http://www.ibabuzz.com/concerts/2007/06 ... ur-opener/
Back from hiatus, Diana Krall wows locals in tour opener
Posted by Jim on June 10th, 2007
The last time jazz superstar Diana Krall played Yoshi’s at Jack London Square was in the spring of 2003. She used the occasion to test out some new material, before venturing into the studio to record what would become 2004’s “The Girl in the Other Room.â€
Diana Krall tour rider ' yoga room etc' , Summer '07
Diana Krall tour rider ' yoga room etc' , Summer '07
Last edited by johnfoyle on Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... type=music
(extract)
Gauzy publicity photos and fashion-shoot album covers aside, Diana Krall arrived onstage Saturday at Yoshi's in Oakland ready for business.
She wore a no-nonsense black frock, minimal makeup and no hair products in the ash blond mane that she continually wiped out her face. She played to the bandstand, not the crowd, in her first appearance anywhere in nine months, since giving birth to twin sons in December with her husband, Elvis Costello, who led the standing ovation from a booth in the center of the room.
(extract)
Gauzy publicity photos and fashion-shoot album covers aside, Diana Krall arrived onstage Saturday at Yoshi's in Oakland ready for business.
She wore a no-nonsense black frock, minimal makeup and no hair products in the ash blond mane that she continually wiped out her face. She played to the bandstand, not the crowd, in her first appearance anywhere in nine months, since giving birth to twin sons in December with her husband, Elvis Costello, who led the standing ovation from a booth in the center of the room.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/bayarealiving/ci_6259887
Krall can't march to the beat of her missing drummer
06/29/2007
REGULAR readers might be growing tired of seeing Diana Krall's name in this column.
That's understandable, since I have a tendency to mention the jazz vocalist-pianist about as frequently as our S.F. Giants beat writer brings up slugger Barry Bonds.
It's no secret that I'm a big fan — of Krall, not of Bonds — and I've been known to gush on and on about the pretty and talented superstar. This isn't one of those occasions.
I recently went to see Krall at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, which is one of the best spots for live music in the entire Bay Area. I was expecting another terrific performance, one that might even top the one I'd seen by the vocalist-pianist and her band earlier in the month at Yoshi's in Oakland.
I was also expecting to see Krall lead her regular quartet, featuring drummer Jeff Hamilton, guitarist Anthony Wilson and bassist John Clayton. That's the band that was so impressive at Yoshi's. And it's the one that Krall is supposed to be leading on her lengthy national tour.
Yet, it was a drummer-less Diana Krall trio that took the stage at the Mountain Winery. How important is a drummer? Well, if you have to ask then you probably didn't attend Krall's gigs at both Yoshi's and the Winery. The former was amazing. The latter was fairly pedestrian, as the band came across like three-fourths of a quartet more than an actual trio — and there's a huge difference.
Where was Hamilton? Maybe he was abducted by aliens. Or perhaps he ran off and joined the circus. The crowd members — at least those who knew that Krall usually tours with a drummer — were left to make their best guesses.
The singer was strangely silent on the issue; in fact, she never even mentioned Hamilton's absence. (At least, she didn't say a peep about it during the first concert in the two-night stand at the Mountain Winery. I can't comment on the second night, since I wasn't there.)
Furthermore, folks at the venue couldn't provide an answer as to the drummer's whereabouts and Krall's publicist, who I contacted the following day, said he didn't know about the situation.
I later learned that Hamilton had taken ill during the previous night's concert at Wente Vineyards in Livermore. That information came courtesy of a few readers and a colleague who were at the show.
It sounds like the Livermore gig was even less of an artistic success than the Mountain Winery outing. I was surprised to read some of the postings on my Concert Blog (http://www.insidebayarea.com/music) about the Wente show.
