When I Look In Your Eyes - Diana Krall

...soon became a great pianist. When she reached 16, Diana was given a scholarship to study music Berkley collage of music in Boston. She soon discovered her gift for jazz piano, she was also encouraged to sing and it soon became clear that Diana had a great gift for music and would be a successful artist.

Diana moved to New York in 1990, where she met several musicians and began playing gigs with a regular trio. In 1993 she began recording ...
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4. When I Look In Your Eyes. This is the title track, and is very easy listening. The orchestra play a big role in this one, and Diana’s voice sounds lush and gravely. A very slow track, with only guitar accompanying the orchestra.

5. Popsicle Toes. This is a comical song, jazzy with lots of chords from piano and guitar. The lyrics are quite rude! This is a song about being naked with the one you love:
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Diana Krall is one of the biggest selling jazz artists of today. Her last album, 1999’s ‘When I look in your eyes’ sold two million copies world-wide and won Krall the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.

For those who haven’t heard much of Diana Krall, I will tell you a little about her background.

Diana Krall was born in British Columbia, Canada, in 1966. She was born into a musical family and was surrounded by music from an early age. She started piano lessons aged six and soon became a great pianist. When she reached 16, Diana was given a scholarship to study music Berkley collage of music in Boston. She soon discovered her gift for jazz piano, she was also encouraged to sing and it soon became clear that Diana had a great gift for music and would be a successful artist.

Diana moved to New York in 1990, where she met several musicians and began playing gigs with a regular trio. In 1993 she began recording her debut album, ‘Stepping Out’, this sold steadily, and earned her a three-album contract with the Impulse label. All these albums were recorded with the Diana Krall Trio, consisting of Russell Malone (guitar) and Paul Keller (bass). These albums were Love Scenes (1997), All for You (1996), and Only Trust Your Heart (1995). With each album came more sales, Love Scenes sold more than 500,000 copies.

Diana Krall is a great pianist. I think she is stable and reliable, without being too flashy. Her piano playing is always relaxed, it is obvious that playing piano is second nature to her and she hardly has to think about what she’s playing. Her vocals are stunning. Diana Krall has a very deep alto voice. There is no doubt she has an incredibly sexy voice. I could listen to her singing all day long. It is smooth, and dark, like chocolate! I think she is the female equivalent to Barry White!!

Diana Krall has now signed to the prestigious jazz label ‘Verve’; her first recording on this label is an album entitled ‘When I look in Your Eyes’ from 1999. This album shows a different turning for Krall, as for the first time she incorporates an orchestra on half of the tracks, which gives the album a lush sound with lots of depth.

Personnel for this album are Diana Krall (vocals and piano), Russell Malone (Guitar), John Clayton (bass) and Jeff Hamilton (drums).

Tracks:

1. Let’s face the Music and Dance. This is a beautiful, rich track, which is very different from the original. Many of you may recall a certain pair of ice dancers doing their routine to this tune in the 1993 Winter Olympics! It is very laid back, with a bossa nova rhythm, and relaxed chords from Malone on guitar. The orchestra is subtle in the background but add a really floaty sound to the track. Diana’s voice is gritty and gravely on this track, and sounds quite melancholy

2. Devil May Care. An up-tempo number (without orchestra) jazzy and light. Diana is great on piano on this track, giving great backing without taking the emphasis away from her voice or out shining her bass player or guitarist.

3. Let’s fall in Love. This is a great track, a great tune with beautiful lyrics. Starts off slowly and thoughtful but turns into a mid-tempo jolly little number that makes me smile whenever I listen to it!

4. When I Look In Your Eyes. This is the title track, and is very easy listening. The orchestra play a big role in this one, and Diana’s voice sounds lush and gravely. A very slow track, with only guitar accompanying the orchestra.

5. Popsicle Toes. This is a comical song, jazzy with lots of chords from piano and guitar. The lyrics are quite rude! This is a song about being naked with the one you love:

‘How come you always load your pentacks when I’m in the nude? We ought to have a birthday party, and you can wear your birthday clothes, then we can hit the floor and go explore those Popsicle toes’

This is one of my favourite songs on the album, because there is a great guitar solo in the break of the song which really makes you appreciate that Diana Krall would probably not have been so successful without the backing of the other two members of her trio.

