Diana Krall - From This Moment on
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Free Music Notes for From This Moment on
Free Music Review: Absolutely Lovely!
Hit: 5 Stars
Isn't this a lovely CD to listen to on a lovely day like today? To me, this latest offering from Diana Krall is one of her most impressive CDs along with "When I Look In Your Eyes," "The Look of Love" and "Love Scenes." These are by far my top-four-absolute-favorites from all of her albums for these are the very same recordings that she was at her best. Her flawless performances confirm and validate her versatility and her worthiness to be in the category of jazz divas of all-time.
This CD offers a dazzling collection of standards recorded tastefully with new treatments that redefine Ms. Krall as a great jazz singer and piano player as well. These are the jazziest and some of the best-ever interpretations of all-time. The artful chart arrangements by a brilliant arranger/conductor/bassist John Clayton are blazingly sublime and his creativity brings out the jazziest side of the singer. There's no wonder he's one of the most trusted names in jazz orchestration for twenty-some years now. With his swinging orchestra in the picture and Diana Krall's superb performances, you'll never go wrong with this CD.
She will leave you simply breathless with her outstanding takes on Irving Berlin chestnut "Isn't This A Lovely Day," a Van Heusen & Burke gem of a song "It Could Happen To You" and Antonio Carlos Jobim classic "How Insensitive," which is performed in a very splendid and so romantic way.
Like a genuine jazz singer, she swings and scats in "Day In Day Out," "From This Moment On" and "Come Dance With Me" ("Hey there cutes, put on those Basie boots and come dance with me"). She gives a lot of verve into these songs leaving you in an effervescent mood, but she will also move you to tears with her breathy and sultry voice as she sings an achingly-beautiful ditty, "Willow Weep For Me," composed by Ann Ronnell who dedicated it to her mentor George Gershwin. It was so popular in the thirties and renewed its popularity in the sixties when the British duo and favorites of mine Chad & Jeremy recorded it. The arrangement by John Clayton is totally astounding and features his orchestra, the singer herself on piano solo and Tamir Hendelman on piano. And focus your ears to that haunting bridge as Jeff Clayton and Terell Stafford do a musical conversation on a sweeping soprano sax solo and a gorgeous trumpet solo, respectively.
Ms. Krall shows off not only her extraordinary vocals and piano skills but also her flair in arranging on Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields "Exactly Like You," Rodgers & Hart's "Little Girl Blue," Gershwin Brothers "I Was Doing Alright" and the last track "You Can Depend On Me," a song so special that it was saved for last . . . but not least.
"I wish you success and loads of happiness
But I must confess I'll be lonely
But if you ever need a friend
I'm yours till the end
And you can depend on me."
With my heartfelt recommendation for your listening enjoyment.
* * * * * TEN STARS * * * * *
Free Music Review: fine assortment of songs by Diana Krall
Hit: 5 Stars
From This Moment On is a fine Diana Krall album that again features her marvelous singing with great musical arrangements. The quality of the sound is excellent and the artwork is very tastefully done as well.
The CD starts with Diana doing a sublime job on "It Could Happen To You;" she aces this easily and she never skips a beat! Her voice is in excellent form and she is able to successfully pull in her listeners with the heartfelt feeling she puts into this ballad. "Isn't This A Lovely Day" features Diana squarely front and center--right where she belongs! Diana's voice is clearly able to infuse this tune with great emotion and that impresses me greatly. The piano arrangement is also very elegant. I really like "Isn't This Is A Lovely Day."
"How Insensitive" is a tender love ballad about a love that goes wrong when there are too many honest misunderstandings; Diana was born to sing these ballads and again she delves right into this tune to make it her own with a few tempo and key changes. Great! I predict that you'll like "How Insensitive" if you haven't already heard it. In addition, Diana also makes good on "Exactly Like You;" this upbeat number about a love and its joys really shines brighter than silver and gold combined when Diana Krall sings it. Diana performs this to perfection and the music never drowns her out--it all THAT good.
"From This Moment On" from Kiss Me Kate proves that Diana can really belt out a tune and this melody gets strength from a faster than normal tempo. Diana Krall never sings a superfluous note and I'm sure you'll love every minute of this classic ballad. "Little Girl Blue" has a great treatment by the oboe (I think); and when Diana comes in this number takes flight even if it's not the most optimistic you'll ever hear.
"Day In Day Out" is a classic pop vocal tune that gets the royal treatment from Diana Krall and she sings and swings brightly to make this number shine! The jazzy arrangement works very well for this tune and it's easily another major highlight of this CD. I love it! "Willow Weep For Me" has another elegant piano arrangement that enhances the natural beauty of this number; and when Diana comes in the number glows even brighter--she truly makes "Willow Weep For Me" her masterpiece with her uncanny sense of timing.
The CD also ends well with Diana Krall performing a medley of "It Was A Beautiful Day In August" and "You Can Depend On Me." What a strong ending for Diana's album!
