Denver Post: New mom Diana Krall bounces back

[Bud]

http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_6692480


Hiatus doesn't alter pianist's classic sound
By John Wenzel Denver Post Staff Writer
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated:08/23/2007 10:01:48 AM MDT
Like any great jazz singer, it's all about the voice.
Diana Krall's oozes from speakers and headphones like caramel - thick and chewy, almost masculine in tone. Her striking profile - a strong jaw, steely eyes, flowing hair, long arms - only enhances her stage presence, and her even stronger personality ensures she's getting exactly what she wants out of her career.
But for someone who has been playing piano since age 4, her biggest recent challenge was easing back into music after a forced hiatus.
"I was totally anxious and freaking out," the 42-year-old native of Canada admitted. "I'd get up in my pajamas and sit there at the piano with a cup of coffee. It was one of those days where I was there from about 4:30 a.m. to 6 at night. I've been doing this since I was little, and one day like that works wonders."
The reason for the hiatus? She had twins - Dexter and Frank - in December, with husband Declan MacManus (you may have heard of his stage name, Elvis Costello). Playing music was such a part of Krall's genetic material that even a few months away from it inspired deep discomfort. But it didn't take long for her to rediscover its solitary, soulful pleasures.
"I put on a record and played along with it, and it literally brought tears to my eyes because it was so nice to get back to work," she said.
Krall decided to break herself in with her treasured quartet at the legendary Yoshi's in Oakland, Calif., before a formidable three-month tour of the U.S., which takes her to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Monday with Chris Botti.
"Yoshi's is usually where we go to work out new material," Krall said of the jazz club and sushi restaurant in Jack London Square. "I've been going there for 10 years, and when I first started out I played there. I like the vibe."
Krall said she frequently warns the audience that she is working out new material, but this time it was different.
"I had been off for six months, which is the longest I've ever been away from playing music in my whole life, so it was a good, intimate place to relax."
It must have worked. The Grammy-winner's current tour is garnering the best reviews of her career, with critics from the Boston Globe to the San Francisco Chronicle praising her nuanced piano work, relaxed attitude and diverse set lists - even if her stage presence often reflects her personality too strongly (i.e. prickly and sardonic).
"She's fleet-fingered, frisky, intricate and clever," Jeff Tamarkin, associate editor of Jazz Times, wrote after seeing her in Newark, N.J.
"I was more impressed than I expected to be," Tamarkin told The Denver Post. "She's not somebody I've spent a lot of time listening to, but I was pleasantly surprised."
Of course, Krall's critical darling status was established years ago with albums that mixed a reverence for standards with sprightly, Nat King Cole-inspired originals. Indeed, listening to Krall is like dusting off an old photograph, only to notice all manner of exciting details you hadn't seen before.
In other words, she's classic. Her innovations are not stylistic but rather performance- based. And like the crooners and jazz singers of legend, she enjoys four-night residences at places like the Vegas Hilton and the Hollywood Bowl in California. The stellar piano player is as likely to cover Sinatra or Burt Bacharach as she is Tom Waits, accompanied only by a double bass, electric guitar and light drums.
"I'm playing music that's very much American standards and American popular song," Krall said. "Some people sort of know it even if they don't know it, because it's so familiar."
Krall counts Cole as one of her biggest influences, and her career resembles his in some ways. As someone embraced by both jazz purists and adult contemporary audiences, Krall crossed over the way Cole did during his day.
"He had huge popularity, as well as being respected as a great artist," Krall said. "That's why I like him so much."
Whatever musical love Krall instills in her children will come from her deep commitment to the collective American songbook, and the fact that her father got her started on music with his own record collection.
But she admits that having kids has readjusted her priorities to wanting to be a good mother, first and foremost.
"The most important things in my life have changed. I've been enjoying the last few months focusing very hard on something else, and now I'm focusing on working again," she said. "Of course, sleep is a challenge."
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
Diana Krall

JAZZ/VOCAL|Red Rocks
Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway in Morrison; 7:30 p.m. Monday, with Chris Botti|
$48.50-$88.50|303-830-8497 or Ticketmaster.com
----------------------------------------
Diving into Krall

Not familiar with Diana Krall's songbook? Here's a primer on select albums from the singer- pianist's catalog, courtesy of AllMusic.com:
"Steppin' Out": Krall's 1993 debut. "If you want to hear not only the roots of Krall's jazzier and romantic side, not to mention the fun, you'll get it all on this ... CD, with a bulletproof rhythm section of the peerless bassist John Clayton and always on-the-money/in-the-pocket drummer Jeff Hamilton."
"All for You": This 1996 Nat
King Cole tribute garnered her a Grammy nomination for best jazz vocalist. "Krall does not attempt to directly copy Cole much (either pianistically or vocally), although his influence is obviously felt on some of the songs. The slow ballads are actually as reminiscent of Shirley Horn as Cole, particularly the somber 'I'm Through With Love' and 'If I Had You."'
"When I Look in Your Eyes": Krall won the Grammy for best jazz vocal performance for this 1998 disc. "It is the latest attempt to push Krall to an even wider pop/ smooth jazz audience than she already enjoys. After all, Nat Cole, Wes Montgomery and George Benson, among others, went this route."
"Live in Paris": This 12-song collection dropped in 2002, winning Krall another Grammy. "The lovely vocalist heightens your listening pleasures with distinctive phrasings and tangible pathways to inside the creative imagination by getting inside harmony, the changes and melodic structures."
"From This Moment On": "Returning to the large ensemble sound of her 2005 success, 'Christmas Songs,' Krall delivers a superb performance on 2006's 'From This Moment On.' Although having received a largely positive critical response for her creative departure into original singer/songwriter jazz material on 2004's 'The Girl in the Other Room,' here listeners find Krall diving headlong into the Great American Songbook that has long been her bread and butter."

[Samuel]

"I was totally anxious and freaking out," the 42-year-old native of Canada admitted. "I'd get up in my pajamas and sit there at the piano with a cup of coffee. It was one of those days where I was there from about 4:30 a.m. to 6 at night. I've been doing this since I was little, and one day like that works wonders."

Amazing! The results of this hard work is simply Diana Krall.

[Bud]

"She's fleet-fingered, frisky, intricate and clever," Jeff Tamarkin, associate editor of Jazz Times, wrote after seeing her in Newark, N.J.

"I was more impressed than I expected to be," Tamarkin told The Denver Post. "She's not somebody I've spent a lot of time listening to, but I was pleasantly surprised."

Interesting admission by an editor at the home of one of the most reliable Diana bashers, Nat Hentoff. Maybe everyone over there should try listening a little more

[christratton]

Interesting admission by an editor at the home of one of the most reliable Diana bashers, Nat Hentoff. Maybe everyone over there should try listening a little more

To such petty naysayers, I say whatever! Surely, there will be some people who simply do not like Diana and her style. More common, it appears to me, are jazz snots who hate someone who is accessible to the masses and ... shudder! horrors! ... is POPULAR! Heaven forfend! I content myself that these people who talk themselves out of enjoying such a singular talent are the losers here, and that she has more genius in her little finger than they have in their entirety. Their disinterest in her, whether a pose or otherwise, makes it easier for me to get good tickets. So much the better, as I intend on attending many more of her shows in the future!

-Chris

[Coda]

Well said, Chris.

[christratton]

All's I gotta say is no one better mess with my Diana! Rrrrowwwrr!

-CS