[JPL] Ouch

Wed Apr 1 16:55:25 EDT 2009

Agreed on Costello, that's for sure.  Listening with open minds and open ears is bound to expand one's musical pleasure and horizons...which is why I said that initially I was prejudiced against Krall.  In my earliest days of jazz fandom, most of the musicians and other fans I knew thought her very un-hip, and I rather blindly followed that train of thought (I did at least listen to her Nat tribute record, and at the time it didn't do much for me).  Over the past few years I've tried to let rigid notions of hip go and just listen...and in doing so I've really come to appreciate much of what she does on Live in Paris, The Girl in the Other Room (the record IMO where she is most emotionally engaged with her material) and From This Moment On.  That said, the new one just hasn't done much for me...maybe it will after I give it a few more listens (but I still haven't really gotten into The Look of Love either).  I've played a couple of tracks on air so
 far and will probably play it some more, especially since I know a number of our listeners like her.  But I'm a bit taken aback by the notion that finding this release less than great, in a couple of programmers' opinions, is some kind of unschooled and vitriolic assault.  

Here are some reviews of Krall's latest, posted from another listserv.  While they tend towards the positive, I think they also offer evidence that to say this album's a bit on the sleepy side is not some unwarranted, ignorant, personal attack against Ms. Krall and her production team:

Diana Krall reviewed 

Diana Krall: Quiet Nights (Verve Records)

by Rashod D. Ollison

Baltimore Sun, March 31, 2009

On "Quiet Nights," the new album by Diana Krall, the jazz singer-pianist sways

with the gentle rhythms of bossa nova. It's a sound that's familiar to Krall,

and she handles it well. But this is the first time the Grammy winner has

devoted an entire album to the style.

The CD, out Tuesday, is her first release since giving birth to twin boys two

years ago. In a way, "Quiet Nights" extends the elegant feel of Krall's last

album, the excellent "From This Moment On." Her hushed, Shirley Horn-like vocals

are warmly embraced by tastefully understated orchestration overseen by the

legendary Claus Ogerman. The arranger last worked with Krall on her 2001 album,

"The Look of Love," but had long built his reputation on timeless sessions with

Frank Sinatra and bossa nova king Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Underscored by Ogerman's minor-key charts, the mood of "Quiet Nights" is

unabashedly romantic and sultry. But Krall's softly spun phrasing and smart,

precise piano work anchor the 12-song set.

It's the kind of late-night concept album jazz-pop sirens such as June Christy

and Peggy Lee used to cut back in the '50s. Krall's breathy, suede-soft vocals

glide through gems plucked from the American Songbook. Richard Rodgers and

Lorenz Hart's "Where or When," which opens the album, begins with stately

strings before easing into bossa nova.

Songs associated with the style, such as Jobim's "The Boy from Ipanema" and the

title track, are obvious choices. Although a '60s standard such as Dionne

Warwick's "Walk on By" may seem like an odd selection, it fits well in the

relaxed bossa nova mode. Besides, there was more than a whiff of the style in

the 1964 original.

Ultimately, though, "Quiet Nights" doesn't introduce any fresh ideas or

memorable improvisations. Krall just pays homage to a sound and doesn't try to

reinvigorate anything, which is fine. "Quiet Nights" simply matches a classy

singer with a classic style.

Download these: "Where or When," "Too Marvelous for Words," "Walk on By,"

"You're My Thrill," "Quiet Nights."

___________________________________________

by Mike Joyce

Washington Post, March 31, 2009

Warm and sensuous? Torchy and blue? You bet. But Diana Krall's 12th CD is a bit

sleepy at times, too.

"Quiet Nights" finds the Grammy-winning vocalist and pianist collaborating with

two pop legends -- producer Tommy LiPuma and arranger Claus Ogerman -- on a

recording devoted to bossa nova grooves and hushed, Julie London-inspired

balladry. Listening to it, you get the feeling that bliss is right around the

corner for plenty of fans of romantic pop and Brazilian pulses.

There's no shortage of familiar tunes -- some overly familiar. Antonio Carlos

Jobim is represented by three performances, including the album's title track,

a.k.a. "Corcovado," which boasts a typically lush and melancholic Ogerman

orchestration. Classic pop standards by Rodgers and Hart ("Where or When"),

Lerner and Loewe ("I've Grown Accustomed to His Face") and Johnny Mercer ("Too

Marvelous for Words") are interspersed with a pair of similarly arranged Top-40

hits, "Walk On By" and the bonus track, "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart."

Indeed, Krall has never sounded so intent on creating a series of moody

vignettes, her voice seldom rising above a whisper. Slow, occasionally creeping

tempos don't allow for the kind of small combo interplay that has enlivened some

of her previous recordings. Yet she and her band mates -- guitarist Anthony

Wilson, bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton and percussionist Paulinho

Da Costa -- nonetheless have their moments, deftly punctuating the arrangements

when the strings and woodwinds fade on "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face" and

during a haunting interpretation of "You're My Thrill."

