"That one came all the way from the big toe!" Diane Schuur exclaimed after belting her way through the standard "Makin' Whoopee." From her seat at the front of the stage and from her piano, the two-time Grammy-winner, known as "Deedles" since childhood, took the audience on a jazz journey, exploring a range of emotions from joy to tears.
Schuur's recordings have walked the line between pop and smooth jazz. With just drums, bass, piano, and vocals, the live set list, particularly "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" and Schuur's 1988 hit "Louisiana Sunday Afternoon," sounded more like traditional jazz.
Deedles's close friend and Southern California media personality "Shotgun Tom" Kelly was in the audience. She referred to him several times throughout the show and even had him stand up for applause. Schuur played Irving Berlin's "How About Me?" for Kelly. The room was absolutely silent during the song's dramatic finale...until someone's fork clattered to the floor. "I heard that!" the blind diva laughed, sparking giggles throughout the audience, with Kelly's distinctive guffaw heard above the rest.
"That one came all the way from the big toe!" Diane Schuur exclaimed after belting her way through the standard "Makin' Whoopee." From her seat at the front of the stage and from her piano, the two-time Grammy-winner, known as "Deedles" since childhood, took the audience on a jazz journey, exploring a range of emotions from joy to tears.
Schuur's recordings have walked the line between pop and smooth jazz. With just drums, bass, piano, and vocals, the live set list, particularly "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" and Schuur's 1988 hit "Louisiana Sunday Afternoon," sounded more like traditional jazz.
Deedles's close friend and Southern California media personality "Shotgun Tom" Kelly was in the audience. She referred to him several times throughout the show and even had him stand up for applause. Schuur played Irving Berlin's "How About Me?" for Kelly. The room was absolutely silent during the song's dramatic finale...until someone's fork clattered to the floor. "I heard that!" the blind diva laughed, sparking giggles throughout the audience, with Kelly's distinctive guffaw heard above the rest.