6. I’ve got you Under My Skin. Everyone knows this one, and this version is a lovely, romantic and incredibly sexy interpretation of the song made famous by ole’ blue eyes. Diana’s vocals are the main focus on this track, and she sounds very seductive with her incredibly deep voice. The orchestra and band play subtly in the background and add to the relaxed feel of this track. This is a really beautiful song one of my favourite songwriters of all time, Cole Porter.

7. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love. This is an up beat track, the music fits the jolly lyrics of this song, and I think it is wonderfully interpreted by the trio. Another great piano solo from Diana.

8. I’ll string Along With You. This is my favourite song on the whole album. The first time I heard it actually bought tears to my eyes. It is a wonderfully emotive song with glorious lyrics that since hearing I can’t get out of my head. It has simple, subtle backing with quiet brushing from the drummer and simple solo’s from Diana on piano and Malone on guitar. Adding to the romance of this track are the strings from the orchestra. A Very Moving interpretation of a fabulous song.

9. East of the Sun (And West Of the Moon). Jazzy, happy song with more emphasis on the bass than on other songs on the album. This is the only time on the album where the bass player has a solo, which I think is a shame as he is a great player, but I guess bass solo’s aren’t to everyone’s taste.

10. Pick yourself up. I was surprised to hear this song on a jazz album, as I had only heard it in the musical theatre style. It actually makes a really good jazz piece, and is a really nice song, with orchestra and harp playing in the background.

11. The Best Thing for You. This is one of my favourites from the album. It has a lot of focus on the superb drummer (Jeff Hamilton) that appears on only a few of the songs on the album. Great lyrics from another great songwriter, Irving Berlin (who wrote There’s No Business Like Show Business)

‘I ask myself what’s the best thing for you, and myself and I seem to agree, that the best thing for you would be me’

12. Do It Again. This is a song that Marilyn Monroe recorded in the fifties, and sung to the troops in Korea. Diana Krall manages to sound equally as sexy as Marilyn does in this sultry, sexy song, this time she is accompanied by a brass section, which conjures up images of the fifties. Relaxed and raunchy.

13 Why Should I Care? A very melancholy, sad song about a lover that has left. Diana sings sorrowfully, and a very smooth saxophone solo takes place in the middle of the song. A really beautiful ballad.

‘When I Look In Your Eyes’ is a classy, well produced album which shows off the skills of Diana Krall and her trio beautifully. The album has just the right mix of ballads, up-tempo, and mid-tempo tracks. Whatever they play, they play it well and with confidence.

What shines through is the fact that the musicians have been playing together for years, as they all seem to know what the others are going to play next. They work wonderfully together, and, although Diana Krall is the main focus on the group, there are always solos by the other members of the group.

I think Diana Krall has a wonderful gift of being able to put across powerfully the emotions of what the song is about. Whether it be up beat or sorrowful, she always sounds like she is FEELING what she is singing. That is without doubt a wonderful gift to have. I know I have never been as moved as I have when listening to Diana Krall sing ballads.

Another point about the group is that they always choose beautiful, classy songs to play on the albums. They don’t only pick strictly ‘jazz’ songs, they also pick easy listening or songs from the theatre but give them a jazzy twist. I think this is the reason why Diana Krall has been so successful (apart from the fact that Diana Krall herself is an incredibly beautiful woman!), because she has made jazz accessible to everybody, not just jazz fans. She has done this without losing credibility and without ‘selling out’.

I would recommend this album to anyone who enjoys mature, modern jazz with a mix of ballads and up-tempo beats. A superb album highly recommended!

To read more about Diana Krall, and listen to samples of her music, log on to www.dianakrall.com

The beautiful lyrics to ‘I’ll String Along With You’

You may not be an angel
Cause angels are so few
But until the day that one comes along
I'll string along with you

I'm looking for an angel
To sing my love song to
And until the day that one comes along
I'll sing my song to you

For every little fault that you have
Say I've got three or four
The human little faults you do have
Just make me love you more

You may not be an angel
But still I'm sure you'll do
So until the day that one comes along
I'll string along with you

 

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