Early in her musical career, in the ‘90s, Diana Krall played a regular gig on Saturday evenings in Boston. When she drove down to New York City on Sunday mornings, she’d plan the trip so she could get close enough to hear the FM signal of WBGO in time to hear Singers Unlimited. She’s been hearing herself playing piano and singing ever since on WBGO.
Nowadays, she can listen to wbgo.org during her travels around the world or in her hometown, Nanaimo, British Columbia. “I listen to you all the time,” she said when she came in for a recent session with a killer band, featuring frequent quartet-mate Anthony Wilson on guitar, along with bassist Robert Hurst, drummer Karriem Riggins and violinist Stuart Duncan.
They played songs from Diana’s new release, Turn Up The Quiet, which is a virtual comeback to straight-ahead jazz after the contemporary pop foray of her previous album, Wallflower.
She’s joined on part of the new album by bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton, who played on her first Canadian release, Stepping Out, in 1993. Russell Malone played guitar and Christian McBride played bass on some of her earlier tours and albums for Verve. They’re also on the new release, which features an orchestra on various tracks. All the songs are standards, including classic songs of Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. Sadly, this was also Diana’s last work with her long-time record producer and mentor, Tommy LiPuma.
Diana and I have known each other since her career was starting in New York. I wrote the notes for Only Trust Your Heart — her first United States release, in 1995. After her recent session for WBGO, we talked while Diana played.
You can hear her session throughout Singer’s Unlimited on Sunday, June 11.
Diana Krall's world tour kicks off today in Minneapolis. She appears at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on June 16, and at the Beacon Theater in New York on June 21. Visit her website for more dates and information. Today only (June 14, 2017), enter to win a pair of tickets to see Krall in performance at the Beacon Theater in New York City. Enter now.
Recorded and mixed by David Tallacksen, with thanks to Eric Laliberte.
