The mellow sound of Diana Krall

I have always believed that the best way to appreciate the dusky tones of Diana Krall is in the intimate setting of a piano bar. Certainly not in a cavernous concert hall or in a large dinner party, just like the way she was presented during her visit here some months ago. That was how she started in the clubs of Vancouver and this same close-to-the-audience ambiance was very much the mood set by her early recordings.

But then the piano-playing Diana Krall is no regular jazz artist. She can never be regular or ordinary after doing the Lilith Fair Festival with Sarah McLachlan. If singing The Look of Love to those kids waiting for chance to jump from the stage and being able to keep them quiet is the mark of a true crossover star, then Diana is indeed one. And this is not to mention that her Platinum selling album When I Look in Your Eyes was up against the Backstreet Boys and Santana for Album of the Year at the Grammy. Santana won, but jazz singer Diana put up a good fight.

Diana breaks a lot of rules. So what is to stop her from bringing her distinctive jazz spin to concert halls all over the world like the historic Paris Olympia? Nothing. Unless she gets cold feet. The Olympia is after all the home of many memorable concert performances. It was here where the likes of Edith Piaf, Miles Davis and even Dionne Warwick held Paris in their hands. Will Diana accomplish the same with her concert series held a year ago? Looks like she did and proof of her success is the album Live in Paris.

Diana sings jazz standards from various eras of the past in the album. she also plays the piano, remarkably well I must say, in all of the cuts. And though the Olympia is certainly no small venue, her easy way with the songs makes her performance, surprisingly, intimate. Behind her is a cohesive group of well-known musicians like guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton and in some of the cuts Brazilian percussionist Paulinho Da Costa and guitarist John Pisano. Take note of the interesting instrumental portions of the songs where Diana holds her own against these wonderful artists.

Sorely missed in the only 12-song line-up is the beautiful ballad that became her biggest seller, When I Look in Your Eyes but her other hit tune The Look of Love is present. Best cuts are the well-chosen openers, Peggy Lee’s I Love Being Here with You and Let’s Fall in Love. There is also a rousing East of the Sun( and West of the Moon), a langorous I’ve Got You Under My Skin, moving Maybe You’ll be There and surprise! Joni Mitchell’s torchy composition A Case of You closing the live set.

Jazz Café Series

Although I simply adore the smell, coffee doesn’t agree with me anymore and save for a piece of coffee-cake once in a while, I have totally sworn off the brew. That is why I order orange juice or coke at Starbucks. I like jazz though, particularly the old kind from Duke Ellington and Count Basie and Billie Holiday. They say jazz music goes well with coffee. I wouldn’t know that but I certainly know that jazz is great with or without coffee.

The jazz and coffee combination was the inspiration for a 4-disc series of old-school favorites titled Jazz Café Series. To celebrate the time-old partnership, the four volumes of the series are named after the mainstays of café menus. Hence we have Jazz+Espresso, Jazz+Latte, Jazz+Mocca and Jazz+Cappucino. Each one features fifteen unforgettable jazz performances and has its own distinct quality. Espresso has a strong jolt. Latte is smooth and relaxing. Cappucino is romantic and langourous. And then there’s Mocha which reminds me of chocolate, sweet and dusky and irresistible.

the latter includes that wonderful Take the A Train by Ellington and Chet Baker’s sensuous take on I Married an Angel, enough reasons to pick up coffee addiction at any time. Also included are Ellington’s Satin Doll, Mack the Knife by Louie Armstrong, California Dreaming by George Benson, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore by Tony Bennett, Mean to Me by Sarah Vaughan, Jell Roll by Charles Mingus What a Little Moonlight Can Do by Billie Holiday and others.