Born in Tacoma, Washington in 1953, Diane Schuur was singing professionally by the time she was 10. Until the mid-1970s, the singer/pianist, who was blind at birth, worked in the field of popular music. Then, in 1975, Schuur, who sings in Highlands Ranch on Saturday, performed with drummer Ed Shaughnessy at the Monterey Jazz Festival. That got her on the jazz path. And two years later, she returned to Monterey, at the behest of Dizzy Gillespie.  After hearing Schuur, another jazz giant, tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, became a mentor, a supporter and a lead character in their soap-opera relationship. And in late 1982, Schuur joined the noted saxophonist and others at the White House for the Public Television series Young Artist in Performance at the White House. Larry Rosen of GRP Records heard her and the singer became a regular on GRP through the late 1990s. During that time, Schuur also collaborated with the Count Basie Orchestra. The relationship with Basie Orchestra was one that helped to define her career. More recently, she’s been recording for Concord. There’s still a lot of the pop singer in Schuur and her recent efforts have tended to avoid her most overwrought musical moments.  Her performance on Saturday is on the open lawn at the Highlands Ranch Mansion, 9900 Ranch Rd., starting at 5 p.m. ($37, 303-471-8859).

In addition to Schuur’s appearance, the weekend also finds the band Convergence at Dazzle, 930 Lincoln, on Friday at 7 and 9 p.m. ($15, 303-839-5100) and the Chie Imaizumi Orchestra at the club on Lincoln on Sunday at 7 p.m. ($12). All of the members of the Convergence sextet (Greg Gisbert, John Gunther, Mark Patterson, Eric Gunnison, Paul Romaine and Mark Simon) have a connection to Colorado and careers that anything but local. Also, in terms of connections, the extremely well-known trumpeter Gisbert was an early supporter of composer/arranger Imaizumi, produced her inaugural disc on Capri Records and helped convince her to move to Denver. As for Gunnison, the fine pianist, who spent years with Carmen McRae, has worked with singer Roberta Gambarini. Gambarini is among the brightest lights on the jazz scene today and she will be at Dazzle on June 18-19. 

Additionally, this week finds guitarist Jimmy Herring on stage at Cervantes, 2637 Welton, on Saturday and Sunday. Best known for his work in rock (with Allman Brothers, Phil Lesh and Friends and Widespread Panic), Herring has his jazz-related side as well. He has recorded an album celebrating the fusion sound of Miles Davis and his band features jazz players on the order of the multi-faceted saxophonist Greg Osby and bassist Matt Garrison (Jimmy Garrison’s son). Drummer Jeff Sipe and keyboardist Scott Kinsey, both of whom have covered a lot of musical forms including jazz, round out the band. The door at Cervantes for the shows open at 8 p.m. The music comes later ($20-$22, 303-297-1772).

On June 18, Jazz Aspen Snowmass keeps the summer, jazz-festival season going in Colorado. The core of the festival in Aspen occurs during June 18-20 with singers Jamie Cullum and Smokey Robinson and trumpeter Chris Botti as headliners. It then continues on June 24 with bassist/singer Esperanza Spaulding at Belly Up and singer Al Jarreau (in conjunction with the Aspen Music Festival) at the Benedict Music Tent on June 27.

After Jazz Aspen, there’s the Fort Collins Jazz Experience on July 9-11 (with Ramsey Lewis and Jarreau); the Longmont Jazz Festival on July 18-19; the Evergreen Jazz Festival on July 24-26; the Winter Park Jazz Festival on July 25-26; Genuine Jazz in Breckenridge on Aug. 14-15; and the Vail Labor Day Party on September 4-7. Also, the Summer of Jazz series in Glenwood Springs continues its run until July 29 with performers such as guitarist Lionel Loueke and pianist Marc Cary. No shortage of events here.

The author can be contacted at Normanprovizer@aol.com.

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