New York, NY November 14, 2017 In the fall of 2017, Diane Schuur returned to New York City for a highly anticipated residency at Birdland. Bringing saxophonist Joel Frahm, bassist Roger Hines, and drummer Willie Jones III along for the ride, the singer and pianist showed us that being a class act on the bandstand means knowing how to balance life off it with honest reflection and joyful response. This ...

Extended Analysis

Diane Schuur: I Remember You (With Love to Stan and Frank)

by Victor L. Schermer
May 9, 2014

Diane Schuur is that rare songbird who is equally competent as a jazz singer and a pops entertainer. While some vocalists go with more lucrative popular music and some take the road of the jazz artist in the pure sense, Schuur is able to straddle the two careers. Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole had a superb grasp of the jazz idiom, but they made the decisive choice to become entertainers. By contrast, Chris Connor, Betty Carter, and Johnny Hartman ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Diane Schuur

Source: Michael Ricci
December 10, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Diane Schuur's birthday today!

Nicknamed “Deedles" as a child (her mother's endearment), Tacoma-born Schuur grew up steeped in traditional American jazz, courtesy of both parents: David Schuur was a local police captain and amateur pianist, and Joanie Schuur kept a formidable collection of Duke Ellington and Dinah Washington albums in their suburban-Seattle home. Not surprisingly, Dinah Washington is often listed as Schuur's major vocal influence. She learned the iconic singer's “What a Difference a Day ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Diane Schuur

Source: Michael Ricci
December 10, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Diane Schuur's birthday today!

Nicknamed “Deedles" as a child (her mother\'s endearment), Tacoma-born Schuur grew up steeped in traditional American jazz, courtesy of both parents: David Schuur was a local police captain and amateur pianist, and Joanie Schuur kept a formidable collection of Duke Ellington and Dinah Washington albums in their suburban-Seattle home. Not surprisingly, Dinah Washington is often listed as Schuur\'s major vocal influence... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Diane Schuur

Source: Michael Ricci
December 10, 2018

All About Jazz is celebrating Diane Schuur's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Diane Schuur

Source: Michael Ricci
December 10, 2017

All About Jazz is celebrating Diane Schuur's birthday today!

Diane Schuur, who has often been on the periphery of jazz, has the potential to be an important jazz singer although she still includes 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... ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Diane Schuur

Source: Michael Ricci
December 10, 2016

All About Jazz is celebrating Diane Schuur's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Diane Schuur

Source: Michael Ricci
December 10, 2015

All About Jazz is celebrating Diane Schuur's birthday today! Diane Schuur, who has often been on the periphery of jazz, has the potential to be an important jazz singer although she still includes 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... ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Diane Schuur

Source: Michael Ricci
December 10, 2014

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Diane Schuur

Source: Michael Ricci
December 10, 2013

All About Jazz is celebrating Diane Schuur's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Diane Schuur

Source: Michael Ricci
December 10, 2012

All About Jazz is celebrating Diane Schuur's birthday today!

Performance / Tour

The RRazz Room Presents The Return Of Grammy Award-Winning Jazz Legend Diane Schuur

Source: Miller Wright & Associates
October 17, 2012

The RRazz Room, San Francisco’s premier nightclub, presents the return of Grammy Award-winning jazz legend, Diane Schuur, nicknamed “Deedles,” to celebrate the release of her recent album, The Gathering. The CD features special guests Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Mark Knopfler, Larry Carlton and Kirk Whalum. For her show, Schuur embraces her country roots for the first time infusing her jazz sensibilities into ten country-brewed tunes from such seminal songwriters as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Hank Cochran, Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller ...
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