Diana Jean Krall,
OCThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
,
OBCThe Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour...
(born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian
jazz pianistJazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instrument's combined melodic and harmonic capabilities...
and
singerJazz singing can be defined by the instrumental approach to the voice, where the singer can match the instruments in their stylistic approach to the lyrics, improvised or otherwise, or through scat singing; that is, the use of nonsensical meaningless non-morphemic syllables to imitate the sound of...
, known for her
contraltoContralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s. On December 11, 2009,
BillboardBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine named her the second Jazz artist of the 2000–09 decade, establishing her as one of the best-selling artists of her time. She is the only jazz singer to have eight albums debuting at the top of the
Billboard Jazz Albums. To date, she has won three Grammy Awards and eight Juno Awards. She also has earned nine gold, three platinum, and seven multi-platinum albums.
Professional career
In 1993, Krall released her first album,
Stepping Out, which she recorded with
John ClaytonJohn Travis Clayton Jr. is an American jazz and classical double bassist.-Music:John Travis Clayton Jr. began seriously undertaking the study of double bass at age 16, studying with bass legend Ray Brown...
and
Jeff HamiltonJeff Hamilton is an American jazz drummer. He is co-director of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and leader of his own trio.-Career:...
. It caught the attention of producer
Tommy LiPumaTommy LiPuma is an American music producer. In his long career, he has worked with many musicians, including Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, Claudine Longet, Dave Mason, the Yellowjackets, Michael Franks, Diana Krall, and The Story...
, who produced her second album,
Only Trust Your HeartOnly Trust Your Heart is the second album by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 1995 .The song "Only Trust Your Heart" is a jazz standard, usually played bossa nova, published by MCA Music Publishing, written by American music legends Benny Carter and Sammy Cahn.-Track...
(1995).
Her third album,
All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole TrioAll for You is the third album by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 1996 by GRP Records, Inc.- Track listing :...
(1996), was nominated for a
GrammyA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
and continued for 70 weeks in the
Billboard jazz charts.
Love Scenes (1997) quickly became a hit record with the trio of Krall,
Russell MaloneRussell Malone is an essentially self-taught swing and bebop jazz guitarist. He began working with Jimmy Smith in 1988, and went on to work with Harry Connick, Jr. and Diana Krall throughout the 1990s...
(guitar) and
Christian McBrideChristian McBride is an American jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors...
(bass).
In August 2000, Krall was paired on a 20-city tour with
Tony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
. They were paired again for a song on the TV series
Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... was a UK/Canadian television series, shown on Channel 4 in the UK, CTV in Canada and the Sundance Channel in the United States. The show features intimate interviews between the host, Elvis Costello, and various musical guests intertwined with performances by...
Orchestral arrangements by
Johnny MandelJohnny Mandel is an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. Among the musicians he has worked with are Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, and Shirley Horn.-Life:...
provided the background on
When I Look In Your Eyes (1999). The band mix was kept, following arrangements on
The Look of Love (2001) created by
Claus OgermanClaus Ogerman is a German musical arranger/ orchestrator, conductor, and composer, best known for his works with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra and Diana Krall.-Life and work:...
; this record achieved platinum status and reached the top 10 of the
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. The title track from the album, a cover of the
Casino RoyaleCasino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
standard popularized in the late 1960s by
Dusty SpringfieldMary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
and
Sérgio MendesSérgio Santos Mendes is a Brazilian musician. He has released over thirty-five albums, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk....
, reached number 22 on the adult contemporary chart.
In September 2001, Krall began a world tour. Her concert at the
Paris OlympiaThe Olympia is a music hall in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located at No. 28, Boulevard des Capucines, its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin and Auber....
was recorded and released as her first live record,
Diana Krall - Live in Paris. The album included covers of
Billy JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
's "Just The Way You Are" (a hit on U.S.
smooth jazzSmooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
radio) and
Joni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
's "A Case Of You."
