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http://www.calgaryherald.com/Review+Kra ... story.html

Krall takes audience through jazz history
Calgary show kicks off Canadian tour


A Diana Krall concert is sort of like being home at Christmas drinking with your dad.

At some point, a bottle of fine scotch is pulled out. And then, perhaps, after a drink or two, Dad shows you his records: old LPs (LPs!!) by Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole. Oscar Peterson.

Legends like that.

A Krall concert, like the one she played Tuesday night at the Jubilee Auditorium to kick off her Canadian tour, is the live equivalent of opening the doors under the stereo and stumbling across all those old, weathered records from 50 or 60 years ago, only Diana Krall is very much alive and playing well.

Leading a quartet of talented musicians-- Anthony Wilson on guitar (sounding like the lovechild of Mark Knopfler and Bill Frissell), Jeff Hamilton on drums, and Robert Hurst on bass, with Krall on piano -- the band, backed by a lush-sounding orchestra, revisited the golden era of jazz, and brought dad's records back to haunting, melancholy life.

For the sedentary, but appreciative audience at the Tuesday show(she plays again tonight), the evening was awash in musical virtuosity--( even if Krall's famously musical husband Elvis Costello, who was in attendance, didn't make it onstage to play).

Bookending her show with a pair of Peggy Lee tunes--Love Being Here With You and I

Don't Know Enough About You -- Krall, whose parents originally hail from the Pincher Creek area, took the crowd on a sentimental journey.

The show went back in time, even back to a place: New York City when movies were noir, when 52nd Street was lined with jazz clubs, and the whole city seemed--to those of us who only really know it from Woody Allen movies-- to move from one extraordinary all-night jam session to another.

Of course, Krall, who has lived in New York since 1990, actually grew up in Nanaimo, B. C., with a famously jazz-loving dad who introduced her early on to his collection of golden age jazz records.

If she sounds like an outtake from a Blue Note recording, her actual personna is recognizably Canuck.

Before performing Oscar Peterson's Exactly Like You, she told how, as a 16-year-old, she wrote Peterson a five page letter introducing herself as an aspiring jazz singer.

She never sent it. (But eventually met Peterson and played piano with him in the basement of his home).

She recently had twin boys with Costello, all of whom are accompanying her on her tour across Canada.

"I may not know from the (NHL) playoffs, but I do know how to work a sippy cup in the airport," she said to the audience as a matter of introduction.

And the songs she felt most deeply connected to seemed somehow connected to family ties--I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face, and, most particularly, on a stark, lovely rendition of Joni Mitchell's Case of You, where Krall's emotional life met her musical one, with beautiful results.

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http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/K/Kra ... 6-sun.html

Stunning set of favourites highlights Krall concert

Diana Krall may not be one of jazz music's most cutting edge or interesting artists.

But the Canadian chanteuse is certainly one of the best-selling jazz musicians of all time, having shifted millions of copies of her Verve albums, When I Look in Your Eyes, The Look of Love, The Girl in the Other Room and her most recent release, Quiet Nights.

Krall's mass appeal is partly due to her marshmallow safe song choices, which work well in a variety of settings including, but not limited to, urbane dinner parties, romantic dates, art openings and of course, wine-tastings.

There is no real edge, no excitement when you're talking about a Diana Krall album (although Quiet Nights does feature a very cool collection of Brazilian Bossa Nova covers.)

Even in concert, it's often hard to muster up any enthusiasm for the singer's sleepy delivery. I will admit there have been times when I've found Krall unbearably boring.

I didn't have high hopes for the first of Krall's two concerts at the Jubilee Auditorium. It's not that I have anything against her -- there's no question she's a talented musician and she actually seems like a really cool person (you'd have to be to be married to Elvis Costello.)

It's just that I have never been completely knocked out by any of her recordings or live performances.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I found my eyes and ears transfixed to the stage last night as the 44-year-old B.C. native kicked off her Quiet Nights Canadian Tour, performing a stunning set of old favourites and newer tunes in front of an appreciative audience of almost 1,700.

Tonight's show is sold out.

There was nothing special about the stage, just a simple draped backdrop bathed in different lighting designs. But it was a fitting setup that matched Krall's down-to-earth charm.

Backing the singer was her three-piece band as well as a 45-piece orchestra, which added a completely new dimension to Krall's performance.

Even though she was surrounded by almost 50 people playing instruments of all shapes and sizes, Krall's performance was as intimate as a night at a small jazz club.

Starting the show with a delightful version of I Love Being Here With You, Krall proved that an absence of almost five years has not taken away from her confidence or skill.

It was the more upbeat quartet numbers that really demonstrated what a phenomenal piano player Krall is.

