Diane Schuur

Diane Schuur has inspirited raves from around the world as "the first lady of jazz." She has been awarded two Grammies as the "Best Jazz vocalist", twice played the White House, and her recordings top the jazz charts. Acclaimed worldwide for her versatility and incredible 3 1/2-octave range, Diane was first discovered by Dizzy Gillespie who brought her to the stage at the 1979 Monterrey Jazz Festival. She wowed the audience and jazz saxophonist Stan Getz aid, "I couldn't believe what I heard...She takes the from the tradition of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn and what comes out is her own advancement of that tradition." Getz became her mentor, introducing her during a television performance at the White House. It is no surprise that Schuur is compared to jazz greats Fitzgerald and Vaughn having begun singing to their records age the two. She was an extremely shy child having been blind since birth when excessive oxygen in her incubator damaged her optic nerve. She soon found that her voice would become her bridge to the world. Diane Schuur has recorded 13 albums. She was nominated for her fifth Grammy as "Best Vocalist-Pop " category for her album "Love Songs". In 1997 she received the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs Award for "Major female Jazz/R & B Engagement" for her work at The Blue Note. In 1999 Diane received the first annual Ella Fitzgerald Award from the prestigious Montreal International Jazz Festival for outstanding vocal performance in the tradition of Ella Fitzgerald. In 2003 she was recognized by the Media Access jCommittee with the AFTRA Disability Awareness Award. Her latest recording is a CD that was oo-produced and co-writen with Barry Manilow and Eddie Arken, This Schuur-fire singer says, "Nothing's going to stop me because only the thing that limits you is your own mind, if you let it. I feel very blessed when I'm on stage…I want to go out and hug everybody." And that is exactly what her voice does.