"Diana Krall is a wonderful pianist and vocalist with a fabulous group of musicians onstage with her," wrote Sheri. "However, last night at Wente she was flat as a pancake with little connection to her audience. Granted, her drummer had to leave the stage early, but she never fully connected with us. There was no center, no energy, no passion."
A poster, Joe, was even less complimentary: "(Krall) was flat, had no energy and seemed to be sedated. I have been to hundreds of performances, all over the country, and this was clearly the worst concert and waste of money of all time. I hate it when someone takes advantage of anyone, especially me."
My experience wasn't nearly that bad. I thought Krall's drummer-less band did OK at the Mountain Winery. I just wish she would have been upfront with the audience about the situation. That would have helped explain why the musicians seemed somewhat out of sync and why the arrangements sounded a little sketchy.
Of course, Krall isn't required to be forthcoming with her crowds. But honesty is the best policy; at least, I bet that's what Krall will someday tell her two young boys.
Most importantly, I wish Hamilton a speedy recovery from whatever put him on the sidelines. Diana certainly missed him, even though she didn't say so in Saratoga. And the crowd missed him, too, even though some didn't know exactly what (or who) was missing.
Hopefully, things will be back to normal — or, at least, as normal as things get in the jazz world — by the time Krall rolls back to town to perform Aug. 15 at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. She'll also be part of the 50th anniversary festivities for the Monterey Jazz Festival, performing a main-stage set Sept. 22. For more on those events, check out http://www.ticketmaster.com and http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org.
Write jazz critic Jim Harrington at jharrington@angnewspapers.com. For more jazz coverage, visit http://www.insidebayarea.com/jimharrington.
Krall can't march to the beat of her missing drummer
06/29/2007
REGULAR readers might be growing tired of seeing Diana Krall's name in this column.
That's understandable, since I have a tendency to mention the jazz vocalist-pianist about as frequently as our S.F. Giants beat writer brings up slugger Barry Bonds.
It's no secret that I'm a big fan — of Krall, not of Bonds — and I've been known to gush on and on about the pretty and talented superstar. This isn't one of those occasions.
I recently went to see Krall at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, which is one of the best spots for live music in the entire Bay Area. I was expecting another terrific performance, one that might even top the one I'd seen by the vocalist-pianist and her band earlier in the month at Yoshi's in Oakland.
I was also expecting to see Krall lead her regular quartet, featuring drummer Jeff Hamilton, guitarist Anthony Wilson and bassist John Clayton. That's the band that was so impressive at Yoshi's. And it's the one that Krall is supposed to be leading on her lengthy national tour.
Yet, it was a drummer-less Diana Krall trio that took the stage at the Mountain Winery. How important is a drummer? Well, if you have to ask then you probably didn't attend Krall's gigs at both Yoshi's and the Winery. The former was amazing. The latter was fairly pedestrian, as the band came across like three-fourths of a quartet more than an actual trio — and there's a huge difference.
Where was Hamilton? Maybe he was abducted by aliens. Or perhaps he ran off and joined the circus. The crowd members — at least those who knew that Krall usually tours with a drummer — were left to make their best guesses.
The singer was strangely silent on the issue; in fact, she never even mentioned Hamilton's absence. (At least, she didn't say a peep about it during the first concert in the two-night stand at the Mountain Winery. I can't comment on the second night, since I wasn't there.)
Furthermore, folks at the venue couldn't provide an answer as to the drummer's whereabouts and Krall's publicist, who I contacted the following day, said he didn't know about the situation.
I later learned that Hamilton had taken ill during the previous night's concert at Wente Vineyards in Livermore. That information came courtesy of a few readers and a colleague who were at the show.
It sounds like the Livermore gig was even less of an artistic success than the Mountain Winery outing. I was surprised to read some of the postings on my Concert Blog (http://www.insidebayarea.com/music) about the Wente show.
"Diana Krall is a wonderful pianist and vocalist with a fabulous group of musicians onstage with her," wrote Sheri. "However, last night at Wente she was flat as a pancake with little connection to her audience. Granted, her drummer had to leave the stage early, but she never fully connected with us. There was no center, no energy, no passion."