After marrying
Elvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, she worked with him as a lyricist and started to compose her own songs, resulting in the album
The Girl in the Other RoomThe Girl in the Other Room is the eighth album by jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall. For the first time, she performs songs that she co-wrote with her husband Elvis Costello. The album has already gone top 5 in the UK and debuted high on the Billboard 200 in May 2004...
. The album, released in April 2004, quickly rose to the top five in the United Kingdom and made the Australian top 40 album charts.
She also joined
Ray CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
on his
Genius Loves CompanyGenius Loves Company is the final studio album by rhythm and blues and soul musician Ray Charles, posthumously released August 31, 2004 on Concord Records. Recording sessions for the album took place between June 2003 and March 2004...
album in 2004 on the song, "You Don't Know Me".
In late May 2007, Krall was featured in a
Lexusis the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...
ad campaign. She also sang, "Dream a Little Dream of Me" with piano accompaniment by pianist
Hank JonesHenry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
.
Quiet NightsQuiet Nights is the ninth studio album by Canadian jazz singer-songwriter and pianist Diana Krall, released on March 31, 2009 by Verve Records. The album marks Krall's first work with arranger Claus Ogerman since 2002's Live in Paris, and her first studio work with Ogerman since 2001's The Look of...
, her latest album, was released on 31 March 2009.
Krall also produced
Barbra StreisandBarbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
's album
Love Is the AnswerLove Is the Answer is an album of jazz standards by Barbra Streisand released on September 29, 2009. The album was produced by Diana Krall and features Krall on piano. Orchestral arrangements are by Johnny Mandel, Anthony Wilson and Alan Broadbent. A deluxe edition contains a bonus disc featuring...
, released on 29 Sep 2009.
Personal life
Krall was born on November 16, 1964 in Nanaimo,
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada. Her father played piano around the house and her mother sang in a community choir. She was playing piano herself at the age of four and playing jazz in a local restaurant at 15. She went to the
Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston on a scholarship before heading out to L.A. to play jazz. She returned to Canada to release her first album in 1993.
Krall lost her mother Adella to
multiple myelomaMultiple myeloma , also known as plasma cell myeloma or Kahler's disease , is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell normally responsible for the production of antibodies...
in 2002, within months of also losing her mentors
Ray BrownRaymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
and
Rosemary ClooneyRosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
. Diana's only sibling, Michelle, is a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (
RCMPThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
).
Krall and British musician
Elvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
were married on December 6, 2003 at
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's estate outside London. Their twin sons, Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James, were born December 6, 2006 in New York City.
Honours
In 2000, she was awarded the
Order of British ColumbiaThe Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour...
. In 2003 she was given an honorary Ph.D. (Fine Arts) from the
University of VictoriaThe University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
. In 2004, she was inducted into
Canada's Walk of FameCanada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
. In 2005, she was made an Officer of the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
In 2008, Nanaimo Harbourfront Plaza was renamed Diana Krall Plaza.
She is an honorary board member of the
Multiple Myeloma Research FoundationThe Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to multiple myeloma, an incurable but treatable blood cancer, which afflicts over fifty thousand Americans alone...
.
Discography
Studio albums
- 1993: Stepping Out
- 1995: Only Trust Your Heart
Only Trust Your Heart is the second album by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 1995 .The song "Only Trust Your Heart" is a jazz standard, usually played bossa nova, published by MCA Music Publishing, written by American music legends Benny Carter and Sammy Cahn.-Track...
- 1996: All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio
All for You is the third album by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 1996 by GRP Records, Inc.- Track listing :...
- 1997: Love Scenes
- 1999: When I Look in Your Eyes
When I Look in Your Eyes is the fifth album by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 1999 . It was nominated for Album of the Year, the first time in 25 years that a jazz album was nominated for the most coveted prize of the night, and won two awards for Best Jazz Vocal and...
- 2001: The Look of Love
- 2004: The Girl in the Other Room
The Girl in the Other Room is the eighth album by jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall. For the first time, she performs songs that she co-wrote with her husband Elvis Costello. The album has already gone top 5 in the UK and debuted high on the Billboard 200 in May 2004...
