I first saw Dianne Schuur back in the early 80s when Stan Getz introduced her as a “new” artist at his gig at the Mint. Decades have passed, and Schuur has stayed the course, using her impressive chops in a gospel and soul mood on this album with luminaries such as Ernie Watts/ts-ss, Thom Rotella/g, Bruce Lott/b, Kendall Kay/b and Kye Palmer/tp. She gets down and boogaloos with Rotella on the funky Memphis stew of “Chicken” and is nightclub cozy with him on Percy Mayfield’s “The Danger Zone”. Blues are in rich hues here as she takes Mayfield’s “Walking On A Tightrope” and gives it a rich color with Palmer’s horn.
Upbeat themes include her with Watts’ rich tenor on an optimistic “The Sun Will Shine On You,” a gospel drenched title pieces with Watts at the pulpit, a reflective read of The Beatles’ “Let It Be” with a recitative soprano, as well as a swaying Sunday morning “Way Over Yonder”. On piano, Schuur shows that the blind are able to see, with a glorious solo read of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”. Grace is reflected here in more ways than one.