[Kk21pwa9]

I guess I'm missing something.

[thierabess]

I'm not a player, so I can't get excited over what you describe, John, but yes, the woman knows the history of the music quite well, plus she usually keeps pretty solid company, I guess, both on & off stage.

Unfortunately, musically she does not move me...but what do I know, except what I know...?

[pkopwqzsdcvbn]

The enormous popularity of Diana Krall remains an utter mystery to me. It's not that she's 'bad' or anything. She plays decent piano and she sings just fine. But she's just so....thoroughly average.

Am I missing something?

[pkopwqzsdcvbn]

" The bottom line for me is this, out of all the people whose fame is completely baffling and undeserved, Diana Krall is pretty far down the list."

I heard that.


As for the Art Tatum comparison, I probably did set the bar kind of high. But I bet George Mcfetridge could cut her to ribbons.

He wouldn't look as good in those strappy little shoes, though.

[new-nickname-zanovo]

Its great - June 24th is one's natal day, and I'm spending the evening front and centre at the Diana Krall concert! Many thanks to the great concierge employed by my parents.

[NaMbessemab]

Just thought I'd jump in here and add another mildly related tangent. On the 25th my good friend Laila Biali will be opening for Ms Krall. Laila IS someone with some star power. Her piano chops are fantastic and she is anything but an "ice queen". Now that she is singing again, it will be interesting to see whether she catches the public's fancy.

And, I agree wholeheartedly with the Holly Cole assessment. I heard her first opening for Ray Charles at the Ontario Place Forum back in the late 80's and found her a little out of her element with the jazz repertoire. I expected her to improve, which she did technically, but never really seemed comfortable in the genre. When she released Dark Dear Heart my reaction was: Ah ha! This is tha stuff that she should be doing! The album had emotion and seemed to fit her like a comfortable sweater.

[pkopwqzsdcvbn]

If you're playing with Laila, I'm there, bruh. I've got a couple of gigs at the Vancouver fest this year so I can afford these high dollar concerts.

Gotta love those 'artist' passes:-)

[Equackasous]

John,

You were pretty anti-Krall before and this one review changed your opinion? You admittedly haven't heard her since the early 90's, I'm just curious what you based your strong anti-krall stance on, and now the new softer (dare I label it) pro-krall stance.

Cheers

[dietpillxanaxaxx]

Quote:

[rvadipoldkov]

If anyone needs to "get over" anything, Yodi . . .

[pkopwqzsdcvbn]

Steve,


I wouldn't call it 'pro-Krall' so much as pro jazz.

I'm not rushing out to buy any of her records or anything. She's not my style. But anyone who introduces broad audiences to jazz vocabulary and repertoire is doing us all a service.

Plus, I'm on a naturopathic diet and it seems to be shrinking my curmudgeon lobe.:-)

[pkopwqzsdcvbn]

You and me both, bruh.

I'm trying to be really careful and objective about Krall-Cole comparisons, because after all, Cole has the advantage of being dead:-) I mean, he's a jazz legend with the aura of legitimacy only available to those who appear to us in black and white, and in mono. Maybe he'd look just as stiff as Krall if he was in living color and high resolution on Bravo TV, with the camera 3 inches away mercilessly exposing every glob of face powder and hair-out-of-place.

But my totally subjective and illogical reaction to Krall is that she's blah.

Different strokes and all that.

[pkopwqzsdcvbn]

In classic liberal-wimp tradition, I've done a flip-flop on Diana Krall. I have seen the light. I think she's fantastic.

What has caused this awakening? Not seeing her performance.I was working both nights. The last time I saw Krall live was with Russ Botten on bass. In the early 90s at the Alma Street Cafe. Sitting amongst yuppies who were studiously ignoring her and chattering through her ballads.(maybe some of those people are now paying $50-plus to see her? Life is funny).

What did it for me was Greg Buium's review.

He's a new by-line for me. Marke Andrews was the go-to guy for jazz at the Sun when I left town (I notice he's still plugging away with some CD reviews. Nice one on the Brad Turner Quartet).

But what a pleasure to discover Buium in da Paper. Nice prose style. Knows the music. Great stuff.


But this is what got me.


"Krall's command over the jazz vernacular is impressive.....and even, during a wicked arrangement of "My Shining Hour," allusions to the be-bop classic "Salt Peanuts."


So there you have it. A great tune (all you jazz musicians out there, tell me. Is there a greater pleasure on earth than a wreckless, uptempo romp through " Shining Hour"?) and bringing be-bop vocabulary to the masses.

Big up to Diana Krall!