A poster, Joe, was even less complimentary: "(Krall) was flat, had no energy and seemed to be sedated. I have been to hundreds of performances, all over the country, and this was clearly the worst concert and waste of money of all time. I hate it when someone takes advantage of anyone, especially me."
My experience wasn't nearly that bad. I thought Krall's drummer-less band did OK at the Mountain Winery. I just wish she would have been upfront with the audience about the situation. That would have helped explain why the musicians seemed somewhat out of sync and why the arrangements sounded a little sketchy.
Of course, Krall isn't required to be forthcoming with her crowds. But honesty is the best policy; at least, I bet that's what Krall will someday tell her two young boys.
Most importantly, I wish Hamilton a speedy recovery from whatever put him on the sidelines. Diana certainly missed him, even though she didn't say so in Saratoga. And the crowd missed him, too, even though some didn't know exactly what (or who) was missing.
Hopefully, things will be back to normal — or, at least, as normal as things get in the jazz world — by the time Krall rolls back to town to perform Aug. 15 at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. She'll also be part of the 50th anniversary festivities for the Monterey Jazz Festival, performing a main-stage set Sept. 22. For more on those events, check out http://www.ticketmaster.com and http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org.
Write jazz critic Jim Harrington at jharrington@angnewspapers.com. For more jazz coverage, visit http://www.insidebayarea.com/jimharrington.
Diana's drummer problems have a strange echo for long-time Costello fans. Back in 1985 Elvis traveled a lot with his soon-to-be wife Cait O'Riordan as she toured with her group The Pogues. Back then they were a rowdy lot and , ahem, 'casualties' amongst band-members were a common feature . A 'net account doesn't seem to be out there but somewhere in my cuttings folder I have one of Elvis standing in on the drums for a show in somewhere like Zurich, Switzerland. Since percussion for The Pogues required a mere bashing the hell out of the kit , no great expertise was required. Perhaps , in the case of Mr Hamilton ( and if Elvis was in winery last week) , it was judged that he might be too hard an act to follow!
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/ye ... rall1.html
The Diana Krall Wine List
Why the chart-topping jazz singer's road show is always in the red
JULY 9--Jazz singer Diana Krall spent the weekend performing shows in New Jersey, where gofers in Atlantic City and Newark were confronted with "The Diana Krall Wine List (North America)." The performer, who is married to Elvis Costello, gives concert promoters a very detailed list of red wines (and a few whites) that would be acceptable for her dressing room, according to the musician's tour rider, excerpts of which you'll find on the following pages. Along with her wine demands, the 42-year-old star requires a can of Nestle's Good Start baby formula, which is apparently the backstage drink of choice for her seven-month-old twins, who are touring with Mom. Krall's dressing room must be spotless and sans any bleachy smell, of course, though flowers are out due to her allergies. The kids (and their nannies) get their own baby-proofed family room, which is outfitted with a playpen. And Krall also needs a separate "yoga room" large enough to accommodate "5 people LAYING DOWN." And when it comes to specs for video production, Krall's rider offers guidance on how to capture a "great beauty shot" of the singer while she's playing piano. But cameramen are advised that, when it comes to framing the singer, "extreme close-ups" are out. "The tightest shot that is comfortable for her is from 6" below the shoulders to 4" above the head." Noted. (7 pages)
Example - more via above link -
The Diana Krall Wine List
Why the chart-topping jazz singer's road show is always in the red
JULY 9--Jazz singer Diana Krall spent the weekend performing shows in New Jersey, where gofers in Atlantic City and Newark were confronted with "The Diana Krall Wine List (North America)." The performer, who is married to Elvis Costello, gives concert promoters a very detailed list of red wines (and a few whites) that would be acceptable for her dressing room, according to the musician's tour rider, excerpts of which you'll find on the following pages. Along with her wine demands, the 42-year-old star requires a can of Nestle's Good Start baby formula, which is apparently the backstage drink of choice for her seven-month-old twins, who are touring with Mom. Krall's dressing room must be spotless and sans any bleachy smell, of course, though flowers are out due to her allergies. The kids (and their nannies) get their own baby-proofed family room, which is outfitted with a playpen. And Krall also needs a separate "yoga room" large enough to accommodate "5 people LAYING DOWN." And when it comes to specs for video production, Krall's rider offers guidance on how to capture a "great beauty shot" of the singer while she's playing piano. But cameramen are advised that, when it comes to framing the singer, "extreme close-ups" are out. "The tightest shot that is comfortable for her is from 6" below the shoulders to 4" above the head." Noted. (7 pages)
Example - more via above link -
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verbal gymnastics
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Is this in case she fancies playing Twister?johnfoyle wrote:http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/ye ... rall1.html
...And Krall also needs a separate "yoga room" large enough to accommodate "5 people LAYING DOWN."
