Diane Schuur: Running on Faith

“Schuur is playfully salty and intimate throughout Running on Faith” - A.D. Amorosi / JazzTimes Magazine

“Her voice is impressive in its size, range and brightness. A song can suddenly fly up an octave into little-girl squeals, then make a swan dive into the murky depths. She uses her twirling vibrato as rhythmic punctuation. After drawing out a note, she dispenses that vibrato like the cherry on a sundae.” - Stephen Holden / The New York Times

Diane Schuur
Ernie Watts, saxophone
Bruce Lett, bass
Kendall Kay, drums

Two-time Grammy-winning vocalist/pianist Diane Schuur shakes out new versions of songs for which she has a deep-rooted affection. On her latest recording “Running On Faith,” Schuur arranges music by some of her favorite performers and songwriters; from Miles Davis to Percy Mayfield to Paul Simon, all with her distinctive, jazzy charm.  According to Schuur, “I’ve been focusing on the condition of our world and selected songs that make a statement about what is, along with songs of hope, about what can be.”  Showcasing music from “Running On Faith,” Schuur’s performance will include blues, straight-ahead jazz and a few tunes that defy categorization.  The artist adds these familiar compositions to her expansive body of work to create a musical blueprint of her current place in time.

Schuur’s 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.” Schuur’s music has explored almost every locale on the American musical landscape, and her attendant studio collaborations – showcasing her pitch-perfect execution and three-and-a-half-octave vocal range – are a who’s who of 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 and Jose Feliciano, 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).