[Blotassefesek]

I think that Diana Krall's commercial success is fantastic for jazz music. Period. I enjoy listening to her for a couple reasons: The people in her band, now, like Jeff Hamilton and Anthony Wilson, and before, like Russell Malone and Christian Mcbride... are amazing Jazz musicians. The Arrangments too are super-tight and hip. As a jazz musician, I think her piano playing is perfect for the setting, wickedly swinging and soulful; simply put, its classic jazz piano. She doesn't need to be ultra modern or super-outside because the music in no way calls for it. I think, honestly, she has one of the most sexy, smoky, and sultry (how's that for alliteration?) voices in not just Jazz but Music. and yeah she is easy on the eyes. I think we owe her a debt of gratitude for exposing people to jazz and for keeping it relevant in the eyes of the music industry.

[pkopwqzsdcvbn]

Oh, I agree entirely. I think it's nice that people are listening to her instead of a lot of the more disposable stuff out there.

I saw her on TV the other night with Russell Malone (didn't recognize the bass player) and she just seemed so...average. You'd think that for somebody to be enjoying that kind of success they'd have to be really amazing. I couldn't help but think of Nat Cole (a musician who's obviously been a huge influence on Krall) and how starlingly different his performances of the same material are (I'm talking about the Cole standards that Krall covers).

The arrangements are pretty much the same. But Cole states the material with such authority, and it really jumps. Krall just sounds...limp.

Russell Malone is a good guitar player though.

[rvadipoldkov]

Coastal Jazz & Blues Society announced the opening concert for this year's Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

DIANA KRALL
Friday, June 24 at 8 PM Orpheum Theatre

Tickets go on sale Feb 18.

More info at coastaljazz.ca

[maxtp]

I am a bit of a Diana fan. One of the things that I really like about her is the fact that she can really dig into the time as a singer. I would also like to point out that if you weed out the piano players who "aren't Art Tatum" you have damn few left over. The bottom line for me is this, out of all the people whose fame is completely baffling and undeserved, Diana Krall is pretty far down the list. As a side note, I will be playing with Laila at that gig on the 25th, and yes she has some extra special powers. Look out for this girl!

[zithromaxlinks]

"Am I missing something?"

You mean besides her looking great on CD covers and Buick commerscials?

I guess it's nice in-offensive music that never challenges you. Great for dinner parties. But I guess I'd rather people be checking *her* out than 90% of the disposable pop music that is manfactured these days.
It's amazing how those old show tunes (as swing standards) have survived the test of time. But I'm sure Rod Stewart will put an end to that.

[pkopwqzsdcvbn]

Sorry Chip, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. While I agree that Krall has had (and continues to have) top-of-the-line musicians in her band, she herself is neither an outstanding pianist or vocalist. She's on record herself as saying she's uncomfortable with 'up' tempos. I realize that my opinion of her as a singer (that's she's competent but uninteresting) is completely subjective, but it should be obvious to any student of jazz piano that she's no Art Tatum. Once again I want to stress that I'm not saying she sucks. Just that there's lots of people out there who do what she does, and many who do it as well or better than she does. I'm just baffled by why she, in particular, has risen so far above the pack.

Usually this has to do with things like charisma and star quality, but there again to me she seems stiff and distant. The reason I mentioned Nat Cole in an earlier post was that after seeing Krall on TV I pulled out a couple of Cole CDs (Nat "King "Cole, the Trio Recordings, volumes 1 through 5. These are mostly acetates of radio broadcasts of the Trio) and was struck by how different Coles versions of tunes in Krall's repertoire come across. Krall's arrangements are indeed "tight and hip" but for the most part they are identical to Cole's. Cole's vocal presence is phenomal (he's a seasoned old-school show business professional and knows how to put a song across) while Krall sounds stiff and affected.

I haven't heard her new CD of Elvis Costello and original material, and I'm wondering if she's looser with that stuff. This was certainly the case with Holly Cole, who never sounded comfortable singing standards, but really loosened up on her album of Tom Waits' material.

I don't personally care much for Holly Cole either, but just in terms of stage presence she's got Krall beat all to hell, and yet she inhabits a much lower level on the success and celebrity scale. This is what's got me puzzled.Krall is the Ice Queen, and the public really goes for that, it seems. Maybe it's the Bjork factor.:-)

As for owing her a debt of gratitute for keeping jazz before the public...maybe. I'm with Nation on that one, though. I've never seen one incidence of someone who never listened to jazz before going out and buying an Eric Dolphy record because they dug Dianna Krall. Back when jazz was still pop music, these kinds of singers (Jerry Southern, Rosemary Clooney, Anita O'Day) kind of existed more in a separate market. Sometimes they recorded with jazz bands, and jazz musicians played on their records (but then they played on everybody's records in those days) but serious jazz listeners didn't pay them much attention, and their fans tended to not be into straight ahead jazz.






*disclaimer* This is not a snipe at Krall. I think it's fine that she has a career, and by all reports she's a nice person. I just don't see her as 'superstar' material, both in terms of musicianship and stage presence.

[pkopwqzsdcvbn]

Kenny G. is the spawn of Satan.