Legend King Cole lives on in the new first lady of swing

[scielle]

Legend King Cole lives on in the new first lady of swing
Robin Lynam
27 March 2005
South China Morning Post

Diana Krall's repertoire for her one-night-only appearance at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday will presumably concentrate on songs off her recent release, The Girl in the Other Room.

However, I've been listening to an older album, All for You, released way back in 1996 before all the hype started.

It was Krall's third CD, after her 1993 debut, Stepping Out, and the 1994 jazz all-star follow-up, Only Trust Your Heart, made with the late Ray Brown and Christian McBride on basses, Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax, and Lewis Nash on drums.

All for You was mostly made with her regular trio at the time of Russell Malone on guitar and Paul Keller on bass. The drummer-less lineup was modelled on the Nat King Cole Trio, and the album was Krall's tribute to a man to whom her style both as a pianist and singer owe so much. She was about to emulate his career path, as well.

Cole was widely recognised as a pianist before anybody knew he could sing, whereas Krall concentrated equally on both talents from an early stage in her career. But she, too, was about to make the choice between credibility as a jazz musician and vast sales as a crossover artist.

Jazz buffs tend to be a little cruel to admired musicians who decide they'd like to make money as well as art. Whereas newer fans will often go back and check out the odd jazz recording by artists they have encountered in the pop charts - George Benson, Herbie Hancock and Krall are all good examples - the diehard jazz audience casts them into outer darkness, keeps on playing the old stuff, and mutters disconsolately about devil's bargains.

It's all a bit graceless really, particularly when the artists, for the most part, keep almost separate jazz careers on the go at the same time as making music that gets airplay.

It's still too early in Krall's career to know how big a part jazz will play in it, or how big a part she'll play in jazz. We can and should be grateful that there are a few performers like the 40-year-old Canadian bringing the intelligence and musical values of a jazz sensibility into the pop arena.

That, after all, is what Cole did - albeit at a time when the pop audience was more sympathetic to those qualities than is the case today. The price he paid was that the skill that got him noticed in the first place was almost forgotten by most of his audience.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Cole's premature death from cancer - he was a chain-smoker for much of his life - and, as is usual with anniversaries of this kind, there's marketing activity going on that's intended to revitalise sales of his music.

Capitol, a label that was partly built on the proceeds of Cole's phenomenal success and is now owned by EMI, has put out a 28-track compilation of some of his most enduringly popular hits, titled The World of Nat King Cole.

His daughters, Carole and Natalie - who contributes rather breathless sleeve notes as much about herself as about her father - have been instrumental in compiling the set. But although lip service is paid to his excellence as a pianist, the opportunity to throw a spotlight on that near forgotten aspect of his career has been thrown away.

There are several performances with the Nat King Cole Trio, but, predictably I suppose, all are vocals, although there are glimpses of his genius on the keyboard in Straighten Up and Fly Right, It's Only a Paper Moon and Orange Colored Sky (the last featuring the trio bolstered by the Stan Kenton Orchestra).

Although there isn't much jazz here, that's not to say there isn't some wonderful stuff. Everybody should have copies of Nature Boy, Route 66 and I Love You for Sentimental Reasons.

Critically, of course, the case hardly needs to be made. Cole, who took Earl Hines as his starting point, is acknowledged by most intelligent commentators to have been one of the most important and influential pianists of his generation. Ray Charles initially modelled himself almost entirely on Cole, and with the spotlight on his work that the success of Ray, the movie, has thrown, surely some attention should be deflected to his main inspirer.

"He was such a great pianist," said Stevie Wonder. "I mean he was ridiculous on the piano." But to a wider public Nat King Cole remains simply a balladeer who tinkled the keys a bit.

Is this the fate awaiting Krall? I put this to erstwhile SCMP jazz writer Charles Bolden, who considers her "a workmanlike jazz pianist". "She's not Nat, but at least she's not Natalie," he said.

Certainly the emphasis on The Girl in the Other Room on original compositions - co-written with husband Elvis Costello - and cover tunes, positioned further clear of the cabaret end of jazz than was the case on The Look of Love, suggests Krall is aware of the risk of finding herself stuck in a commercially rewarding but otherwise uncongenial pigeonhole.

Personally, I think she's a better pianist than singer. Whether it's inevitable that her piano playing be relegated to a supporting role in the future development of her career remains to be seen.

As to what more Nat Cole might have achieved as a serious jazz pianist had he lived a few more years, we can only speculate. Wider exposure should, however, be given to the recorded legacy of his jazz that we have. We don't, quite so much, need to be reminded of Unforgettable.

[johnfoyle]

http://archive.scmp.com/showarticles.php


The South China Morning Post

Wednesday March 30 2005

Krall shows gritty side in short set
Robin Lynam


Diana Krall

Convention and Exhibition Centre , Hong Kong

One Night Only

Struggling with blocked ears and sinuses, Diana Krall still delivered a spirited performance, showing a gutsy side to her music that tends to be airbrushed out of her albums by slick production.

The downside of Krall live was the fact - not apparent on overdubbed CDs - that although she sings well and plays piano even better, she isn't at her best doing both at the same time.

Given the complexity of some of the music, this wasn't hard to forgive, although several vocals sounded rushed and husband Elvis Costello's convoluted lyrics and embellished melody lines really needed her undivided attention.

She didn't perform her signature The Look of Love, but she did deliver a smattering of jazz standards for older fans as well as showcase much of her latest album, The Girl in the Other Room.

Mose Allison's Stop the World and Costello's Almost Blue were both improvements on the recorded performances.

And although a few rough edges were apparent on other songs, I've Changed My Address and Departure Bay were highlights of the evening.

Bass player Robert Hurst and guitarist Anthony Wilson made good use of generous solo space, and Krall's own solos left me wishing she would perform a few instrumentals. In a short show (about 90 minutes), perhaps there wasn't time. Too bad; the audience would have probably stayed for more.