St Louis PD:Krall is performing the 'best of' her life

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Krall is performing the 'best of' her life
By Terry Perkins
SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
08/23/2007

Jazz singer-pianist Diana Krall achieved mainstream acclaim in 1997 with the release of her album "Love Scenes." Krall further established herself with the 1999 release "When I Look In Your Eyes," the first jazz recording in 25 years to be nominated for a Grammy for album of the year.

St. Louis jazz fans, however, caught Krall way back in November 1993, when she made her local debut at Just Jazz at the Hotel Majestic, thanks to the club's manager, the late Barbara Rose.

Rose had heard the Canadian-born Krall perform at a jazz festival in the Northwest earlier that year and booked Krall at Just Jazz. It was the beginning of a string of appearances at that club — and later at Jazz at the Bistro — that eventually led to bookings in local venues including the Sheldon Concert Hall and Fox Theatre, where she will perform Wednesday.

"Barbara gave me so many opportunities and opened so many doors for me," Krall said during a recent phone conversation before a performance in Portland, Ore. "She was a very special person in my life, and I still think about her and miss her."

These days, Krall enjoys tremendous musical success. Her 2006 recording "From This Moment On" earned effusive reviews. She recently appeared on Tony Bennett's smash hit "Duets" recording, and "The Very Best of Diana Krall" is set for release Sept. 18.

"It seems a little strange to me, still, to have a 'Best of' recording," Krall says. "But that's also made it fun for me on this tour. Because my next release is a collection, I feel that in concert I can play what I think of as my best music. And it's become very free-form from show to show.

"I'm doing music from throughout my career — including songs from 'The Girl In the Other Room' (a 2004 album of songs she wrote) because I still regard that as a big achievement for me. I'm also doing songs that I haven't recorded, like Joni Mitchell's 'Case of You.'"

At the Fox, Krall will be working with three longtime accompanists. Drummer Jeff Hamilton and bassist John Clayton have been performing with her since she moved to the Los Angeles area from Canada in the 1980s. And guitarist Anthony Wilson has been a fixture in Krall's band since the 2002 "Live In Paris" recording.

"Working with Jeff and John is like coming full circle for me," Krall says. "The first time I came to St. Louis and played at Just Jazz, Jeff and John were my backing musicians. It seems like they've always been part of my musical life. And Anthony Wilson is also very talented. He brings a lot of energy to everything he plays."

Krall's musical happiness is mirrored in her personal life. Her twin 8-month-old boys accompany her on her tour, and husband Elvis Costello joins her when he can. For Krall, it's a time to enjoy life fully.

"I feel as if I've come through a very difficult period in my life, with the death of my mom," Krall says. "That period was reflected in the music I wrote and performed on 'The Girl in the Other Room.' And now I'm married and have two beautiful children, and those feelings came through on 'From this Moment On.'

"Of course, for me there will always be pressure to make everything I do musically have magic to it. I'm still as tortured as ever as an artist. But right now, I feel happy, and I just want to move forward and enjoy every second."