Diana Krall fans will want this for their collections. I notice that some reviewers didn't like it but I still think the majority of Diana Krall fans will go for this CD. This is also a fine CD for people who like classic pop vocals.
Free Music Review: Totally satisfying
Hit: 5 Stars
You can very rarely go wrong with Diana Krall. On this offering you've got her smooth, yet smoky and sulty vocals. You've got her wisely economic piano playing. You've got support from The Clayton / Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. AND, you've got production by Tommy LiPuma, with recording and mixing by Al Schmitt (and Steve Genewick). Every ingredient needed for magic is here and magic is indeed what you get.
Not much else needs to be said. Established fans will already know what she's about and I guess all interested parties need know is that if you're looking for a relaxing but inspirational vocal jazz performance, you need look no further. You might also want to check out some of her earlier recordings like "All For You", "When I Look In Your Eyes" or "The Look of Love" all of which I think are brilliant. My memory is not what it used to be (so I stand to be corrected) but this is the first of Krall's CDs that offers such long and complex solo improvisations - Jeff Clayton on alto sax, Gil Castellanos and Terell Stafford on trumpet, and Rickey Woodard on tenor sax, just to name a few - and this will no doubt satisfy some critics who have accused her of not being a proper jazz vocalist but just a pretty girl with a nice voice who sings standards. Sure, she's no Ella Fitzgerald but there was only ever going to be one of those.
She's no Cassandra Wilson either but then she doesn't pretend to be. Personally I think it's refreshing to listen to a singer who knows her limitations but makes the best of what she's working with. What some might find boring or samey samey, I simply see as consistent. But I'm a fan and I'm biased.
It's a beautiful set, the only jarring moment coming from "From This Moment On" which I personally found a bit loud and too cluttered. But one awkward sounding song out of twelve (including the bonus track) is a minor issue. Some strings would've been nice but I guess you can't everything. I'm totally satisfied.
Free Music Review: Diana, The Jazz Singer
Hit: 5 Stars
I put up my 5-star review of this disc in September of 2006, and ran straight into the teeth of the "Ammyland Neggie Monsters." When it got to 3 helpfuls out of 20, I pulled the review.
But now that Down Beat has given this disc 4-stars, and Jazz Times' editors have voted it the best vocal jazz c.d. of 2006 (BTW, my vote personally would go to Roberta Gambarini's "Easy to Love", for what it's worth), I've been vindicated. I shall forge ahead, assuming that the neggie monsters have crawled back into the cave from whence they came; and if you, dear reader, are reading this review, it's for the right reason:
The reasons this c.d. rates this kind of praise are: 1) Never has Diana Krall sounded better than here. The flat notes and lack of sparkle that were present in recent earlier discs are gone here. She even scats a bit and bends some melodies a bit--something I've not heard her done before. 2) People may think there was no artistic risk involved in a "standards singer" doing another bunch of standards. Not so. Over the past few years, where Ms. Krall has really distinguished herself is on the piano. In fact, as I noted on "The Girl in the Other Room", she had gotten to the point where her pianistic chops were significantly outweighing her vocal chops. These arrangements of the Clayton-Hamilton orchestra, don't give her the space to do any effective pianistic noodling. She had to carry this off on the strength of her voice. And she did so. 3) The album sounds gorgeous. Al Schmitt is the sound engineer with the golden touch, to be sure; but the arrangements likewise sound splendid. "Day In Day Out", in particular, is memorable.
Overall, this is Diana Krall's best recording since "All For You" and "Love Scenes." It's worth owning.
Okay, neggie monsters. I'm ready for you now. Give it your best shot....RC
Free Music Review: Diana returns to the Great American Songbook
Hit: 5 Stars
Most of these songs are likely to be familiar to anybody who has built up a collection of music written by such composers as Irving Berlin, Jimmy Van Heusen, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and their contemporaries. They are all songs of the highest quality that have been covered many times down the years. Until comparatively recently, pop and rock singers raised in the aftermath of rock'n'roll tended to ignore such songs, but even some of them have now realized how great these songs are (or how much money they can make by recording them). Diana has recorded several albums of such material, though this was her first for some time.
The tracks here fall into two categories, seven tracks being recorded with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra while the other five were recorded without them. The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra features John Clayton as arranger and conductor of 29 other musicians. John Clayton plays bass on the tracks without the orchestra, while Jeff Hamilton plays drums on all tracks, whether as a member of the orchestra or not. There are plenty of instrumental solos throughout the album featuring various musicians, including three tracks (It could happen to you, Day in day out, Willow weep for me) where Diana plays piano solo. All these solos mean that some tracks last longer (occasionally much longer) than they normally would, but the whole album works well.
This is a wonderful album that ought to please Diana's many fans though, once again, it relies heavily on ballads. It would have been nice to have one or two up-tempo tracks to provide a contrast but that's a minor quibble. Diana obviously loves singing ballads and it seems to be what most fans buy her music for.