Great rider. I'm also surprised she doesn't specify which type of plastic wrap can be used to cover the food.
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
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http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living ... rited_set/
Diana Krall performs, with drummer Jeff Hamilton and bassist John Clayton, Saturday at the Bank of America Pavilion. (robert e. klein for the boston globe)
MUSIC REVIEW
Krall channels jazz royalty in a spirited set
By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff | July 16, 2007
The jazz world can be a tough place to find a comfort zone. It's intimidating (all those complicated chords and tricky time signatures) or ingratiating (cheese whiz Kenny G) or just plain off the radar for folks reticent to open that vaguely exotic can of worms.
Diana Krall is neither a cerebral innovator nor a smooth, toothless stylist. She's one of that near-extinct breed of jazz artist s with legitimate cred and impeccable chops who also relates to the masses : Think Nat "King" Cole and Peggy Lee . They were certainly on Krall's mind at her sparkling show for a near-capacity crowd at the Bank of America Pavilion on Saturday, during which she invoked those artists' musical legacy again and again. The 90-minute set kicked off with Lee's spirited "I Love Being Here With You." It's Krall's signature show-opener, but the song seemed to have special meaning in Boston, where Krall moved when she was 17 to attend the Berklee College of Music.
"It feels like home when I'm here," she said, and that sense of affability and ease infused everything from her fleet-fingered piano playing and classy phrasing to a spot-on, standards-saturated set .
Krall is a self-assured band leader, and her nimble trio -- guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist John Clayton, and drummer Jeff Hamilton -- followed her clean, uncluttered lead. "You Call It Madness," one of several tributes to Cole, was pared down to a muted, breathless elegy. The Gershwins' evergreen "S'Wonderful" swung so slow and sweet several couples couldn't resist falling into swaying embraces.
Krall, a seriously unassuming performer, cracked a rare smile when she messed up her solo during an effervescent read of " 'Deed I Do," and again while apologizing for her shapeless tunic. "They said the weight would come right off during breast-feeding. That's [expletive]," explained Krall, the mother of 7-month-old twins with husband Elvis Costello.
Motherhood also seems to have endowed Krall with extra weight of a more welcome sort. We felt it when she sang Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" in husky, bitter tones, and during a surprising, show-closing cover of the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" In stripping the song of its anguished melodrama, Krall discovered its desolate soul.
Joan Anderman can be reached at anderman@globe.com. For more on music visit boston.com/ae/ music/blog.
Diana Krall performs, with drummer Jeff Hamilton and bassist John Clayton, Saturday at the Bank of America Pavilion. (robert e. klein for the boston globe)
MUSIC REVIEW
Krall channels jazz royalty in a spirited set
By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff | July 16, 2007
The jazz world can be a tough place to find a comfort zone. It's intimidating (all those complicated chords and tricky time signatures) or ingratiating (cheese whiz Kenny G) or just plain off the radar for folks reticent to open that vaguely exotic can of worms.