Diana Krall performs at Wolf Trap on June 17.

___________________________________________

by Ashante Infantry

Toronto Star, March 31, 2009

With her breathy, languid vocals melded to Brazil's signature rhythms, Diana

Krall's 12th disc recalls the singer-pianist's "Look of Love" (2001), her

biggest selling recording.

Not surprising, since both albums were arranged by veteran German conductor

Claus Ogerman, noted for his work with bossa nova master Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Accompanying herself on piano -- in concert with strings and long-time

collaborators guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff

Hamilton -- Nanaimo's finest turns in a classic albeit safe collection of music.

The retooled American pop and jazz faves are more rewarding than the actual

Brazilian standards "Boy from Ipanema," "Este Seu Olhar" and "Quiet Nights,"

where reinvention is trickier to accomplish.

The highlights include "Too Marvelous for Words," which becomes a seductive

praise-song rather than the campy romp it can sometimes be, and I love the way

she bends and stretches out the words to Burt Bacharach's "Walk On By."

Ogerman has left lots of room for Krall's superb improvisations. "So Nice," for

example, runs 90 seconds before vocals are introduced.

In interviews, the 44-year-old wife and mother has described these 10 tracks

(with two bonus songs) as erotic, womanly, sensual. She's right.

The easy listening vibe doesn't surpass the riskily creative "The Girl in the

Other Room" (2004) or straightforwardly swinging "From This Moment On" (2006),

but it will go over well after hours and most certainly at her April 30/May 1

Massey Hall gigs.

Top track: On one of the two bonus tracks -- the other is "Every Time We Say

Goodbye" -- Krall is exposed and deeply intimate on this collection's one

out-of-the-box offering: Al Green's "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart."

___________________________________________

by Mario Tarradell

Dallas Morning News, March 31, 2009

Diana Krall could fog up the bedroom windows with just a few notes of her sultry

voice. Especially on her gorgeous, Brazilian-inspired new CD, "Quiet Nights."

Images of ocean breezes, satin sheets and flickering candles are conjured by the

collaboration of percussion from the respected Paulinho Da Costa, an orchestra

of strings, flutes, horns and vibes, Krall's piano playing, and familiar songs.

The steam that Krall generates is sublime. Her voice's melodic timbre, with its

breathy elegance, caresses staples such as "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face,"

"Walk on By," "The Boy from Ipanema" and "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry."

Mrs. Elvis Costello oozes romance just as she reasserts her interpretive powers.

By now, the Canadian singer and pianist has reached a level of critical and

commercial success that allows her to do just about anything. She's a song

stylist, no longer merely a jazz vocalist or a purveyor of pop standards.

"Quiet Nights," which was arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman, the man best

known for his work with the late Antonio Carlos Jobim, blurs the lines

separating jazz from traditional pop and bossa nova.

Krall's exquisite tonality anchors the project. Listen to her take the Bee Gees'

"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" and transform it into something that's part

exotic tropics, part upscale nightclub and all cozy sensuality. Don't forget to

dim the lights.

___________________________________________

by Chris Barton

Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2009

Diana Krall's albums should come with a warning label: Do not use while

operating heavy machinery. This is not a knock: Krall's round, relaxed voice is

a nuanced instrument ideally suited for, as this album's title indicates, quiet

nights. With this collection delving exclusively into the worlds of classic

ballads and bossa nova, the singer is in an even quieter place than usual.

Which is a bit of a shame. There's nothing terribly wrong with Krall's breathy

take on Antonio Carlos Jobim with a faithfully bouncy "The Boy from Ipanema" and

"Quiet Nights"; the songs glide by with such an evenhanded subtlety it's almost

subliminal. The only mild frustration is, other than Krall's tackling of the

Portuguese-language "Este Seu Olhar" from João Gilberto, there isn't really

anything new or unexpected here.

Burt Bacharach's "Walk On By" gets a slightly sassy knock from Krall's vocal

turn, but any seductive kick she could have offered gets lost among the

soft-focused string arrangements that shadow the whole album.

Still, Krall is in fine voice throughout, and her delicate piano work gets time

to shine as well, notably on the bossa nova standard "So Nice." While fans

looking for a classic, none-too-jarring soundtrack for a romantic evening surely

will follow this record happily into their good night, Krall has offered us more

than that in the past.

___________________________________________

by Jim Farber (excerpt)

New York Daily News, March 31, 2009

Some singers aim to seduce, others to repel. Perfect examples of each can be

found in new CDs by Diana Krall and PJ Harvey.

Krall wants with all her heart to lure you into the linen. Harvey would sooner

slit your throat. Yet -- as is so often the case with amorous intentions --

things don't turn out as planned. Krall's languorous CD couldn't leave me more

limp, while Harvey's shock-treatment songs made my love soar to a place beyond

the sky.

