PLAYING HER SONG; SINGER AND PIANIST KRALL RISES TO TOP OF JAZZ HEAP.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor Picture a cool blonde behind the wheel of a Camaro cruising along the streets of her small town with Aerosmith cranked up on the stereo. Picture that same blonde playing tasty piano runs while seductively crooning the Cole Porter Noun 1. Cole Porter - United States composer and lyricist of musical comedies (1891-1946) Cole Albert Porter, Porter classic ``I've Got You Under My Skin.'' If you think only one of those images fits jazz diva Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer. Biography Krall was born into a musical family in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. She began learning the piano at the age of four. , you're wrong. But in the whirlwind that is Krall's life these days, it may be hard to bring the singer/pianist into focus. So some facts first. She's hot. Billboard recently hailed her as jazz's ``new empress,'' and her delicious new CD, ``When I Look Into Your Eyes'' (Verve), hit the best-selling-albums chart at No. 68. That may not seem blistering by Madonna standards, but consider this: There are no other jazz albums even in the top 200. She recently headlined venerable Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall Concert hall in New York, N.Y., U.S. It was endowed by the industrialist Andrew Carnegie at the insistence of the conductor Walter Damrosch (1862–1950). to rave reviews and performed before President Clinton at Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre at 511 10th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. is an active theatre in Washington DC, United States, used for various performances. in Washington, D.C., in a concert that will be aired on ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. later this month. On Wednesday, she will open the Jazz at the Bowl series at the Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheatre at 2301 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood, California, USA, that is used primarily for music performances. The "bowl" in this context is the natural cavity in the earth into which the amphitheater is built, rather than the shape of the with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. And you may have seen her glamorous-looking profile in the current Vanity Fair. Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Canadian draws as many oohs and aahs for her beauty as for her music. Much of this adulation ad·u·la·tion n. Excessive flattery or admiration. [Middle English adulacioun, from Old French, from Latin ad has appeared on the Web. When told about the numerous reviews by her fans of her shows and CDs on the Web, Krall, who doesn't have a computer, cracked, ``They review my legs more than they review my music half the time. ... But hey, welcome to the real world.'' But while many have discovered Krall in the past few years - especially lately because of her enchanting vocals - as a teen she was already turning heads as a pianist. John Clayton John Clayton may refer to:
After a year attending the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston in 1981 on a scholarship, Krall received a Canadian Arts Council An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad. grant to study jazz in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , where she worked with pianist Jimmy Rowles as well as Clayton and Hamilton. Krall gives a lot of credit to the Canadian government for allowing her to study in Rowles' ``living room in Burbank'' rather than at a university. ``They gave me money to live and study with him, and they trusted me.'' So Krall is no overnight success. She's been paying her dues in clubs for quite a while. She recorded her first album on a small label in 1993, but her breakthrough came with her 1997 CD ``All of You: A Tribute to the Nat King Cole a legendary king of Britain, who is said to have reigned in the third century. See also: King Trio.'' Like Cole, Krall has a way of making the difficult look easy. Clayton sees her as a modern-day version of Cole. ``He was one of the few entertainers who could play jazz piano at that high level and accompany himself, which is what Diana does so well.'' Krall followed it up with the lush and swinging ``Love Scenes,'' which by jazz standards was a smash. Her latest, ``When I Look Into Your Eyes,'' is a bit of a departure. Instead of using her usual trio, including stellar guitarist Russell Malone, Krall has added orchestration on some cuts with the help of the legendary composer/arranger Johnny Mandel (``The Shadow of Your Smile''), who has worked with the likes of Frank Sinatra. The opening cut, ``Let's Face the Music and Dance'' features a sensuous bossa nova with Krall's intimate vocal stylings. ``When I interpret a lyric, I like to sing it like you're sitting across the table from me,'' she says. And that's what's so beguiling about her singing. There are thousands of technically great vocalists out there, but knowing when to delay a note for a half-beat (ah, the joys of delayed gratification), or sliding two notes together, or subtly understating something is what separates the greats from the pack. Sinatra, Tony Bennett and other great vocalists talked about how much they learned from instrumentalists, and the lessons have clearly not been lost on Krall, who describes her career as ``studying the great American song.'' ``Diana Krall is like a fresh, cool breeze on a hot, summer night in reference to jazz,'' says Bubba bub·ba n. Slang 1. Chiefly Southern U.S. Brother. 