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JazzWords > Diane Hubka
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Through some good fortune and longevity on the web, Jazzspot has developed electronic relationships with a number of musicians
we have never met, but whose music has impressed and moved us to action. That Diane Hubka's new release is entitled "You Inspire Me"
is no surprise, because Diane, as I have learned in our e-mail conversations, is both inspired by the musicians she chooses to record
and play with, and inspriring in her musicianship and taste.
Having said all that, Diane has sent Jazzspot free CDs of each of her recordings, which is not unusual for an artist to do, but
is unusual because Jazzspot is, well, kind of a garage-shop operation. Last time I checked, we had not influenced any great
buying frenzy of CDs from this site or encouraged a major jazz article from our coverage here. Yet, Diane trusted us enough
with demo copies and we thank her for consideration. If her music wasn't worthy, she still would not get a write up, just
in case you were wondering...
The New York-based jazz vocalist Diane Hubka has been winning (and deserving) international acclaim
ever since her debut CD Haven't We Met, featuring jazz legend
Lee Konitz on alto sax, was nominated for a 1999 Jazz Award for Best Recording Debut of the Year, alongside rising stars
Stefon Harris, Ravi Coltrane and Brian Blade.This album includes some songs
I consider to be standards ("Lazy Afternoon", "Detour Ahead" and "Alone Together") and my daughter's favorite song by
Diane, "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat." Anyone who can appeal to a 12-year-old today with jazz has to have some talent, I believe.
If Diane can be criticized for anything, it's that her vocal quality, timing and phrasing are almost too precise, and she certainly is not a
blues singer or someone who lives by scatting a great deal (although she can bend notes, swing and scat -- check out "You Inspire Me" on the
new CD). Diane is lot like Jackie Cain (of Jackie and Roy), who has a bell-like timbre and impeccable pronunciation, style and class as an
interpreter of American popular song. I would never hold anyone in contempt for sounding THAT good, and Diane is pretty darn close. Wonder if
she could find a Roy Kral (brother of Irene, not father to Diana Krall) to play piano and harmonize with. The track "You Inspire Me" was also
covered by Jackie and Roy, by the way.
A few more accolades from Diane's web site..
Jazz critic Scott Yanow heralded her second CD, Look No Further
', in the LA Jazz Scene as "one of the best in recent times." Her newest outing,
You Inspire Me , is a tribute to her love of jazz guitar. It features seven of the jazz world’s top virtuoso guitarists,
including Bucky Pizzarelli and Gene Bertoncini, and looks set to take her career to even greater heights.
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