DIANE SCHUUR — Diane Schuur Featuring Caribbean Jazz Project : Schuur Fire (review)

DIANE SCHUUR — Diane Schuur Featuring Caribbean Jazz Project : Schuur Fire album cover Album · 2005 · Latin Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Matti P
The American singer and pianist DIANE SCHUUR (b. 1953) *sure* sounds as uplifting and charming as she looks. Blind from the birth, she took her first steps as a musician at the age of three, and when she was ten she debuted on stage at the local Holday Inn. I'm not familiar with her earliest albums from 1985 onwards; Schuur Fire was the other of the two newer albums I borrowed from library years ago, and I was immediately charmed by her. Here she's accompanied by The Caribbean Jazz Project led by vibes player Dave Samuels. A perfect match!

'Lover, Come Back to Me' (composed by Oscar Hammerstein II) shows straight away the merry and dance-inviting Latin groove at its best, and Diane demonstrates her flexible vocal skills that IMHO are fully comparable to the great Ella Fitzgerald. James Taylor's 'Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight' turns into a jazz ballad with natural ease. Diane Schuur is known for her habit of picking songs from pop music. Don Gibson's country ballad 'I Can't Stop Loving You' was given a charming samba treatment, and the Latin dance version of Stevie Wonder's 'As' works brilliantly.

The song I was originally most gladly surprised by, comes -- of all bands -- from Duran Duran. My relationship with that band is more or less limited to digging Rio (1982) at my early teens -- and why not still --, but 'Ordinary World' happens to be my fave of the few further DD songs I remember. I may actually prefer the original for the mood, but Schuur's jazzy uptempo version has its own charm.

This well produced album is very easy to enjoy if you're at all into vocal jazz and Latin jazz. If you're looking for music to make you happy and carefree, try this.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Rodrigues / Rodrigues / Madeira / Taylor / Parrinha / Taubenfeld / Carmelo / Trinite : A Tale Unfolds Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ERNESTO RODRIGUES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pandelis Karayorgis, George Kokkinaris : Out From Athens Avant-Garde Jazz
PANDELIS KARAYORGIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Otomo Yoshihide and Chris Pitsiokos : Uncanny Mirror Jazz Related Improv/Composition
OTOMO YOSHIHIDE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Irrational Rhythms and Shifting Poles Jazz Related Improv/Composition
CHRIS PITSIOKOS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Kaleidoscope Vocal Jazz
MAI-LIIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Spider Plant Blues
GREG FOAT
js· 2 days ago
Three Chord Monte
TONY ROMANO
js· 5 days ago
Afro Blue
SYNIA CARROLL
js· 6 days ago
“I See You, Baby, Looking At Me” by Warren Wolf
WARREN WOLF
js· 6 days ago
PETE ESCOVEDO "AIN'T NO SUNSHINE" (PLEASE LIKE & SHARE)
PETE ESCOVEDO
tupan· 8 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed