ghost of miles Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 Earlier discussion here. Hope my Hat CDs don't turn to flame for saying this, but I've fallen off the "bash-Krall" bandwagon with this latest release. Quote
Aggie87 Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 Who's her daddy? "Tavi Tankar"? ...hopefully this isn't too obscure of an SNL reference for most of us?? Quote
JSngry Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 The unrepenitant cynic in me can't help but notice how all the current publicity photos of Krall are intentionally "unglamorous", keeping with the more somber thematic material of her new album. First she's a glamorous diva, now she's an introspective, "regular type". Don't believe it? Well shucks, pictures don't lie! Nothing WRONG with that, and not at all relevant to the actual merit of the music (or the sincerity of the lyrics), but it's still marketing and controlled imagery for image (propagandistic?) purposes, a layer of "presentation" for a "product" that is supposedly all about the lack thereof. I'm actually interested in hearing this music, but hey - an unrepenitant cynic has a congenital obligation to notice such things. Quote
Joe Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 I must be totally clueless, as I had no idea until I checked the AMG blurb on this that she is married to Elvis Costello. Quote
mikeweil Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 Verve's Norah Jones. No - it's the other way round: Norah Jones is Blue Note's Diana Krall - as Diana was there first. Beyond all envy for her success, compared to Norah, she sings and plays better. And swings more. I don't rush out to get this, but I will get it someday, and I have to say I like her music. Quote
jazzbo Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 Well that's interesting. . . I view them quite differently! I'd much rather listen to Norah! Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 Beyond all envy for her success, compared to Norah, she sings and plays better. And swings more. Depends on what your metrics are. I don't own any Krall or Jones CD's, but if pressed - I'd probably have a preference for Norah. All depends on what your metrics are. Quote
JSngry Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 My metrics tell me that Krall has more than once exhibited uncertainty about how to handle sustained vowels. For me, that's the "make or break" for a singer of standards. Do it right (or at least confidently), and you soar (and this applies to "jazz" and "non-jazz" singers alike). Do it wrong, and YUCK (ditto). It's not been a consistent factor in Krall's work, but when it IS there, it makes me very, uh.... "uncomfortable". Still, the woman is not a poser. Not at all. I just think that they put her in the oven w/o the benefit of proper seasoning. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 Still, the woman is not a poser. Not at all. I just think that they put her in the oven w/o the benefit of proper seasoning. Perfectly described. And I preordered the thing, if you're interested, Hardbopjazz; Krall is the only musician after the early seventies that my wife and I can both enjoy, so we tend to go for her stuff pretty quickly. Quote
ghost of miles Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 The CD is evidently getting coverage on All Things Considered tonight--they've promoed a story about it twice now. Quote
ghost of miles Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 NPR's reviewer, Tom Moon, gives it a big . Quote
Morganized Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 Verve's Norah Jones. No - it's the other way round: Norah Jones is Blue Note's Diana Krall - as Diana was there first. Beyond all envy for her success, compared to Norah, she sings and plays better. And swings more. I don't rush out to get this, but I will get it someday, and I have to say I like her music. Ditto....Almost exactly where I stand as well. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 I heard bits of it on Fresh Air today. It sounded worth checking out. Quote
wesbed Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 (edited) Verve's Norah Jones. No - it's the other way round: Norah Jones is Blue Note's Diana Krall - as Diana was there first. Beyond all envy for her success, compared to Norah, she sings and plays better. And swings more. I don't rush out to get this, but I will get it someday, and I have to say I like her music. Krall is a jazz singer, to me. She can sing the jazz with the best of 'em. I'm not saying Krall is 'the best.' I believe Ella is the best that ever was. But, Krall is good just the same. Krall has done very well at mixing old jazz with new styles and creating quite a good end result. Depending on a person's perspective, Norah may make nice music and may not. Nice or not, though, I just don't hear Norah Jones as being a jazz singer. There's some very cool tunes on this earlier release. Such as Hit That Jive, Jack!, I'm an Errand Girl for Rhythm, The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, and Frim Fram Sauce. If these songs aren't jazz, what are they? Edited April 27, 2004 by wesbed Quote
