Diana Kralls last sterling effort was the underappreciated "The Girl in the other room." She and Elvis Costello collaborated on it and though is was ignored by many who boycotted it because it wasn't her predictable standards affair, it was in my opinion one of the best albums of her career. Her 70's tribute cd ( Wallflower) was more like wallpaper and a big miss for me, and even before the that release her voice and energy seem to have lost their vitality. It seems like the thrill is gone and that she peeked with the 2006 "From this moment on." I saw her live 3 times between 1989 and 2004 and she sang and played like it mattered to her.
patricia barber - diana krall - holly cole
wouldnt that be awesome if they - toured together - tell me it wouldnt be sold out every night they played.
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Echoing a couple responses earlier, a recent visit to a Diana Krall concert recently proved to be highly disappointing. It was beyond "dialed in." More like "checked out" or some other issue. I would highly suggest anyone contemplating going to a Diana Krall concert to Google "Diana Krall Concert Reviews." 1.9 stars out of 5. Most respondents had a very poor experience as we did. What is sad it that she is such a talented musician, but the apparent several years long practice of offering substandard concerts suggests on her or her manager's part taking advantage of her audience. The venue I was at actually refunded our payment for the tickets. Finally-- another vote for Eva Cassidy as one to be part of this fictional group. |
I think the first night would sell, with a bunch of boomer male audiophiles with their remaining testosterone, and then it would be an empty house. There is a reason no one other than audiophiles listens to them. You know there are actual jazz musicians with talent touring, right? Get better music on a Wednesday night at any jazz club in any city. |
I don't want to pile onto Krall, but she's a rather staunch traditionalist and her performances have not been consistent. I'm happy with the albums I have an to have her in rotation, but I am a little surprised she occupies quite a bit of space in our heads when we think of female jazz artists right now. |
Recently saw Diana Krall at DPAC in Durham, NC mid October this year. Sadly, her voice has lost something. As a result, she quite often whispered lyrics and sounded hoarse. Agree it has to be gruesome performing on tour, but she could limit the number of performances. Not making excuses for her. On a plus side, she sure showcases her accompanying musicians. Still love listening to her CDs. |
@smargo Best Jazz Singers Of All Time: A Top 50 Countdown |
Her band was great (bassist, drummer, guitarist). Sound quality was great. Venue was great. She on the other hand, phoned it in. She sang maybe 1/4-1/3 of the time. The rest of the evening was an endless parade of instrumental solos from her admittedly talented band (and herself on piano). No material from her noteworthy repertoire. No energy. No charisma. I get that artists don’t want to just play their hits at their concerts and that it wasn’t a one woman show. I also get that she’s human and is entitled to an off-night. Touring has to be a difficult thing. However, people paid good money to hear Diana Krall do what she does best, sing. She did not deliver. She acted as if she was bored to be there, and late for her flight out of town. |
Krall's voice has never been the same after this:
This may be pertinent: https://www.ehealthme.com/cs/pneumonia/hoarseness-or-changing-voice/
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Her voice bugs me a bit. Never did quite put my finger on it...I have 2 or 3 of her albums, and every single time I play them, I just want to take them off and play something else. Diana Krall I can at least listen to for a while. Eva Cassidy probably tops my female vocal list for the time being...but Alison Krausse and Emmy Lou Harris get a fair amount of play time. Thanks to this post I have fresh prospects to investigate. 😎 |