- 2005: Christmas Songs
- 2006: From This Moment On
From This Moment On is the tenth album by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 2006 on Verve Records. The album debuted at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, making it Krall' third consecutive number-one album. This album was nominated for Best Jazz Album at the 2007 Grammy...
- 2009: Quiet Nights
Quiet Nights is the ninth studio album by Canadian jazz singer-songwriter and pianist Diana Krall, released on March 31, 2009 by Verve Records. The album marks Krall's first work with arranger Claus Ogerman since 2002's Live in Paris, and her first studio work with Ogerman since 2001's The Look of...
Others albums
- 2002: Live in Paris
- 2007: The Very Best of Diana Krall
The Very Best of Diana Krall is the eleventh album by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 2007 through Verve Records.On the U.S...
DVDs
- 2002: Live in Paris
- 2004: Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival
Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival is the second DVD by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 2004 .-Track listing:# Sometimes I Just Freak Out#All or Nothing at All# Stop This World# The Girl in the Other Room...
- 2009: Live in Rio
Live in Rio is the third DVD by Canadian jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall, released in 2009 . It is also available in HD on Blu-ray disc mastered in DTS-HD 5.1 audio.-Standard Edition:#"I Love Being Here With You"...
Filmography
- 1999 - At First Sight
At First Sight is a 1999 American film starring Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino, based on the essay To See and Not to See in neurologist Oliver Sacks' book An Anthropologist on Mars and inspired by the true life story of Shirl Jennings.-Plot:...
.... Singer
- 2003 - Anything Else
Anything Else is a 2003 romantic comedy film. The film was written and directed by Woody Allen, produced by his sister Letty Aronson, and stars Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci, Woody Allen, Stockard Channing, Danny DeVito, Jimmy Fallon and KaDee Strickland....
.... Herself
- 2004 - De-Lovely
De-Lovely is a 2004 musical biopic directed by Irwin Winkler. The screenplay by Jay Cocks is based on the life and career of Cole Porter, from his first meeting with Linda Lee Thomas until his death...
.... Musical Performer
- 2009 - Public Enemies .... Torch Singer
Grammy Awards
The
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s are awarded annually by the
National Academy of Recording Arts and SciencesThe National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS, is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its...
.
|-
||1996
|
All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio
|
Best Jazz Vocal AlbumThe Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album has been presented since 1977. Until 2001 this award was titled the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance...
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||1997
|
Love Scenes
|Best Jazz Vocal Album
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2000
|rowspan="3"|
When I Look in Your Eyes
|
Album of the YearThe Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
|
|-
|Best Jazz Vocal Performance
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|-
|Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
(to Al SchmittAl Schmitt is a recording engineer and record producer.-Early career:Schmitt grew up in New York City. After serving in the U.S. Navy he began working at Apex Recording Studios at the age of 19. In the late 1950's Schmitt moved to Los Angeles and became a staff engineer at Radio Recorders on Santa...
)
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2002
||"Better Than Anything"
|
Best Pop Collaboration with VocalsThe Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers collaborate...
|
|-
|
The Look of Love
|Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
(to Al SchmittAl Schmitt is a recording engineer and record producer.-Early career:Schmitt grew up in New York City. After serving in the U.S. Navy he began working at Apex Recording Studios at the age of 19. In the late 1950's Schmitt moved to Los Angeles and became a staff engineer at Radio Recorders on Santa...
)
|
|-
||2003
||
Live in Paris
|Best Jazz Vocal Album
|
|-
||2005
||"I Should Care"
|
Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
|
|-
||2007
||
From This Moment On
|Best Jazz Vocal Album
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|
2010The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year on January 29, two days prior to the Grammy telecast. Only ten of the 109 awards were received during the broadcast...
|rowspan="1"|
Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs of Joy & Peace
|Best Classical Crossover Album
|
|-
|"Quiet Nights"
|Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)
(to Claus OgermanClaus Ogerman is a German musical arranger/ orchestrator, conductor, and composer, best known for his works with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra and Diana Krall.-Life and work:...
)
|
External links