London Free Press: Piano idol's endorsement blows Krall away

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Piano idol's endorsement blows Krall away

ANGELA PACIENZA, CP 2004-12-27 02:12:28

TORONTO -- When Diana Krall was 16, her mother sewed a blue satin jacket for the aspiring pianist to wear to a concert by her idol, Oscar Peterson. Years later, it was Peterson paying the compliments as Krall put together her latest DVD, Diana Krall: Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival.

The piano legend surprised Krall by writing a dedication for the liner notes of the DVD package.

In it, the 79-year-old piano legend writes: "I love Diana's warmth, both as a singer and pianist, but I also love the undeniable truth of her jazz perception as she uses these talents to charm her listeners."

The video was filmed on opening night of the festival's 25th anniversary season last summer in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,000.

It's her second DVD, a followup to the bestselling Live in Paris.

With her intense focus, Krall is well suited to the format. This time, without the symphony that played on Live In Paris, viewers have more time to focus on her musical dexterity, from the first instrumental track, Sometimes I Just Freak Out, to the final tender moments of Departure Bay.

The songs are largely taken from her latest release, The Girl in the Other Room, her collaboration with husband Elvis Costello.

"I felt a good vibe," recalled Krall recently from a tour stop in Germany. "It's a jazz festival, that's what was important for me. Looking down at the floor and seeing Montreal Jazz Festival. It almost gave me permission to play and not worry about anything else. It was coming around from where I first started."

The Nanaimo, B.C., singer has a long history with the Paris event. It was there she started doing her Nat King Cole songs, which inspired her Grammy-nominated All for You album.

She debuted there in 1995, in a tiny comedy club theatre with just 150 people. This year she had 15,000 faithful crammed into a hockey arena.

"I was quite verklempt (choked up) over the whole thing," she said. "It was really fun.

Krall, 40, says she was astonished that someone of Peterson's stature would publicly endorse her.

"First of all, I was just shocked," gushed Krall. "I was so pleased when I read it."

She used it as an excuse to phone him up -- she dialled the Montral number "maybe nine times and hung up the phone. Finally I had the courage to phone him and we talked for a long time, talking about (composer) Duke Ellington and (bassist) Ray (Brown). It was just extraordinary."

She also let him know how he changed her life when, as a teenager, she had seen him perform with Ella Fitzgerald at Vancouver's Orpheum.

"It's cool that he's there for artists," she said. "There are people like that to learn from. I'm the eternal student, as is my band."

With its original material, The Girl in the Other Room may have finally freed Krall of the "pretty face with a good voice" tag that's dogged much of her mainstream career.

She recalled a recent concert review in which the writer seemed surprised by her, saying, "We always thought she was somewhat of a fake."

"I went, 'Wow, it's taken me this long? What did they think I was doing?' " said Krall. "The worst part is that I never really realized people were thinking that way. I wasn't really out to prove anything. I know what I'm doing and I just want to make people feel something."

She'll continue touring till May. After that, she has a couple of ideas up her sleeve.

"I feel like I can do anything I want and the world is really open to me. I don't feel like I'm in a box," she said.

In the meantime, she's spending her travel time studying her favourites. She says her iPod is currently crammed with the Nat King Cole Trio Capital recordings.

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