Schuur was born on December 10, 1953, in Tacoma, Washington, two months premature and weighing less than three … See more

Schuur started singing when she was about four years old. Her mother, who died when Schuur was 13, loved jazz and had a Duke Ellington record collection. Her father, a police captain, was an amateur musician who often p… See more

In 1975, at age 22, Schuur auditioned for drummer/bandleader Ed Shaughnessy. Escorted by her twin brother, she went backstage to seek out Shaughnessy after he had finished a concert in Seattle with bandleader … See more

In the early 1980s, Stan Getz remained a behind-the-scenes mover who arranged a second appearance for Schuur at the Monterey Jazz Festival. In 1982, he invited her to perform with him in a music showcase … See more

When she signed with the GRP label, digital technology was becoming available and she had veteran producer Dave Grusin supervising her first three albums; the recordings also benefited from the cachet brought by … See more

Schuur received a financial settlement from her birth hospital for her loss of vision. Prematurity itself is associated with blindness, but it was not universally known at the time of her birth that high levels of oxygen in … See more