Diane Schuur and Sherrie Maricle & The DIVA Jazz Orchestra

Post author:Ron Forman
Post published:February 16, 2015
Reading time:2 mins read

Diane Schuur
and Sherrie Maricle & The DIVA Jazz Orchestra

Iridium NYC, NYC, February 14, 2015

Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes

Two-time Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Diane Schurr combined with the dynamic and exciting 14-piece Sherrie Maricle and The DIVA Jazz Orchestra for a fun-filled Valentine evening of swinging love songs. The group has played with Schuur for 20 years and it shows. Their up-tempo arrangements work perfectly with her amazing jazz vocals. In between numbers, Schuur’s slightly off-color, but very funny, comments add to the party-like atmosphere that she creates..

The DIVAs (13 females and one lonely male) opened with three numbers:“I Enjoy Being Here with You,” a very jazzy “Makin’ Whoopee!” and “Them There Eyes.” Schurr then accompanied herself on piano for her opening number “I Just Found Out ABout Love (and I Like It).” She then moved to center stage for “Easy to Love” (“You’d Be So Easy to Love”) followed by “We’ll Be Together Again.” She showed why she is one of today’s very best jazz vocalists with a frantic and frenetic “Love for Sale” that had the audience gasping for air. Schuur used an excellent Billy May arrangement of “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me.” The closing number, a dramatic arrangement of “Besame Mucho,” with Schuur back on piano, allowed her to show off her contralto voice and left me breathless.

Tags: "Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me", American Songbook, Besame Mucho, Diane Schuur, DIVA Jazz Opera, Easy to Love, Female Jazz Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Grammy Winner, Great American Songbook, I Enjoy Being Here with You, I Found Out About Love, Iridium NYC, Jazz Clubs, Jazz Singer, Jazz Vocalist, Love for Sale, Makin' Whoopee, Nightclubs, Popular Song, Ron Forman, Sherrie Maricle, Songbook, Supper Clubs, Them There Eyes, We’ll Be Together Again

Ron Forman

Ron Forman has been a Mathematics Professor at Kingsborough Community College for 45 years. In that time, he has managed to branch out in many different areas. From 1977 to 1994 he was co-owner of Comics Unlimited, the third largest comic book distribution company in the USA. In 1999,after a lifetime of secretly wanting to do a radio program, he began his weekly Sweet Sounds program on WKRB 90.3 FM, dedicated to keeping the music of the Great American Songbook alive and accessible. This introduced him to the world of cabaret, which led to his position as a reviewer for Cabaret Scenes.