Diana Krall – Live
And Wonderful!
Jazz may be an acquired taste, but right now these no better way to acquire it than to listen to Diana Krall’s music. Last night I had the privilege of seeing her perform live at the Meyerhoff Concert hall in Baltimore. What a night!
I wish I had taken notes – she started with I Love Being Here With You, (made famous by Peggy Lee), which allows each of her quartet (guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Jeff Hamilton) plenty of room to display some musical fireworks. She then continues with Sinatra, Nat King Cole, a Gershwin piece, and even a tune done originally by Julie London. But when she covers Sergio Mendez’ So Nice (you know the song even if you don’t think you do), magic happens.
And it kept on happening for the duration. Krall’s studio productions sometimes seem a bit cold. As much as you’d like to have this very attractive woman singing to you, it’s always feels much more like she’s singing for you and your date. But live, Mrs. Costello is very engaging and warm to the audience (especially when describing the musical preferences of her 2 year old twins, which tend, she says, towards “Itsy Bitsy Spider”).
By the time she does her torch song, you are in a bar, she’s at the piano, the lights and the mood are right and you know you’re going to find someone.
The audience was amazing too. As a group, they were surprisingly knowlegable and sophisticated about the music, even getting the musical jokes. It took about three beats for the audience to recognize Krall’s signature piece, Frim Fram Sauce, and show their appreciation. Listen – When an audience waits until the final echo of a fade, and only then explodes into applause, that’s when you know the performer has them. That happened last night.
