Merging the worlds of jazz and pop with a cool complexity and a graceful elegance, Canadian-born jazz pianist/singer Diana Krall harks back to an era when crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Col, and Bing Crosby dominated the charts. Her latest effort, “When I look in your eyes”, is both sultry and swinging.
But don’t hate her because she’s beautiful. Krall’s pleasant looks and quiet charms don’t get in the way
of making good jazz/pop music. “The beautiful package doesn’t compromise the artistic integrity,”
she tells “Launch” executive editor Dave DiMartino, who recently sat down with Krall to discuss her new record, critics, and the challenges of being a pop star in the jazz world.
Your career really has taken off recently. Can you cite a particular time or a specific turning point when you thought, “I’ve made it”?
I don’t think there was one even in particular. That’s a question that I wouldn’t even think of asking myself. Well, we’ve been touring very heavily the last few years. The album “All for You” was a turning point.
Do you consider your music jazz? Or pop music?
Nat Cole was a great jazz pianist and he influenced many great artists like Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans. He made a lot of records as a jazz pianist, and from what I’ve read he made a conscious choice to be singing out front and making “pop” records. I’ve been asked that a lot and I never know quite what to say. Pop means “popular,” and the jazz world and the pop world can be, obviously, two things. If my music is popular, I hope people will check out Nat Cole, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Billie Holiday.
How would you rate yourself as a singer and a piano player? Do you do one better than the other?
How would I rate my own singing vs. piano playing? I don’t sit around and think about that too much. I’m an OK singer and an OK piano player. I love to play music and I love to sing, so I don’t know how I’d rate it.
Do the critics “get” you?
I try not to read my own press, but it’s really important to read what’s being said. Print interviews are more difficult for me, because you’ll do an hour interview and you go, “I didn’t say that, I didn’t mean that. Oh, they got that? Good.” The most important thing is, when you put my record on, what do you hear? And I don’t underestimate the public who actually listens to the records.
It sounds like you get frustrated — do people concentrate more on the fact that you’re a woman rather than a musician?
They’re reviewing my looks more than my album. There were 68 threads — on the Internet — on whether Diana Krall was pretty. I don’t want to sit and read that stuff about me. I want to make music. That can be misinterpreted. I want to talk about my music.
Do you ever feel as though you were born too late? Like you should have been around in the “good old days”?
No, I don’t think I was born in the wrong era, except that I missed the live radio shows. But I can still do that. That was a tough time. I have great respect for this art form and those who created it in spite of a very tough time. I acknowledge that tradition and where it came from, and I feel very lucky that I get to interpret this music and get to be inspired by it.
What is it that excites you about making music?
Well, I always feel like I’m sounding corny and sentimental, which I probably am. But when the recording’s done and you get the orchestra on top, and we’re all there wearing double headphones, it’s fresh and exciting to have something realized that was in your mind.
Your album artwork is really beautiful and really plays on the fact that you’re an attractive woman. Tell me your perspective on art vs. commercialism.
Music comes first, and I make a record for music’s sake and art’s sake. I’ve never had to sacrifice artistic integrity. The record company and my producer have nurtured me and want me to grow into who I am, rather than to make me into something I’m not. I have control over how I’m marketed and imaged. And just because my record comes in a pretty package doesn’t compromise the integrity of the music.
What challenges have you encountered since becoming a “pop” star?
Talking to someone you just met [a journalist] about something very intimate and being prepared to answer questions that are personal. I don’t think I’ve given up anything. You are a public person because people like what you do. And I know when I like someone, I like to learn about them so I can learn from them.
What’s up next for you?
I don’t even know where I’m going the day after tomorrow! It’s been a good way for me to work. I work very spontaneously. I never dreamed that I would have the opportunities that I’ve had. And every day there has been some exciting developments and I just sit back and watch what happens. I just try to do the best job I can and perform at the highest level.