Krall's "Quiet Nights" starts with a snore by covering the most overexposed

classics from both the great American songbook and the classic Brazilian one.

Think: "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" chased by "The Boy from Ipanema."

Oldies that moldy require the freshest shake to bring them to life. Krall's

central strategy was to turn these war-horses into sweet nothings, whispered in

bed. Too bad her attempts are less sensual than somnambulant. She sucks all the

tension out of "Walk on By" and makes "Too Marvelous for Words" too drowsy for

them. Claus Ogerman's orchestrations outfit the bossa nova beats with cement

shoes, and Krall's readings manage to make the world's sexiest language

(Brazilian Portuguese) sound as inelegant as Mandarin. It's the sonic equivalent

of showering in ice water.

___________________________________________

by David Burger

Salt Lake Tribune, March 31, 2009

Diana Krall shouldn't be dismissed because she's blonde (or married to Elvis

Costello). The singer should be dismissed by jazz lovers because she continues

to produce lightweight albums -- such as her new "Quiet Nights" -- more suited

for elevators than rollercoasters. While the singer-pianist's whispery, hushed

phrasing match the gentle minor-key arrangements from Brazilian maestro Claus

Ogerman, the album will not make hearts flutter --- unless you gaze at the

singer in a strapless gown on the CD cover.

___________________________________________

by J.D. Considine

Toronto Globe and Mail, March 31, 2009

Talk about turnarounds: Where Krall's last album, "From This Moment On,"

emphasized the brash power of big band singing, "Quiet Nights" finds the

Nanaimo-born jazz star practically murmuring the melodies. In part, that's a nod

toward the understated, intimate sound of classic bossa nova (three songs,

including the title tune, were written by Antonio Carlos Jobim), but mostly it

reflects the album's emphasis on romance. The opulent orchestration may whisper

"make-out music," but the passion in Krall's vocals, particularly "Where or

When" and her heartbreaking rendition of "Walk On By," keeps it from ever

seeming like mere background. Her savviest pop effort yet.

--- On Tue, 3/31/09, eflash73 at gmail.com <eflash73 at gmail.com> wrote:

From: eflash73 at gmail.com <eflash73 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [JPL] Ouch
To: jazzproglist at jazzweek.com
Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 5:17 PM

This week's sponsor: RESONANCE RECORDS

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This great album features a rare guest appearance by Pat Martino + James Genus, Harvey Mason, Andreas Oberg &amp; Gary Meek.  Full of radio friendly tracks like ''Sno Peas'' and ''Filthy McNasty''

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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I believe that the review referred to Ogerman as a maestro and did not lay any blame for the record at his feet. 

- Flash

PS...Why do jazz folk always give Elvis Costello such a hard time? He's a great musician.  
-----Original Message-----
From: "Don  Gordon" <dongordon at hawaii.rr.com>

Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:44:14 
To: <jazzproglist at jazzweek.com>
Subject: [JPL] Ouch

This week's sponsor: RESONANCE RECORDS

GOING FOR ADDS APRIL 7:

The smokin' US debut of Hammond B-3 ace JERMAINE LANDSBERGER

''In the evolution of any instrument, there's only a handful who are really innovative. This guy's one of them. Jermaine Landsberger is a formidable artist, a master with the flame!'' - Pat Martino

This great album features a rare guest appearance by Pat Martino + James Genus, Harvey Mason, Andreas Oberg &amp; Gary Meek.  Full of radio friendly tracks like ''Sno Peas'' and ''Filthy McNasty''

Also if you havent added the great CLAUDIO RODITI disc Brazilliance X4 yet, why not?

* * * * (four stars) Down Beat

''Stellar jazz project ... warm horn sound ... deliciously articulated solos''

- Billboard

contact Eric Talbert (323) 556-0500 x 205

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear JPlers,

   I don't usually reply to the discussions on JPL or any bolg for that matter...I try not to be a slave to the computer however I must emphatically chastise those who are putting down Diana Krall and her new CD...

   First, get your facts straight...Claus Ogerman is NOT Brazilian he's German...and is one of the finest if not THE finest arranger, composer, of this or any generation and those who might voice their opinion on his talent otherwise have, in my opinion, no ear whatsoever regarding Jazz, music, and/or talent.  How dare you put down Diana, Claus, Al Schmitt, Tommy LaPilma and the rest of their team.  How many class A CD's have you put on the Top 50?  How many Granny's do you have?  How naby Lifetime Acheivment Awards do you have?You have too much time on your hands.

   I'm writing this with a little angst and will probably get a few responses attacking my opinion...that's cool but just remember what you do compared to what they do by giving you great projects to play on air, if you can recognize them.

Regards,
Don Gordon
KIPO - Honolulu

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