On November 16, 1964 in Nanaimo, Canada, a girl was born who had no idea how lucky she was. In fact, jazz artist Diana Krall was fortunate to have been born into a perfect family to nurture her musical talents.
Diana started playing the piano at the age of four. Diana’s father had a passion for collecting records; He was also a striding pianist, and in the evenings the family often gathered around the piano and sang together. Of her family, Diana said: “They were very poor, they are coal miners, but they had a piano, so they all played and I think my father started taking some of the money from the collection on the way to church and buying 78 bills. “. Music was what they listened to, and people came because they couldn’t go out. They all went to his house and brought bottles, whatever they had. “
Diana’s grandparents also loved jazz and she spent many weekends with them singing the classics. Diana’s interest in jazz flourished even more in high school when she began playing with her school’s jazz band. At the age of fifteen, Diana landed her first concert playing the piano at a local restaurant.
In 1981, Diana won a scholarship from the Vancouver Jazz Festival that allowed her to study at the Berkeley College of Music. Diana studied for three semesters, but then returned to British Columbia. One night while playing Nanaimo, renowned bassist Ray Brown was impressed by his playing and became his mentor. Ray convinced Diana to move to Los Angeles to pursue her career.
In 1984 Diana won a grant from the Canadian Arts Council and Jimmy Rowles, who had performed with jazz legends Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, became her new teacher. Jimmy encouraged Diana to sing while playing the piano, making her the great performer we know today.
After three years in California and a short stay in Toronto, Diana moved to New York in 1990. She landed a regular weekend gig with her own trio in Boston and recorded her first album, Coming out, in 1992.
Diana’s third album, All for you (nineteen ninety six), was dedicated to her love for Nat King Cole, and it was this album that became Diana’s springboard to stardom. The album spent more than a year on the Billboard Top 10 Traditional Jazz chart. Diana was voted third in Downbeat Magazine’s annual Top Ten Favorite Poll and was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Jazz Vocalist.
In 1997 Diana recorded Love scenes. This immensely popular album, containing her hit song, “Peel me a Grape,” sold over 500,000 copies, and Diana earned another Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.
1999 was a great year for Krall. Love scenes turned to gold, and Diana released When I look into your eyes, which became a huge international success. Krall eventually won the Grammy Award for which she had been nominated twice previously, and When I look into your eyes became the first jazz album to be nominated for the best Grammy album in more than 20 years. The album topped the charts for more than a year, and the album’s songs were used on both television shows and movies.
In 2001, Diana launched The look of love. The album topped the commercials charts. In Canada, the album went five times platinum; Diana was the first Canadian jazz artist to achieve this achievement. His next album, Live in paris (2002), won the Grammy for best jazz vocal album. It was during this year that People magazine also named Krall one of the 25 Most Intriguing People of 2001.
In 2003, Krall married British rock musician Elvis Costello, and in the following year she released Girl in the other room, which contained many songs written by Diana and her husband.
Despite the crossover success of When I look into your eyes, this album was criticized for leaning too far from jazz towards contemporary pop. Since that time, Krall has released From this moment (2006), Quiet nights (2009) and Cheerful rag doll (2012), each with its own distinctive flavor. From this moment broad standard set favors, Quiet nights has a Brazilian bossa-nova theme and features a full orchestra, and Cheerful rag doll Plays jazz music from the Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s.
Krall’s fame and popularity has led to many impressive acting opportunities. Krall has performed at Carnegie Hall and at the White House for President Obama. He also performed “Fly Me to the Moon” at Neil Armstrong’s funeral.
Krall’s musical talents have influenced the works of many other famous musicians. In particular, Krall has worked with Barbra Streisand, producing her music and playing piano on a Streisand album in 2009. In 2012, Krall worked with Paul McCartney on his album, “Kisses on the Bottom.” Other artists who have been influenced by Diana include Lindsey Muir, Jamie Cullum, Norah Jones, Elisabeth Kontomanou, Katie Melua, and Renee Olstead.
Despite criticism of “Girl in the Other Room,” Krall is planning a pop album release in the fall of 2014. The album tentatively includes tracks by Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, and a new composition by Paul McCartney.
Given Diana’s penchant for producing music in a variety of styles, you never know what she will come up with next. According to Diana, “an album is just a snapshot of where you are at that moment. Not all photos of everyone are in jeans and a T-shirt or a party dress. You have a lot of different sides and this is a snapshot of where you are in that moment. moment “.
As Diana approaches her fiftieth birthday in November, she has the potential to take us to new places for years to come. If your future journey turns out to be as brilliant as your past, you will surely earn a place in history as one of the vocal legends of our time.