2. A white working-class man of the southern United States, stereotypically regarded as uneducated and gregarious with his peers. Jackson, who produces jazz and blues concerts throughout the area and hosts two syndicated radio shows. ``Here's a woman who can get inside a song and live that lyric and play in such a way that it's like a whole package in one. I mean, she is totally captivating cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. .'' It sounds an awful lot like love. We may be passionate about musicians, but we seem to have an ongoing affair with vocalists. In Krall's case, though, she finds the attention paid to her looks awkward and embarrassing to talk about. While Sinatra could play the bon vivant or saloon singer with the touch of sadness, Krall has those blond Venus looks that make fans fall head over heels while leaving others suspicious. Some can't believe looks and talent can come in the same package, citing the fashion layout with Donna Karan clothes on her new CD. Others gripe gripe v. To have sharp pains in the bowels. n. 1. gripes Sharp, spasmodic pains in the bowels. 2. A firm hold; a grasp. that she's abandoning the jazz base with the emphasis on vocals on her new album. Krall, for her part, would rather talk about music but acknowledges her image is a subject she can't avoid. ``I have major conversations with journalists where we talk about the history of popular American song ... and then they write about my hairstyles. Whatever. I don't care as long as the music has integrity and honesty, and I think the marketing does, too. I'm not exactly hanging out doing covers on bear rugs. If I wanted to, I would. That would be my decision,'' she says. Krall says she wanted the album cover to reflect who she is. ``I wanted everything to be natural. I like clothes. I like to be outside, and I like to be on the beach. That's where I'm comfortable.'' As for photographer Bruce Weber's black-and-white portrait in Vanity Fair, it depicts Krall as a slightly wary seductress se·duc·tress n. A woman who seduces. See Usage Note at -ess. Noun 1. seductress - a woman who seduces seducer - a bad person who entices others into error or wrongdoing . Her artfully tangled hair and bare shoulders beckon beck·on v. beck·oned, beck·on·ing, beck·ons v.tr. 1. To signal or summon, as by nodding or waving. 2. us to come hither hith·er adv. To or toward this place: Come hither. adj. Located on the near side. Idiom: hither and thither/yon . But her cool, level gaze, and the hand with which she thoughtfully cradles her cheek, suggest she's rethinking this unforeseen tryst. ``That experience was great for me because I got to work with Bruce Weber, who taught me a lot about making pictures and film. ... It's great to be able to meet people who teach you,'' says Krall, who cites as inspirations songstress song·stress n. 1. A woman who performs songs, especially ballads or popular songs. 2. A woman who writes songs. See Usage Note at -ess. Rosemary Clooney and legendary bassist Ray Brown, as well as Clayton. But probably her biggest inspirations are her parents. ``I was raised by a father and mother who told us that the sky was the limit.'' Her father, she says, is one of her best friends, and her mother has her master's degree and pursued a career while raising Krall and her sister. Krall says she goes home a lot to Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Her mother had a bone-marrow transplant three years ago. ``She's doing really well now. Since then, I go home every second I can.'' It's there that she'll borrow that Camaro from her sister, who is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Royal Canadian Mounted Police, constabulary organized (1873) as the Northwest Mounted Police to bring law and order to the Canadian west. In 1920 the name was changed to the present title. officer. (``My father didn't want us to fit into the usual roles,'' she says.) As for her life away from the stage, it sounds remarkably, well, unremarkable. ``I cook. I ride horses. I ski. I go to movies. I hike. I spend time with my family. I'm curious about everything. I like to live my life very fully. I go to restaurants and be silly with my friends and just enjoy my life. ... I'm very passionate about my life. And I'm very thankful for my life, that I get to do this.'' A daughter, a pianist, an arranger, a band leader, a jazz chanteuse chan·teuse n. A woman singer, especially a nightclub singer. [French, feminine of chanteur, singer, from chanter, to sing; see chant.] - Krall is constantly playing variations on multiple themes. Perhaps her own take on what first drew her to jazz also describes her life. ``I think it was the fact that I could improvise ... that I could play music with people, and it could be improvised over a structure, and it could be different every time.'' THE FACTS Who: Diana Krall with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Where: The Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. For information, call (323) 850-2005. When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets: $5 to $70 (only $5 to $35 tickets still available; try brokers for higher-priced tickets), by phone at (213) 480-3232; online at www.hollywoodbowl.org; at the Bowl box office or through Ticketmaster outlets. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--Cover--Color) ALL THAT JAZZ AND MORE Diana Krall expands her image with an orchestra-backed album (2) `I have major conversations with journalists where we talk about the history of popular American song ... and then they write about my hairstyles.' Diana Krall on the attention paid to her looks |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion