Jakarta: Genuine jazz produced by Diana Krall in Singapore

[Bud]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfea ... Q03&irec=2

Genuine jazz produced by Diana Krall in Singapore

Nauval Yazid and Ve Handojom Contributors, Singapore

Those expecting a night filled with plain, ordinary jazz-standards showcased recently by the likes of Michael Buble or Rene Olsteadt, were bound to be disappointed.

On the contrary, those expecting a fresh jazzy ambience were treated to a wonderful experience at the Suntec Convention Centre in Singapore, that was transformed into a lounge where the senses were overwhelmed with Diana Krall's daring exploration of her truest jazz roots.

Inexplicably 20 minutes late on the evening of April 6, 2005, Krall wasted no time. She marched onto the bare stage, adorned with only a piano, a drum kit for Peter Erskine, a double bass for John Clayton, and a guitar for Anthony Wilson.

Together, they performed I Love Being Here With You, an opener meant to bridge her well-known image as a performer of jazz standards, before really kicking off the evening with Stop This World, as if demanding that the audience take note of the new Krall.

Indeed, the new Krall left the audience unprepared.

Sporting a new, yet still blonde, hair-do, she looked something like Jennifer Aniston's Rachel in the TV sitcom Friends, but only Krall could make it look real by dressing simply in a black shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

Gone was the sultry, glamorous look often portrayed on her album covers and promotional stills. She seems at home with her down-to-earth look, perhaps the result of recent occurrences in her life, be it from the low side (her latest album was made during her first Christmas without her mother, who had just passed away), to the bright side (she is married to musician Elvis Costello).

In fact, the latter influence is so obvious that she gushed, shyly, before introducing the title song of her latest album The Girl In The Other Room, "It's kinda easy being his wife."

It's kinda easy for us to see why.

Costello seems to have been a major influence in her latest album, allowing Krall to explore a new territory never before attempted: Songwriting.

The album has received a generally warm reception from critics. Half the tracks were written by the couple, including the title track. On top of that, she has moved away from her usual standards and cover versions, instead choosing non-jazz tracks to be molded into her staple style of harmonious piano notes.

This is most notable in Tom Waits' Temptation and her beau's Almost Blue, two songs that she performed at the concert with tremendous passion and belief, producing audible gasps from the audience. Such a daring choice for Krall, whose popularity crosses over to the mainstream thanks to her previous chart-friendly work; this time, she abandoned her usual orchestral background to return to her jazz piano roots.

Thus, the one-night concert that marked the start of her Australasian tour served to show her love of the piano.

The audience could see the inseparability of Krall and her piano when she looked down at the keyboard and played it, totally undistracted by flashing cameras or the annoying sound of cell phones.

With full concentration, she played a tribute to Nat King Cole, "my ultimate mentor", reaching a peak when she belted out 'Deed I Do.

An extended jam session with the band turned out to be a rare chance to see Krall in full enjoyment of her own musicality. It was so intense that she burst out in laughter, causing her difficulty in singing the song in tune.

For once, Krall looked genuinely happy: And there was no reason for the 1,000-plus audience not to feel the same.

[Coda]

Thanks, Bud, for posting this interesting article. So they allow cell phones and flash cameras during the performance? Wow.

I was most impressed by the report of "audible gasps" of people who were floored by Krall's musicianship. I would LOVE to have been at that concert!

[Andrea]

Peter Erskine on the drums and John Clayton playing bass!? This is a surprise for me
Maybe I miss something...

[scielle]

Jazzy queen of cool
by Jacintha Abisheganaden tnp@sph.com.sg
8 April 2005
The New Paper

WHO is the girl with the most flippant hair in jazz? Answer: Diana Krall Costello (right).

But the girl with the golden hair, the diva of Cool, may just be experiencing her musical meltdown. It's a good moment in jazz, for what we saw at the Suntec Convention Hall concert last night was Krall, deeply relaxed. Very secure.

Never has she seemed younger or more contemporary than now.

What Krall did for jazz, when she launched her first album with Verve Records, was to create a framework for the remembrance of all things jazzy.

She gave us an impetus to embrace the standards of the late '90s. It caught on with crossover audiences.

She was like that moment when Wallpaper entered the firmament of magazines and you knew a hundred more were to follow, but that this was the definitive fountain of Design Cool. A chair was never again just a chair.(Wallpaper is a travel and lifestyle publication.)

'NOWNESS' OF TOMORROW

It had reference to an era, and a place in the 'nowness' of tomorrow.

Krall gave us a jazz heroine not unlike that of Alfred Hitchcock's ice-maidens. To watch them unravelling was his genius.

It has taken a while, but something, or maybe husband Elvis Costello, has given her a new edge.

And like his song (the title track of her latest album), The Girl In The Other Room - 'She knows, by now, there's something in all of her fears' - the vulnerability works.

