Posted on: February 17, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 1

Diane Schuur – Some Other Time / 2008 Concord / 13 Tracks / http://www.dianeschuur.com / http://www.concordmusicgroup.com /

Diane Schuur hit it big when Stan Getz had eir sing “Amazing Grace” at the 1979 version of the Monterey Jazz Festival. Schuuz was invited back in 1988 and 1991, but  by that time, eir career had started to take off. To say that Schuur has a voluminous discography would be an understatement; it seems that every 18 or 24 months, there is a new Schuur disc on the market. This is not a case of an individual putting forth drek just to stay in the public eye, either; Schuur was nominated for five different Grammies (1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 1993) and won two of those. The first track on the album is a classic in the musical realm – “Nice Work If You Can Get It” – a track that goes back over seventy years to 1937’s “A Damsel in Distress”.

While Schuur’s vocals are powerful and nuanced all at the same time, what really sets the vocals off in a whole other plane is the impressive band of musicians that Schuur has corralled. Randy Porter (pianist) and Don Palmer (guitar) provide the perfect backdrop, one that highlights Schuur’s vocals at all the right times while not overtaking the most nuanced sections of “Some Other Time”. Another Gershwin cover presents itself on “Some Other Time”, in that “I’ve Got Beginner’s Luck” is revamped by Schuur into something that may just exceed the original. “I’ve Got Beginner’s Luck” also comes from 1937, but Schuur, Porter, and Palmer are able to make it into a vibrant track that fans in 2008 can appreciate. “It’s Magic”, originally sang by Dinah Washington, is a track that shows that Schuur can really put eir heart out on the line and achieve the same effect that Washington had on audiences so long ago.

Perhaps the most interesting track of all of the 13 cuts on “Some Other Time” has to “September In The Rain”. During “September in the Rain”, a 10 year old Schuur shows listeners the nucleus of what would ultimately take the world by storm in the eighties and ineties. While the quality of “September in the Rain” is lower due to the source recording, it provides listeners with a sense of how Schuur has expanded and filled out eir sound in the years since that was committed to tape. It may have been a few years since Schuur’s last Grammy nomination, but chances are good that those in power will look to nominate this disc.

Top Tracks: It’s Magic, My Favorite Things

Rating: 7.0/10

1 people reacted on this

  1. thanks for your positive review of Diane Schuur’s album “Some Other Time.” Please note there is a typo in the name of the guitarist mentioned: his name is Dan BALMER

    Thank you,

    Marc Silag
    Manager and Producer, Diane Schuur

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