Swingin' for Schuur
The title of this recording alludes to two things.Swingin' for Schuurfeatures the stratospheric trumpet and flugelhorn master Maynard Ferguson and his 11-piece, high-octane Big Bop Nouveau Band fronting the powerful, two-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist Diane Schuur. The title also refers to the no-nonsense, straight-ahead swing emanating from these two jazz giants. Ferguson's high-register trumpet tones add fuel to the fire of Schuur's powerful, Ella Fitzgerald-derived vocals. Together, they both generate enough heat to give old standards such as "Just One of Those Things," "Besame Mucho," and "Deep Purple" a 21st-century sheen. Schuur turns in a bouncy version of Lionel Hampton's seldom-heard ballad "Midnight Sun," and Schuur and Ferguson recast Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" with a bravura horn arrangement.--Eugene Holley Jr.