Interview w/ Laurence Fishburne (Apr. 2002)

[scielle]

This is old - but an interesting read if you haven't seen it before.
From Interview magazine, DK interviewed by Laurence Fishburne.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m ... i_84237664

Diana Krall: the woman with a whale of a voice talks to her favorite fish - Jazzing it Up
Interview, April, 2002 by Laurence Fishburne

LAURENCE FISHBURNE: Hello. Diana.

DIANA KRALL: Hello, Laurence.

LF: How are you?

DK: I'm very well. How are you?

LF: I'm very good. It's nice to be back in New York. I haven't been here in a long time. Are you on a break now?

DK: Just for four more days before I start on tour.

LF: How long will you be on the road?

DK: Till December. I'm doing the first leg of The Look of Love U.S. tour, then Asia--Shanghai, Beijing, all over the place--Australia and Europe, then coming back for the second leg.

LF: Wow. So out of the 365 days of this year, how many days off do you think you'll get?

DK: I try not to think about it. I have a week off every six weeks or so.

LF: I'm asking because most people don't realize that the work that musicians and actors do really means being on the road and being away from family and friends and routine--

DK: --There's no routine.

LF: There's a different city every day, a different hotel and that it is incredibly taxing on both the body and the spirit. And then, on top of that, you have to go out and perform, and perform brilliantly.

DK: And that's the whole reason for those two hours. It's the most healing, best part of my day.

LF: Right. So, let's start at the beginning. When did your love affair with music begin?

DK: Well, I don't remember not playing the piano or having music around because I was born into it. My mother sang in the church choir, my father plays piano and my grandmother sang, so ever since I was a baby, I would be held in my mom's arms while she sang. My mom would be like the loudest woman in church. [Fishburne laughs] And my father collects 78 [rpm] records and jazz records so I probably heard Fats Waller from the time I was born.

LF: I've heard you talk about your dad's record collection before. Can you tell me what were the standouts, the ones that really had a powerful impact on you?

DK: I remember playing Burt Bacharach, Teddy Wilson in Tokyo and especially Fats Waller. He was a huge discovery for me because, at that time, the musical Ain't Misbehavin' was on Broadway and Hank Jones played all the piano parts, which were transcribed in a book, so I could practice along with the Fats Waller record.

LF: How old were you then?

DK: 12 or 13.

LF: That's amazing.

DK: At the same time I was practicing Elton John, too. That's what was funny about it, because I was listening to Peter Frampton, Elton John, Queen and Supertramp, but I especially was drawn to Elton because, once again, his music is very playable on the piano.

LF: Based on what you're telling me, Elton John and Fats Waller were major influences for you. Let me ask you about one of your other mentors, Rosemary Clooney. What is it about her professional life that inspires you?

DK: The greatest thing I learned from Rosemary is that she always says, "Just sing the damn song!" And as she sings the song, you believe she's been through it. Onstage, she's very close to what you see offstage. She helped me realize that you should just go up there and be yourself.

LF: I know that you guys are friends because you always talk about her when we get together and how she means so much to you. It's good to have mentors like that.

DK: I think mentors are very important, and I don't see it as often nowadays. When I was a kid, it wasn't about popularity or fame and selling records. When I drove my little, crappy Toyota Tercel down to Los Angeles when I was 19 years old to study with old jazz guys, it wasn't celebrity-driven, you know.

LF: It was about your love for the music.

DK: Right.

LF: It reminds me of when we were in L.A. and we met at the studio where Elton was recording Songs From the West Coast and he played a song which he wrote for you. He was really sharing this tune with you and it was a remarkable moment for me. I was in the presence of two masters of their craft and you guys were having this exchange, and it's rare to witness that kind of thing. I mean, you've talked about playing his music as a young person and then, however many years later, to be considered by him as somebody who has mastered her craft and should be taken seriously, someone whose work is full of integrity and passion. To have him share a piece of music with you like that--how did you feel in that moment?

DK: Well, I don't feel like I've mastered my craft, I feel like I'm on a constant journey. And the presence, for me, of somebody like Elton; I don't want to backtrack but I always think about mentors and how important those people are to us in our lives. We're always learning from those people.

LF: Remember. I told you, "Elton will dig you." And you were like, "No, he won't." [Krall laughs) And the next thing you know, he's become like your great uncle, he's become Auntie Mame--

DK: --He's my fairy godfatherl [both laugh] He is so great, and he's been very supportive. When my record [The Look of Love, Verve] hit the top 10 on the pop charts, he called me and said, "It's about the music, Diana." And the freakiest thing was when I was staying at his house, I walked into the living room and he was practicing the piano. I said, "What are you doing?" He said, "I'm practicing. I gotta play; I gotta practice."

LF: Elton John still practices.

DK: Yeah! It's so inspiring.

LF: It's like you just said, we're never happy with our work, we're always striving to get better. And people like Elton, people like Rosemary, they remind you that you can get better, that just because your record sells millions of copies doesn't mean you can't get better, or if you make a record that doesn't sell, it doesn't mean you can't get better, too.

DK: That's a very valid point. I talked to Bruce Weber, it's like I'm name-dropping sitting here, but Bruce's also been a very important mentor to me. I'm a shy person, and Bruce was able to make me feel comfortable about my being a woman. We were talking the other day--Ooh, there's two whales right out in front of my room!

LF: Really? That's a good sign.

DK: I know. They're magic.

LF: Tell the whales that Fish says hello. [laughs]

DK: Oh, I will. [laughs] So Bruce said, "You know, Diana, even if something is not good or you want to change something, it's about the performance. Sometimes I go to plays that might not be the best-written in the world, but it's about the performance; that's where the magic happens."

LF: Mmm-hmm.

DK: So I'm constantly in a quest for knowledge and inspiration and trying to figure things out and how it's all about being an artist. You know, I think we should all be called artists. It shouldn't be about being jazz musicians; it should be about freedom--freedom in art, freedom in movement. You play the drums and you are a great actor and performer, but there are other things that you do that, I'm sure, influence who you are as an actor as well.

LF: Right. Music is the biggest sort of influence on me.

DK: Yeah. You're the only person I know who listens to a song twice and knows every single lyric of, like, a Fiona Apple record.

LF: [laughs] So, anyway, can you tell me why you do what you do?

DK: [softly] I have to.

LF: You do, don't you?

DK: I love it. It's the only thing that keeps me sane and out of the institution. [laughs]

LF: You could not not do it, right?

DK: No. I can take breaks, but it's always in my head. And playing piano is a different thing than singing. When you're singing it's so physical, putting all your emotional being right into it and then interpreting a lyric, telling a story. It's something that you're breathing, so it has to be a healing thing, you know? It's not only for the performance, for the other people, it's also for myself.

LF: Right. What's the most surprising thing about where your career has taken you?

DK: I don't want to use the word success, but I've been able to do what I want to do and I've had the artistic freedom all along in doing it. But I think the most surprising thing is that when I go to the grocery store, it's a whole different deal now.

LF: Right, that people go, "Oh wow, it's Diana Krall."

DK: Yeah, and they're reading People magazine and they go, "Oh, I don't think you're so damn intriguing." [both laugh]

[Samuel]

Thank you for article scielle!

I like, especially because I still don't know much about the begin from Diana Krall.

[cutes22]

I hadn't seen it. Thanks, enjoyed reading it.