Diane Schuur at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

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Two–time Grammy Award winner Diane Schuur showcased her blazing and versatile musical talent in a powerhouse, perfectly-pitched concert at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club on Friday, June 6th and it was a night of “firsts.” Ms. Schuur’s appearance was her first at this wonderful new venue for performers, and it was the starting point of an exciting new tour that will take her around the country, it was the first all-out promotion of her audacious and bold new album I Remember You-with Love to Stan and Frank (musical mentors Stan Getz and Frank Sinatra) and it was the first time I had ever heard an artist break away so radically from the zone of safe, easy artistic choices.

Diane Schurr. Photo courtesy of Diane's website https://www.dianeschuur.com/index.php.
Diane Schurr. Photo courtesy of Diane’s website https://www.dianeschuur.com/index.php.

I had the privilege of seeing Ms. Schuur live about twenty years ago and have been listening to her recordings for years, always recognizing that I was listening to a very unique master who was able to fuse her sense of the lyric and, especially, her intuitive sense of melody and rhythm to almost any category of music from pop to jazz to blues. Too talented to easily categorize, her concert at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club showed an artist who was most decidedly eschewing any easy categorization.

Schuur sang (and played a mean piano) through eleven standards with an audacious, bold, brassy and sassy understanding of each song, continually surprising the crowd with unanticipated new musical takes and brash yet, concurrently, sensitive scat singing and phrasing.

As I told Ms. Schuur when I had the pleasure of meeting her, she should be patented as a musical instrument herself and, indeed, she blended in beautifully with the four superior musicians who accompanied her, as if she herself was the fifth instrument in the musical ensemble (they should manufacture a Diane Schuur instrument that you could play at will!). Joel Frahm on Sax, Roni Ben-Hur on Guitar, Ben Wolfe on Bass and Willie Jones III on Drums participated in the musical proceedings together and–at times-with distinctive solo turns. The camaraderie displayed among Schuur and her band of music –makers was very affectionate, relaxed and infectious.

A very jazzy rendition of the Gershwin standard “S’Wonderful” opened the set with fascinating, somewhat atonal singing and scatting by Schuur. Marvelous jazz interludes by her musicians formed the centerpiece of this swinging number with Schuur augmenting the pace with deep, almost-guttural tones, only to swoop back up into a swinging, upbeat crescendo.

A more mellow cover of the lovely standard “Nice ‘n’ Easy” (music by Lew Spence, Lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman) ended with Ms. Schuur (affectionately known as “Deedles”) holding out a high note for a breathtaking finale.

A jubilant and buoyant rendition of Demy and Legrand’s “Watch What Happens” had a stunning Sax solo by Joel Frahm with each musician eventually joining in with Schurr for a great jazzy conclusion.

Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” was unlike any rendition I have ever heard of this still remarkably potent song. Schuur’s delivery was very pointed and direct but, alternately, full of subtext and poignancy. As I told Ms. Schuur, not since Sarah Vaughan turned her voice into a veritable fog when drawing out the words: “a foggy, foggy day in London Town” (from the song “A Foggy Day in London Town”) had I ever felt words transformed beyond their outer verbal meaning into an actual living breathing entity; in Schuur’s acrid, fully-realized and drawn-out singing of the last repeating of the words “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” she had convinced me that someone was “under her skin.” Schuur evoked such a rare moment of intensity and absorption in the lines that I felt an artistic epiphany of sorts and a moment of artistry that cannot be duplicated.

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The Latin rhythms of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “How Insensitive” were an apt match for the dexterity of Schuur’s vocal chops. Her musicians ably supported her with the beautiful Brazilian feel of this song.

Schuur’s cover of “Here’s That Rainy Day” by Jimmy Van Heusen was performed with an emotional rawness and passion that sent chills down the spine. A very musically intermixed and jolting ending added to the luster of this fine arrangement.

Jimmy Webb’s “Didn’t We” was performed with a clarity and precise directness that was a nice change of pace. Schuur’s voice added great texture to what can easily be a bit of a clichéd song.

The song “I Remember You” with Lyrics by Johnny Mercer and Music by Victor Schertzinger was a veritable musical smorgasbord—opening with a wonderful Sax Solo by Frahm and then veering into a superb guitar solo by Ben-Hur which grew into increasing cumulative musical power as Schuur continued to scat and play the piano throughout. This number had a joyously jazzy feel.

Back to a bit of a mellower mood with the medley “I Get Along Without You” and “Don’t Worry Bout Me” followed by a solid yet sensitively probing version of Van Heusen’s “The Second Time Around”.

This exhilarating concert concluded with an absolutely electric and rousing rendition of the standard “For Once In My Life”. An exceptional prolonged Drum solo by Willie Jones 111 culminated in a great wildly free crescendo and a joyous shout-out by Schuur to the captivated crowd.

Diane Schurr and David Friscic last night at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Club.
Diane Schurr and David Friscic last night at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club.

As Ms. Schuur remarked to me: “There is a rebuilding going on in the artistic direction of her career” and this concert (which is reflected on her new CD) is a testament to the fresh, innovative artistic growth she is sharing with a whole new generation of fans.

The Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club should be commended for bringing an artist of Ms. Schuur’s stature to their exciting new venture.

Running Time:  One Hour and 40 minutes, with one 20-minute intermission.

Diane Schurr performed for one night only on Friday, June 6, 2014 at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Club-7719 Wisconsin Avenue, in Bethesda, MD. For future offerings, go to their Music Calendar.

LINK:
Diane Schuur’s website.



https://youtu.be/_KuUfgkGMrM

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David Friscic
David has always had a passionate interest in the arts from acting in professional dinner theatre and community theatre to reviewing film and local theatre in college to making numerous treks to New York City to indulge his interest in live theatre. An enthusiastic interest in writing has shown itself in a BA in English/Education and an MA in English Literature. Taken together, these two interests have culminated in the logical conclusion of writing for an arts blog. David moved up and down the East Coast due to his father's job at General Electric and this has helped him to perceive the world in a very open way. After his schooling, David taught in Catholic school systems for awhile and, then, spent three years in the seminary with two years at Catholic University studying Theology and one year in a practicuum working at a church in New York State. David currently works at the National Science Foundation as a Technical Information Specialist for the Office of Polar Programs and has had the great opportunity to go to Antarctica twice and Greenland once in support of the research community. He enjoys living in Bethesda and has taken courses at the Writer's Center. David enjoys swimming, traveling, reading, and working on committees at his condo. His major interest, however, is the arts and all it encompasses---from symphony, to film, to museum treks to live theatre. He counts having lunch with Lillian Gish and meeting Lily Tomlin, Geraldine Page, Maureen Stapleton, Liza Minnelli and Sandy Dennis as some of the more exciting encounters of his life.

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