Diana Krall is neither a cerebral innovator nor a smooth, toothless stylist. She's one of that near-extinct breed of jazz artist s with legitimate cred and impeccable chops who also relates to the masses : Think Nat "King" Cole and Peggy Lee . They were certainly on Krall's mind at her sparkling show for a near-capacity crowd at the Bank of America Pavilion on Saturday, during which she invoked those artists' musical legacy again and again. The 90-minute set kicked off with Lee's spirited "I Love Being Here With You." It's Krall's signature show-opener, but the song seemed to have special meaning in Boston, where Krall moved when she was 17 to attend the Berklee College of Music.
"It feels like home when I'm here," she said, and that sense of affability and ease infused everything from her fleet-fingered piano playing and classy phrasing to a spot-on, standards-saturated set .
Krall is a self-assured band leader, and her nimble trio -- guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist John Clayton, and drummer Jeff Hamilton -- followed her clean, uncluttered lead. "You Call It Madness," one of several tributes to Cole, was pared down to a muted, breathless elegy. The Gershwins' evergreen "S'Wonderful" swung so slow and sweet several couples couldn't resist falling into swaying embraces.
Krall, a seriously unassuming performer, cracked a rare smile when she messed up her solo during an effervescent read of " 'Deed I Do," and again while apologizing for her shapeless tunic. "They said the weight would come right off during breast-feeding. That's [expletive]," explained Krall, the mother of 7-month-old twins with husband Elvis Costello.
Motherhood also seems to have endowed Krall with extra weight of a more welcome sort. We felt it when she sang Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" in husky, bitter tones, and during a surprising, show-closing cover of the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" In stripping the song of its anguished melodrama, Krall discovered its desolate soul.
Joan Anderman can be reached at anderman@globe.com. For more on music visit boston.com/ae/ music/blog.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 50508/1035
COMING INTO HER OWN: Happy and secure as a wife and new mom, singer Diana Krall revels in the challenges of her music
July 15, 2007
BY BRIAN McCOLLUM
FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER
Diana Krall is relaxed. She's happy. She is, most crucial of all, content.
The Canadian jazz-pop chanteuse has 7-month-old twin boys and what she describes as a very, very happy marriage to rocker Elvis Costello. Five years after losing her mother to cancer, Krall has grieved and moved forward, again putting her voice to songs that had become too painful to sing.
Standard life stuff, perhaps, but there's more to this than meets the eye. For years -- and she'll tell you this herself -- Krall carried a notorious reputation, keeping things tense around the edges and eliciting the fear of staff and press alike. It was a temperament born of frustration, she says -- annoyance at both the news media's predictable focus on image ("asking me about my legs," she summarizes) and her own difficulty expressing herself away from a piano bench.
The hard façade, it turns out, may have been just that. And recent developments have begun to reveal the cracks. Last year, after reading a peeved British writer's portrayal of Krall as a glowering "cow," the 42-year-old singer broke down and "cried and cried and cried."
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way," Krall says, chuckling at her newfound candor. "It's definitely a different place now. It's about looking forward."
In Krall's musical world, of course, looking forward still means looking back -- to the sounds of personal idols like Nat King Cole, Rosemary Clooney and Joni Mitchell. At the moment she's even casting her attention back to her own legacy: Her visit to the Fox Theatre on Saturday comes as Krall prepares for the release of her first career retrospective, a best-of set due to be issued in September by Verve Records.
In other words, 2007 may well go down as a key plot point in the Diana Krall story, a tale that began at the knees of her pianist father in British Columbia, moving through smoky jazz clubs in the northeastern United States before putting her atop the charts and into the Grammy Awards winners circle earlier this decade.