Because like Billie Holliday, the burnished, casual, devil-may-care voice is harnessed by emotion.

So too her piano playing, which seems more ethereal.

Like a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

Her solos last night had a kind of 'stereo' effect.

The left hand anchored the tune while her right hand became a tremulous, sometimes shivering, extended glissando; plucking very sharply, the voices within her repertoire.

Never the dilettante, Krall's honing her piano skills with the legendary Jimmy Rowles sealed her place in jazz.

Everything and a Julliard degree later, this Canadian national paid her dues for 10 years by playing in every jazz gin joint in the US before that Verve recording that led to Grammy wins.

Leading a stellar band comprising Anthony Wilson on guitars, Karim Riggins on drums and Robert Leslie Hurst on the double bass, Krall's Asian tour is an exercise of grace over bubblin' brown sugar.

Even her own designer cool threatens to blow the roof with the combined virtuoso talents of the other three musicians.

The tour is organised by Adrian Hobbs and takes her through Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, and on to Australia.

So here is the peeling, the exfoliation to her nerve centre of which she spoke when she joined hearts with Costello.

Krall, who previously made nonchalance her trump card, has let her guard down. If she were a drink, she'd be iced vodka.

Gowned and styled in Vanity Fair a few years ago, the icon now looks like she's experiencing the first flush of university.

The music however, is more intricate. It's deeper and yet springier to the touch.

Witness the sure mockery of Fats Waller's Yo Feets Too Big, half-sung and half-laughed after a long solo intro which leads us through the Mississippi to Dixieland, Satchmo Country and over some Gershwin bush land, Mercer and Harold Arlen capitol, before landing in Fat's jazz kitchen.

CHANGES OF TEMPO

Her navigation of songs, such as This Will Be My Shining Hour and The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, was at least surprising in changes of tempo.

And where her singing style was conversational before, it no longer strives for any effect.

In tight blue jeans and a tailored black jacket, her flaxen hair seems a mere punctuation where, previously, it epitomised her place in the new world of jazz.

What Krall has let in, to her credit, is a chink of the dark side.

May the source be with you, Diana. And may your shining hour be long.

STEPPING OUT

Diana Krall was born in British Columbia, Canada, in 1964. By the age of 15, she was playing the piano professionally at a local bar.

In 1981, she received a Vancouver Jazz Festival scholarship and attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Her debut album, Stepping Out, was released in 1993.

[scielle]

Krall has them in her thrall
Kok Tse Wei
8 April 2005
Straits Times


DIANA KRALL LIVE IN CONCERT
Suntec City Convention Centre Halls 601 and 602 Wednesday

IF YOU had turned up on Wednesday for the final leg of Diana Krall's five-city Asian tour expecting fireworks and light-hearted banter, you would have been sorely disappointed.

But if you were one of the 4,000-strong audience looking for a night of good music, this 90-minute concert presented by One group - the Singaporean regional promoter who brought in Norah Jones in February too - had it all.

It was casual chic at its best.

The Canadian singer-pianist came on stage dressed in a classy black jacket and boot-cut denim jeans - a get-up curiously similar to the outfit she wore when she performed here three years ago.

Focus was put on the repertoire at hand: She and her three-piece band delivered 11 songs with very little talk in between.

Crooning tunes like Tom Waits' Temptation from her eighth album Girl In The Other Room, released last year, the 40-year-old jazz singer preferred to let her music carry her subtle wit.

For her introduction to Devil May Care, she teased the audience with an improvisation of a melody from The Wizard Of Oz called If I Only Had A Brain.

She even let down her guard and mentioned how her husband, London-born singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, had written Girl In The Other Room 'with a little help from his wife'.

But guitarist Anthony Wilson almost stole the show with his impeccable technical prowess.

From the soulful tone he coaxed out of the instrument at the end of Mose Allison's bluesy Stop This World to the driving bossa beat in Irving Berlin's Let's Face The Music - where his quick fingers mimicked those of legendary violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini - Wilson was spot-on.

Equally impressive were the seamless transitions between the guitar and piano solos - one could hardly tell where one ended and the other began.

Drummer Karriem Riggins also provided ample spunk with flamboyant solos.

No wonder multi-Grammy winner Krall gushed about the trio at the end of the concert. 'I love these guys,' she said in her alto-timbred voice.

The only minor quibble was the under-amplified double bass.

Although bassist Robert Hurst executed his solos cleanly and projected clearly, the accompaniment parts seemed to be drowned out by the other instruments. Without a strong bass to anchor the quartet, they sounded a little light.

However, the evening still ended on a high as the well-heeled audience whistled and clapped for almost a minute before Krall and company returned for two encores.