Tjazz Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 I saw her perform on a TV show this morning and she seems to have changed her style She sounds like Norah Jones now. Instead of her bluesy sound, she sounded more 'raw,' like Norah. I like her 'old' sound. Quote
wesbed Posted April 27, 2004 Report Posted April 27, 2004 She sounds like Norah Jones now. Instead of her bluesy sound, she sounded more 'raw,' like Norah. I like her 'old' sound. Maybe she has become Verve's Norah Jones? Quote
chris olivarez Posted April 28, 2004 Report Posted April 28, 2004 My apologies to all the Norah lovers and Krall haters on the board but I have to go with Krall if for no other reason is that she can sing at some tempo other than slow,slower and slowest. I plan to pick up the new cd sometime in the future as well as the live cd. Quote
Brad Posted April 28, 2004 Report Posted April 28, 2004 I'll echo Mike's comment. It's a little -- I don't want to say nasty or mean -- too much to compare her to Norah. She's a jazz singer and that's what she wants to be, unlike Norah. Quote
Alexander Posted April 28, 2004 Report Posted April 28, 2004 Well, as a Costello fan, I was planning on picking this one up regardless of the reviews. Costello co-wrote a good number of the tracks, and the record bears his stamp (even if he doesn't sing on it). It's clear from listening to this that Krall has already picked up some pointers on expressive singing from old Elvis. At times, she almost sounds like she's imitating him! But it's all good. She no longer sounds like the ice queen I've heard on past recordings, so it's clear that Costello has had a good influence on her. As for the covers, she does a good Mose Allison, but that didn't surprise me. Her version of "Almost Blue" is superb, but again that's not a surprise. The song sounds like it was written for her already. I liked her version of "Black Crow," but she's proven in the past that she does Joni Mitchell well (she did a version of "A Case of You"). Problem is, Cassandra Wilson did "Black Crow" on "Blue Light Until Dawn," so the jazz-singer-does-"Black Crow"-thing has been done already. If I were producing this album, I might have suggested a different Mitchell song from the same period (how about something off of "Mingus?" Or from "The Hissing of Summer Lawns?"). Anyway that's a minor complaint. I've never been a Krall fan, but I liked this album a lot. And I also like Norah. So there! Quote
wesbed Posted April 28, 2004 Report Posted April 28, 2004 (edited) I stopped and listened to some samples of the new Krall on my way home from work this evening. It seems less jazzy than her previous releases. My impression, while listening, was that the new record sounds too much like any given generic/modern attempt at making a quality record, which, unfortunately, falls flat. This 'modern' recording is different in that it's supported by the familiar voice of Diana Krall. I'll agree with Tjazz. The new Diana does sound, to me, more raw and softer, more like Norah Jones. Although what I heard from the new Krall CD sounded quite good, it's a 'modern flat.' Good, yet flat. Nice, yet nothing special. I'd not say it was jazz. Jazz based? Yes. Jazz roots? Yes. Jazz? No. It's good, in a way, to see Ms. Krall (is her name still Ms. Krall?) attempt to stretch herself. At the same time, I believe she'd do better to keep a few jazz standards on each new release. I believe she's good a good jazz singer. Unfortunately, not much jazz, to my ears, on the new release. Edited April 28, 2004 by wesbed Quote
Alexander Posted April 28, 2004 Report Posted April 28, 2004 As with the various discussions on Norah, I feel compelled to ask why we're all so hung up on defining what is "jazz" and what is "jazzy" or "jazz-influenced" or "jazz-like-but-not-quite" or whatever. I've heard Krall when she was "jazz," and I have to say that I've never been impressed with her. She can play piano, yes, but her vocals have always been too cold for me to warm up to. Maybe if she did an all piano album (even Harry Connick's done one of those) I'd be more inclined to take her seriously. This album, however, is well-executed, well-written, well-played, and well-sung. So who cares what we call it? Call it jazz. Call it pop. Call it a cab. Doesn't really matter what word you use to describe it, does it? Back when I used to managed a music department, I used to fantasize about eliminating ALL of the so-called "genres" and alphabetizing EVERYTHING by artist name. It's music. For what it's worth, I think it's good music. Remember what Ellington said about there being only two kinds of music: Good music and the other kind. Quote
chris olivarez Posted April 28, 2004 Report Posted April 28, 2004 Interesting thoughts Alexander. Quote
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