"I'm coming into my own as a woman and artist, and it's OK," she says. "I think I'm more secure in myself. I'm working hard and I really love it. I'm very serious about it, but I also have a very good humor about it."
Despite her domestic stability, Krall says she remains musically restless, continuously seeking to up her own ante. On stage and record, her approach to pop standards may be the picture of graceful, understated class. But behind it all is an ever-roiling creative brain, churning and demanding. Krall is quick to quote the late choreographer Martha Graham, speaking of the "divine dissatisfaction" that provides ongoing motivation to grow.
"I love getting frustrated artistically, getting in that position where it's demanding and challenging," says Krall. "That's what makes me feel excited about what I'm doing. I'm not going to just coast on this. I'm always searching for that obscure tune, something that can be surprising to myself -- still getting the goose bumps where I say, 'Wow I didn't think I could do that!' "
Her most recent works have been marked by such challenges: The 2004 album "The Girl in the Other Room" showcased her first notable songwriting efforts, with six songs penned by her and Costello. Her next two releases, a Christmas record and last fall's "From This Moment On," found Krall taking a spin at classic big-band sounds, pushing her voice and piano through a new set of rigors.
Her piano work -- drawing inspiration from Fats Waller and Elton John -- was Krall's ticket into the jazz world years ago. But it's that voice, sensitive and sensuous, that won Krall her mainstream following and made her a long-term resident in the pop Top 10. A mostly self-trained singer, it took her years to draw confidence from her delivery.
"I'm always trying to get... 'better' isn't the right word. But I might look back on something and say, hmm, I'm not sure I want to be there again," she says. "So no, I'm not settled into it, quite. I'm always trying to find it. It's still a challenge for sure."
Krall will start work on a new album when her U.S. tour wraps up in the fall. While she continues to solicit Costello's opinion on her material, she's put aside further songwriting collaborations with her Brit-rocker husband. She's got a pool of about 30 songs from which she'll choose as she moves back to the nightclub jazz arrangements of pop standards that marked her work earlier this decade.
At this point in her career, Krall says she enjoys a mutual faith with her audience: They trust where she's going, and she trusts that they'll come along.
"Some people might not like what you try. And that's fine," she says. "But I've had a pretty loyal audience. And now I don't have an agenda -- I play what I want to play. I'm not 'promoting' anything anymore. I have a huge repertoire, and I'm enjoying myself tremendously. ...
"Lord knows I have more demands on me now -- physically, emotionally -- and I like it like that. I feel like I can do that. I want to live. I'm not Joni Mitchell, I'm not Sarah Vaughan. But I do what I do."
Contact BRIAN McCOLLUM at 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
COMING INTO HER OWN: Happy and secure as a wife and new mom, singer Diana Krall revels in the challenges of her music
July 15, 2007
BY BRIAN McCOLLUM
FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER
Diana Krall is relaxed. She's happy. She is, most crucial of all, content.
The Canadian jazz-pop chanteuse has 7-month-old twin boys and what she describes as a very, very happy marriage to rocker Elvis Costello. Five years after losing her mother to cancer, Krall has grieved and moved forward, again putting her voice to songs that had become too painful to sing.
Standard life stuff, perhaps, but there's more to this than meets the eye. For years -- and she'll tell you this herself -- Krall carried a notorious reputation, keeping things tense around the edges and eliciting the fear of staff and press alike. It was a temperament born of frustration, she says -- annoyance at both the news media's predictable focus on image ("asking me about my legs," she summarizes) and her own difficulty expressing herself away from a piano bench.
The hard façade, it turns out, may have been just that. And recent developments have begun to reveal the cracks. Last year, after reading a peeved British writer's portrayal of Krall as a glowering "cow," the 42-year-old singer broke down and "cried and cried and cried."
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way," Krall says, chuckling at her newfound candor. "It's definitely a different place now. It's about looking forward."