[harpfingers]

Jazzy queen of cool
by Jacintha Abisheganaden tnp@sph.com.sg
8 April 2005
The New Paper


Everything and a Julliard degree later, this Canadian national paid her dues for 10 years by playing in every jazz gin joint in the US before that Verve recording that led to Grammy wins. .

O.K., did I miss something? Since when does Diana hold a degree from Julliard? Have I been asleep and missed that part of her bio?

[TheViolinSkirt]

I believe Diana has an 'honourary' degree.

[scielle]

From U. of Vic, yeah, but Julliard? That's the first time I'm hearing about it. Did she ever actually graduate from Berklee? I was under the impression that she left early...

[Coda]

Now, let's see. I can't tell if these reporters really liked Diana's show.... Seriously, though, it's nice to see such raves. Diana should spend more time in BC!

But to remember what she wore three years ago...wow! Those are high standards for couture reporting! I hope nobody keeps track of my wardrobe like that.

I had never heard of Diana getting an honorary degree from Juliard, but from a university in her own province, where her mom went to school.

And Departure Bay is the winner of Diana's favorite track off GITOR. I agree! (See the poll earlier of our favorite GITOR tracks!)

[TheViolinSkirt]

Yeah, you're right...the honourary degree was in BC. I don't know where this guy came up with Juliard.

[Coda]

Okay, I know it's sometimes a challenge to write an accurate, interesting headline, but I will say I'm tired of seeing "Krall" and "thrall" in the same sentence.

[scielle]

I'm tired of seeing "Krall" and "thrall" in the same sentence

If you read any EC reviews you'll soon realize that 9/10 of them have some reference to "his aim being true"... You'd think in 25+ years they could come up with something more substantial than that.

[verena]

It seems to me that these reporters did like the Singapore concert, perhaps they were too concerned with sounding like serious critics and wouldn't dare to express that clearly.

I was there guys, my first DK concert ever and I hate myself for not moving my butt to one earlier, as I knew about her for long (I just cannot bring myself to go out much).

Well I am going to rave, because I became a fan. That is why I now find myself into this site, thank you so much Remi your place is cozy and nice.
This is my first post, hello everybody! I am French and live in Paris, I travel a lot and am in Asia for the moment.

I shall not even try to make a review here, "cannot la" (this is Singlish FYI), am not competent in the field. What I am up to is sharing a few pieces of information, perhaps gossip, in the hope that my words, in their very awkwardness, can give you a sense of what went on at this concert.

Yes she started a bit late, but come on what's 20 minutes, we thought it was the rain. She may have been early, but fact is a fair part of the audience was late (in Sing. as in other capital cities in tropical SEA, when there is rain there are traffic jams and everybody gets late).
I got the impression that she was somehow upset when she marched to the piano, was it a way to handle stage fright or was she upset over smthing am clueless.

Now she did talk to the audience, not very much but many a time and quite clearly, and we were mighty happy over the effort. And she did smile, not to us but at her music, meanwhile it felt she was at ease like that, secure and perhaps happy, and that was terribly moving.

As a matter of fact her "stage performance" was barely "lacking", to use an expression I saw about her public appearances. She was actually quite gracious. Hey, I realise this may be a scoop.
(Continue on with the striving on that chapter, Girl, you don't need to get better with anything else, do let this really sink in and and you'll go from bloody good to outright fantastic).

Further, she played and sang incredibly well (comparing with the Cd's I just got), with such emotion and depth that yes, there were gasps. I like her own songs best but "deed I do" was the peak indeed, I would add "temptation", and if there is something like paradise for human hearts in this world, at the moment she sent ours floating there. I fail to see what else could be decently expected from an artist. Perfection seems accessory.
(I wish someone taped that concert, is there any way to know ?).

Overall she gave an outstanding performance. In spite of the sound which, for me (second row) was just not loud enough, and in spite of the concert hall, which I hated (but the other possible, best place I know, may have been too small and has dangerously high tech acoustics).

And she also managed to generously give light and space to her musicians, me I am not into "serious jazz" -even though I could hear they were really good-, so was not overly thrilled, but she was glad to do it, so I was glad for her and for the musicians.

When the end came without a warning, everybody fell back on the floor hard in total shock. But she made it up by coming forward to say something, thanking us for being a "kind audience".
(True, nobody shouted out with an impossible request, or with anything for that matter. To me that was a sorry stiffness on our part, I wish there would have been a few Madonna fan types around to fire up the place, I mean to properly cheer and thank her, send some warmth in her direction goddamnit!).

Finally she gave us her blessings, and that also made up for some, still desperately missing smile.

Bless you too, Diana !

Verena

PS : By the way I was introduced to her that evening, unexpectedly. Don't be jealous, guys, I messed up. Not entirely my fault, the place was sinister and everybody was dull and embarrassed to death. I got over that (but was I distressed, men...)












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[Rémi]

Hello Verena et bienvenue sur le forum!
Belle entrée en matière pour un premier post.