Midnight
Recording now for a couple decades, Diane Schuur's singing has matured with age. She now fills out her middle and lower registers in ways that enhance her formidable beginnings. Over the years she's moved easily from small combos to large and swinging bands.For her third release on the Concord label she revels in late night moods and matters. The album's thirteen songs were written specifically for Schuur byBarry Manilow, who also co-produced the set. It's a good match, as both Manilow and Schuur have drawn from or even immersed themselves in pop material as well as jazz. A song like "Stay Away From Bill" owes as much to Tin Pan Alley and Broadway as to more traditional jazz realms. Elsewhere, the settings mix a range of nocturnal rhythms and colors, from the light bossa-nova of "I'll Be There" to the saucy swing of "Southwind" and the torch balladry of "Good-bye My Love." The album closes with one of a handful of duets, this one with none other than Manilow himself, who offers up nicely nuanced subtleties in his pairing. --David Greenberger