In Krall's musical world, of course, looking forward still means looking back -- to the sounds of personal idols like Nat King Cole, Rosemary Clooney and Joni Mitchell. At the moment she's even casting her attention back to her own legacy: Her visit to the Fox Theatre on Saturday comes as Krall prepares for the release of her first career retrospective, a best-of set due to be issued in September by Verve Records.
In other words, 2007 may well go down as a key plot point in the Diana Krall story, a tale that began at the knees of her pianist father in British Columbia, moving through smoky jazz clubs in the northeastern United States before putting her atop the charts and into the Grammy Awards winners circle earlier this decade.
"I'm coming into my own as a woman and artist, and it's OK," she says. "I think I'm more secure in myself. I'm working hard and I really love it. I'm very serious about it, but I also have a very good humor about it."
Despite her domestic stability, Krall says she remains musically restless, continuously seeking to up her own ante. On stage and record, her approach to pop standards may be the picture of graceful, understated class. But behind it all is an ever-roiling creative brain, churning and demanding. Krall is quick to quote the late choreographer Martha Graham, speaking of the "divine dissatisfaction" that provides ongoing motivation to grow.
"I love getting frustrated artistically, getting in that position where it's demanding and challenging," says Krall. "That's what makes me feel excited about what I'm doing. I'm not going to just coast on this. I'm always searching for that obscure tune, something that can be surprising to myself -- still getting the goose bumps where I say, 'Wow I didn't think I could do that!' "
Her most recent works have been marked by such challenges: The 2004 album "The Girl in the Other Room" showcased her first notable songwriting efforts, with six songs penned by her and Costello. Her next two releases, a Christmas record and last fall's "From This Moment On," found Krall taking a spin at classic big-band sounds, pushing her voice and piano through a new set of rigors.
Her piano work -- drawing inspiration from Fats Waller and Elton John -- was Krall's ticket into the jazz world years ago. But it's that voice, sensitive and sensuous, that won Krall her mainstream following and made her a long-term resident in the pop Top 10. A mostly self-trained singer, it took her years to draw confidence from her delivery.
"I'm always trying to get... 'better' isn't the right word. But I might look back on something and say, hmm, I'm not sure I want to be there again," she says. "So no, I'm not settled into it, quite. I'm always trying to find it. It's still a challenge for sure."
Krall will start work on a new album when her U.S. tour wraps up in the fall. While she continues to solicit Costello's opinion on her material, she's put aside further songwriting collaborations with her Brit-rocker husband. She's got a pool of about 30 songs from which she'll choose as she moves back to the nightclub jazz arrangements of pop standards that marked her work earlier this decade.
At this point in her career, Krall says she enjoys a mutual faith with her audience: They trust where she's going, and she trusts that they'll come along.
"Some people might not like what you try. And that's fine," she says. "But I've had a pretty loyal audience. And now I don't have an agenda -- I play what I want to play. I'm not 'promoting' anything anymore. I have a huge repertoire, and I'm enjoying myself tremendously. ...
"Lord knows I have more demands on me now -- physically, emotionally -- and I like it like that. I feel like I can do that. I want to live. I'm not Joni Mitchell, I'm not Sarah Vaughan. But I do what I do."
Contact BRIAN McCOLLUM at 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... ertainment
DIANA KRALL'S PALATE: OUR WINE CRITIC DISCOVERS SHE HAS NO TASTE FOR B.C.
BEPPI CROSARIOL
July 18, 2007
The Globe and Mail
So the pride of Nanaimo, B.C., isn't exactly proud of her province's wines. At least that's one conclusion that might be drawn from the extensive "Diana Krall Wine List (North America)," part of the singer's fascinating summer-tour catering rider.
The list, recently posted on The Smoking Gun, a website that specializes in outing celebrity documents, contains a whopping 71 suggestions, most from California.
There are the usual celebrity-standard trophy labels, such as Shafer and Matanzas Creek, both $70-plus reds from California. But the jazz superstar is no prima donna in the potables department, indulging in more proletarian offerings, such as d'Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz (a $20 Aussie red) and Allegrini La Grola (a $20 Italian).
