Born: November 16, 1964, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Active: '90s, 2000s
Genres: Vocal Music
Instrument: Vocals, Piano, Arranger
Representative Albums: "All for You," "The Girl in the Other Room," "When I Look in Your Eyes"
Representative Songs: "Let's Fall in Love," "Peel Me a Grape," "Devil May Care"
Biography
Singer/pianist Diana Krall got her musical education when she was growing up in Nanaimo, British Columbia, from the classical piano lessons she began at age four and in her high school jazz band, but mostly from her father, a stride piano player with an extensive record collection. "I think Dad has every recording Fats Waller ever made," she said, "and I tried to learn them all." Krall attended the Berklee College of Music on a music scholarship in the early '80s, then moved to Los Angeles, where she lived for three years before moving to Toronto. By 1990, she was based in New York, performing with a trio and singing. After releasing her first album on Justin Time Records, Krall was signed to GRP for her second, Only Trust Your Heart and transferred to its Impulse! division for her third, a Nat King Cole Trio tribute album called All for You. Love Scenes followed in 1997, and in late 1998, she issued the seasonal Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. When I Look in Your Eyes followed in 1999. Whatever reknown Krall had earned over the years for her work exploded with this album, which became an international best-seller and earned her a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. It also was the first jazz album to be nominated for Album of the Year in 25 years. Krall's crossover success followed her as she performed in Lilith Fair the following year ,and her songs cropped up everywhere from episodes of Sex in the City to films like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In 2001 she released The Look of Love featuring charts by legendary arranger Claus Ogerman best known for working with bossa nova innovator Antonio Carlos Jobim in the '60s. The album topped the Billboard charts and went quintuple platinum in Canada, the first by a Canadian jazz artist to do so. The Look of Love also helped Krall win three Junos in 2002, taking home awards for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best Vocal Jazz Album of the Year. In 2003, Krall married iconic British rock musician Elvis Costello. A year later, she issued The Girl in the Other Room. Covering a few standards, this album also included original material -- some co-written by Costello -- for the first time in her career. Returning to the large ensemble standards approach of her previous album, Krall released From This Moment On in 2006. In 2009, she teamed once again with The Look of Love arranger Ogerman for the bossa nova-themed Quiet Nights. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
Orchestral arrangements by Johnny Mandel provided the background on When I Look In Your Eyes (1999); more Grammy nominations came along, and she was rewarded as Best Jazz Musician of the Year.[citation needed] The band mix was kept, following arrangements on The Look of Love (2001) created by Claus Ogerman; this record achieved platinum status and reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200. The Look of Love went to number one on the Canadian album charts and went quadruple platinum in that country.[citation needed] The title track from the album, a cover of the Casino Royale standard popularized in the late 1960s by Dusty Springfield and Sergio Mendes, reached number 22 on the adult contemporary chart.
In September 2001, Krall began a world tour. Her concert at the Paris Olympia was recorded and released as her first live record. Diana Krall - Live in Paris topped the Billboard jazz charts,[citation needed] went top 20 on the Billboard 200 and went top five in Canada. It garnered her second Grammy (Best Vocal Jazz Record) and a Juno Award.[citation needed] The album included covers of Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are" (a hit on U.S. smooth jazz radio) and Joni Mitchell's "A Case Of You."
After marrying Elvis Costello, she worked with him as a lyricist and started to compose her own songs, resulting in the album The Girl in the Other Room. The album, released in April 2004, quickly rose to the top five in the United Kingdom and made the Australian top 40 album charts.
In late May 2007, Krall was featured in a Lexus ad campaign.[2] She also sang, "Dream a Little Dream of Me" with piano accompaniment by pianist Hank Jones.
"Quiet Nights", her latest album, was released on 31 March 2009.
Krall lost her mother Adella to multiple myeloma in 2002, within months of also losing her mentors Ray Brown and Rosemary Clooney. Diana's only sibling, Michelle, a former member of the RCMP, actively supports her older sister's career.