She was complemented by the fantastic musicianship of guitarist Anthony Wilson, drummer Jeff Hamilton and stand-up bass player Robert Hurst.

Since she was last in town, Krall has given birth to twin boys Dexter and Frank, but you'd would never know it by how great she looked when she walked onto the stage wearing a gorgeous little black dress.

Krall's 90-minute concert wasn't exactly invigorating, but it was probably one of the best jazz performances Calgary will see all year.

This was the best Diana Krall concert I've had the pleasure of attending. I've seen her live three times previous. Each time was a thrill, to be sure, but this time there was a level of intimacy that I hadn't experienced in the past.

She broke into 'I Love Being Here With You', as expected. (I always love her 'Ray Brown, Ray Brown!' tribute at the end of that one).

You can tell she's in love with the music when she performs. Tonight was no exception, as she took us on a lovely trip through her own songbook of covers.

Surprising appearance of 'Deed I Do' from the 'All For You' album!

Weird coincidence: All day today and yesterday, two Krall songs were especially prominent in my mind (even though I've been on a 'Quiet Nights' binge) 'Do it Again', and 'Devil May Care'. I haven't listened to those two in ages, yet they were stuck in my gray cells so much that I was singing them to myself. What's even weirder is that they aren't even close to being my favourite Krall songs. Wouldn't you know it: she performed them both!!

Here's what she performed, in no particular order:

I Love Being Here With You
Love Letters
I Don't Know Enough About You
Quiet Nights
Too Marvelous For Words
Walk On By
Where Or When
You're My Thrill - it must be noted that this was phen-o-men-al. Absolutely brilliant and awesome in its awesomeness.
Devil May Care (at a rip-roaring pace)
Pick Yourself Up
Do It Again
Deed I Do
Exactly Like You
I've Grown Accustomed to His Face

A bit surprised she didn't perform 'Boy From Ipanema'. There was the now-predictable 'request' from someone in the audience for 'Peel Me a Grape' (sorry, whoever you were... I don't think Diana will ever sing that one live ever, ever again...).

Diana was really comfortable, witty and chatty, even laughing through some flubs with poor Alan Broadbent, conductor. She'd started in on a little verbal pre-amble, and Broadbent started whipping up the orchestra. Diana had to quickly abandon her monologue so she wouldn't miss her cue to start singing.

I even had some great seatmates behind and next to me, who were obvious Krall fans by the way one spoke rather knowledgeably about Krall to his companion, and by the way the guy next to me lip-synced to every Krall tune. (He even sang a little with his date, too- but not so much that it was disturbing.)

So I had a totally amazing time. It's the closest I've been yet to the stage, and had zero issues picking up my ticket from the box office, so all my fears were unfounded. From now on, I'll definitely use the fan club every time Krall swings into town.

There was the now-predictable 'request' from someone in the audience for 'Peel Me a Grape' (sorry, whoever you were... I don't think Diana will ever sing that one live ever, ever again...).

Actaully, she had said in a recent radio interview that she might revive it soon.

Glad to hear she's still doing Devil May Care - that's one that really lets her shine as a piano player, which I really miss in this latest disk.

I also had an inkling she'll be singing Pick Yourself Up now that she's a mum!

Thanks for the account Karla! Glad you enjoyed it.

What orchestra was it playing with her?

scielle, my ticket simply says "Symphony Orchestra", and I only assume it's the Calgary Symphony Orchestra. (How's that for paying attention!)

Karla, great report. So glad you enjoyed it. I like the variety of songs Diana has chosen.

Been away for awhile. I'll see her Apr 28 in Hamilton, Ont. I specifically chose a show without the orchestra, she's at her best when she's swingin'. Frankly this cd sounds like LOL part 2. A little boring. Her early swingin' jazz was her best stuff.

Further proof of my poor attention to detail: (and I'm laughing at myself for not seeing it sooner) not that it has any bearing whatsoever on anything... but Diana played at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, on the 14 & 15th, not the Northern. The Northern Jubilee Auditorium is for our northern neighbors in Edmonton. (We're so creative in this province.). Incidentally, when asked during an NPR interview which place she liked singing the best, Ella Fitzgerald responded that the Jubilee was the best. Must be some crazy quirk in the acoustics in that place that Ella thought was particularly good for her singing.

Thanks for the report and setlist, Karla. Nice to see "Exactly Like You" is still hanging around. Glad you enjoyed the show and had no problems with the will-call tickets. By the way, I love this line:
"Absolutely brilliant and awesome in its awesomeness."

Thanks for the rundown Karla - appreciate the set list. Now I *really* can't wait to see her given all the positive reviews!

By the way, was "Face" the encore?

Bud

Bud, I'm pretty sure 'Too Marvelous For Words' was the encore.