She's a keen shopper with a cosmopolitan palate too, favouring critically acclaimed values such as Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc, a white from South Africa, and Palacios Bierzo, a relatively obscure red from a renowned Spanish producer, both around $20. The former, incidentally, would pair nicely with her healthful dressing-room spread, which includes a "small, fresh veggie tray with low-fat, no-garlic dip."
But, alas, there is not a British Columbia wine in sight, a shame given the world-class wines emerging from the Okanagan Valley in the past five years. Maybe it's just the compromising Canadian in her. After all, sourcing B.C. wines in places such as Atlanta, where she's appearing tonight, wouldn't be an easy task.
The extensive list notwithstanding, the diva is no lush. The rider specifies a mere "one bottle premium red wine" and "six red wine glasses."
DIANA KRALL'S PALATE: OUR WINE CRITIC DISCOVERS SHE HAS NO TASTE FOR B.C.
BEPPI CROSARIOL
July 18, 2007
The Globe and Mail
So the pride of Nanaimo, B.C., isn't exactly proud of her province's wines. At least that's one conclusion that might be drawn from the extensive "Diana Krall Wine List (North America)," part of the singer's fascinating summer-tour catering rider.
The list, recently posted on The Smoking Gun, a website that specializes in outing celebrity documents, contains a whopping 71 suggestions, most from California.
There are the usual celebrity-standard trophy labels, such as Shafer and Matanzas Creek, both $70-plus reds from California. But the jazz superstar is no prima donna in the potables department, indulging in more proletarian offerings, such as d'Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz (a $20 Aussie red) and Allegrini La Grola (a $20 Italian).
She's a keen shopper with a cosmopolitan palate too, favouring critically acclaimed values such as Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc, a white from South Africa, and Palacios Bierzo, a relatively obscure red from a renowned Spanish producer, both around $20. The former, incidentally, would pair nicely with her healthful dressing-room spread, which includes a "small, fresh veggie tray with low-fat, no-garlic dip."
But, alas, there is not a British Columbia wine in sight, a shame given the world-class wines emerging from the Okanagan Valley in the past five years. Maybe it's just the compromising Canadian in her. After all, sourcing B.C. wines in places such as Atlanta, where she's appearing tonight, wouldn't be an easy task.
The extensive list notwithstanding, the diva is no lush. The rider specifies a mere "one bottle premium red wine" and "six red wine glasses."
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verbal gymnastics
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Sound like anyone you know (except for the acknowledgement of the loyal audience)?johnfoyle wrote:"Some people might not like what you try. And that's fine," she says. "But I've had a pretty loyal audience. And now I don't have an agenda -- I play what I want to play. I'm not 'promoting' anything anymore. I have a huge repertoire, and I'm enjoying myself tremendously.
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
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bambooneedle
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A ,er, less than respectful review of Ms Krall in concert in L.A. this week -
http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment ... ywood-bowl
http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment ... ywood-bowl
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Otis Westinghouse
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'the pull of her eye-grabbing locks greatly diminished by an overly large and sparkly blouse that was dangerously close to a muumuu – and under which Krall quite clearly wore no brassiere.
Yeah, OK, it's mid-August in Hollywood. Why not let it all hang out at the Bowl?
How 'bout because Krall's never really struck anyone as a let-it-all-out-hang-out kinda gal?'
Photo no. 2 would appear to support the unsupported hypothesis. But it's pretty respectful about her musically!
Yeah, OK, it's mid-August in Hollywood. Why not let it all hang out at the Bowl?
How 'bout because Krall's never really struck anyone as a let-it-all-out-hang-out kinda gal?'
Photo no. 2 would appear to support the unsupported hypothesis. But it's pretty respectful about her musically!
There's more to life than books, you know, but not much more