Name: Diane Schuur at 70: An Afternoon of Songs & Stories
Start: 2023-07-29T16:00:00
End: 2023-07-30T06:00:00
Location: Field Arts & Events Hall

Kicking off her 70th birthday tour, multi-Grammy award-winning jazz musician Diane "Deedles" Schuur will open the Grand Opening Celebration at Field Hall. <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/3YowTUlFJJA6E5Yd67GZNv" target="_blank">Listen on Spotify</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k11M2dRH1ys" target="_blank">Watch on YouTube</a> An acclaimed singer and pianist, Diane Schuur is a virtuoso performer with a resonant voice and ebullient style, known for her effervescent take on jazz standards as well as her earthy forays into pop, rock, and R&amp;B. Blind since birth, Schuur built upon the legacy of her idols,including vocalists Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and George Shearing. She first emerged to widespread fame in the late '70s, championed by artists like her longtime mentor, saxophonist Stan Getz, as well as Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder. She released a string of highly lauded, chart-topping albums including 1985's Schuur Thing, 1986's Grammy-winning Timeless, 1991's Pure Schuur, and 1994's Heart to Heart with B.B. King. Along with collaborations with the Count Basie Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson, Barry Manilow, and the Caribbean Jazz Project, Schuur has remained a vital performer, holding clinics and masterclasses, and releasing eclectic albums like 1999's Ahmet Ertegun-produced Music Is My Life, 2011's country-influenced The Gathering, and 2020's classic rock-influenced Running on Faith with Ernie Watts. A 2000 recipient of the Helen Keller Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind, Schuur has also helped raise funds for such charitable organizations as The Braille Institute, Northwest African American Museum, World Institute on Disabilities, Betty Ford Foundation, and Library for the Blind. “Schuur is playfully salty and intimate throughout Running on Faith” A.D. Amorosi / JazzTimes Magazine “A marvelously mature, swinging after hours record where Schuur takes the wheel with Ernie Watts at her side, this is as close to a civil rights jazz record as a white girl can come.” Chris Spector / Midwest Record “Schuur digs deep on songs as close to her as skin...Deedles continues to be a force of nature in jazz. A very welcome one.” C. Michael Bailey / All About Jazz