Cool crooner Diana Krall gets warm welcome

[Rémi]

When Diana Krall's quartet swept onto the Chateau Ste. Michelle stage Saturday for the first of two sold-out concerts, it was clear from the start something was different.
In the past, the blindingly blond chanteuse always dressed uptown for the gig. This time, her tough-girl jeans, high heels, print blouse with flared cuffs and sunglasses seemed to say, "Hey, relax. It's only music."

After the band found a solid groove on Mose Allison's "Stop This World" — punctuated by Krall's amusingly splashy answer to the whistle of a passing train — she turned from the keyboard to the crowd.

"How ya doin'?" she said, "This is one of my favorite places to play." The better than hour-and-half set that followed proved she wasn't lying. With the scorching air cooled, the skies clear and a crescent moon rising in the west over the winery lawn, it was hard to imagine a more perfect evening.

Krall's new vigor no doubt arises from her marriage last year to rock star/songwriter Elvis Costello, about which the audience showed relentless curiosity. "He's happier, I'm angrier," responded the cheeky singer at one point.

At another, when the wine-spiked crowd repeatedly shouted requests for their new songs, she said good-naturedly, "Hey, this is my show! When he plays here will you yell my name? Not bloody likely!"

The Krall/Costello match is important symbolically, in that it suggests the possibility of a long-due rapprochement between jazz and contemporary popular songs.

It was great to hear Krall sing Costello's aching ballad, "Almost Blue," Joni Mitchell's animated "Black Crow" and Tom Waits' slinky "Temptation," right alongside earlier classics like "East of the Sun" and "Let's Face the Music and Dance." That said, the songs Krall and Costello wrote for her new album, "The Girl in the Other Room" — she performed two, the title tune and "Abandoned Masquerade" — came across as no less overwritten live than on record.

Krall's voice, by contrast, flawlessly bridged the swing and rock eras, flowing easily from husky whisper to guttural coo, impassioned croon to artlessly artful song/speech — every once in a while cracking as she started a note.

Always a jazzer at heart, when a train whistle interrupted her again, she blasted into an impromptu "Take the 'A' Train," and later showed off her bristling piano chops on Fats Waller's "Keeping Out of Mischief Now."

The coup de grâce was the encore, "I'll String Along With You," delivered in her fetching alto whisper, the perfect nightcap to a perfect evening.

Krall was accompanied by guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Peter Erskine. A well-intentioned but inappropriate country rock band, Ollabelle, opened the show.



Paul de Barros: 206-464-3247 or pdebarros@seattletimes.com
Source : Seattle Times


Personal note from Rémi:
Maybe it's my feminine side, but I love Diana's shirt!

[char44256]

I'm with Remi; I love Diana's choice in blouses. Wow.
I wonder why Diana is angier. Is she referring to the media?

Char

[Rémi]

Charlotte, Diana is not angrier, it's a figurative expression between her, hubby Elvis and their musical exchanges.
By that, she means she is becoming angrier in her musical interpretation and lets her cool, quiet and mellow side apart.

[so_cute]

My feminine side is also loving that blouse. My masculine side, however, remains indifferent.

[Rémi]

Another article... A bit less enthusiastic though.

Krall concert lacks sparks despite heat

By GENE STOUT

It's a sad state of affairs when the weather is more sultry than the singer.

Especially when the singer is Diana Krall, who usually wows audiences with smoldering renditions of such classic songs as "Cry Me a River" and "The Look of Love."

In near-record heat Saturday night at Chateau Ste. Michelle -- the first of two sold-out shows over the weekend -- the Grammy-winning Canadian singer and pianist turned a much-anticipated performance into a meandering, occasionally tedious show that struggled to catch fire.

Krall's greatest asset -- her husky, sensuous voice -- was underused in a concert that emphasized her own swinging piano style, as well as the instrumental prowess of her formidably talented trio -- guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Peter Erskine (Wilson and Erskine are featured on her new album).

Seated at a grand piano and dressed in a loose-fitting blouse with flared sleeves, tight jeans, dark glasses and stylish sandals, Krall and her group opened with a long instrumental jazz piece that Krall later identified as "Blues for a Cedar Plank," a tongue-in-cheek working title.

She followed with Mose Allison's delightful "Stop This World," featuring the lyrics, "Too many pigs in the same trough ... too many buzzards on the same fence." The song is the opening track on her chart-topping new album, "The Girl in the Other Room," featuring a half dozen songs co-written with her new husband, iconic singer-songwriter Elvis Costello. The CD has taken her off on a new tangent in her career.

Costello reportedly was on the premises but didn't make an appearance on stage. Even so, his presence loomed large. When the audience sensed he was backstage, a few began shouting requests. Krall snapped back, "This is my show!" When they continued to call out his name, Krall said, "When he plays here, will you scream out my name? Not bloody likely!" The comment drew a round of applause.

The title song of her new album, co-written with Costello, was described as "a song inspired by my love of film noir, whatever that means," she said, breaking into a long, jam-oriented rendition of the atmospheric tune.

Distracted by the horn of an approaching dinner train, Krall departed from her set list for a lively, impromptu version of Duke Ellington's "Take the 'A' Train." The unscheduled stop featured Krall's wonderful scat singing and Wilson's stirring guitar.

From there, Krall returned to her new album, performing a smoky rendition of Costello's wonderful "Almost Blue." During a mediocre take on Tom Waits' "Temptation," Krall again was interrupted by a train horn. "What are they doing to me?" she said, sounding both amused and annoyed.

Adding some much-needed excitement to the set were the classic "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" and "Love Me Like a Man," a Chris Smither song adapted by Bonnie Raitt. A spirited version of Irving Berlin's "Let's Face the Music and Dance," featured on her Grammy-winning 1999 album, "When I Look in Your Eyes," also was well-received. But "Abandoned Masquerade," another song co-written with her husband, begged for Costello's vocals in place of hers. Krall's cover of Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow" was a worthy tribute to a great fellow Canadian artist.

Krall closed her set with a rollicking version of the Fats Domino classic "I'm Walking," then finished the evening with single-song encore of the colorful "I'll String Along With You." The latter was one of the best songs of the evening, but it wasn't enough to make up for an uninspiring performance. It's disappointing that Krall didn't share more of the music that won her so many fans in the late 1990s.

Opening the concert was Ollabelle, a rootsy, old-time music sextet featuring singer Amy Helm, daughter of the Band's Levon Helm. The group -- named for mountain music legend Ola Belle Reed -- has been on tour with Krall and is scheduled to perform Aug. 8 at the Newport Folk Festival. The group was an odd match for the smooth-jazz crowd at the winery.

P-I pop music critic Gene Stout can be reached at 206-448-8383 or genestout@seattlepi.com

Source : Seattle Post Intelligencer

[Rémi]

BTW, you have tons of new pics of Diana on Getty Images.

If someone knows where we can find them in HQ...

[harpfingers]

I also like her blouse - lots of character. I agree with what the articles said- that Olabelle was an odd match for the DK concert.