Diana Krall of APT Syndication's Diana Krall Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival talks about her new record and her musical influences
On April 6, 1994, Diana Krall played Carnegie Hall. Mary Ann Topper, her new manager at the time, was excited about signing the woman from Canada - "a really good piano player," she said. She could sing, too. That evening's concert 10 years ago was a 50th anniversary tribute to Verve Records, and since that time, Krall has become Verve's best-selling artist.
Q: Does having your own songs on The Girl in the Other Room make this your most personal album?
A: Interpreting standards is sort of the same thing. You try to find something other people see. And when you're writing so personally, you hope that they can see.
Q: Was it inevitable that you and Elvis [Costello - her husband] would write songs together?
A: Two years ago we started talking about it. He sent me a couple of tunes, "My Thief" and "Long Honeymoon." I would love to do "My Thief" but I don't have the range. His tunes are difficult because he has a huge range. If I wanted, he said he would be glad to help out. But I didn't think it would come to this. I was ready to do this. I had to do something different. It was time to write songs. It's been time since I was 19, but I didn't have the confidence to write lyrics.
Q: What's given you the confidence?
A: A lot of things. I can't say I have 100 percent confidence in everything, but I let go a bit. I'm still fearful, but just plowing ahead through the fear. It's such a cathartic experience to write. But when you listen to it, you think about what the reactions are going to be. That's an ego thing. But as far as confidence, I just thought that this was a thing I can do. It helped working with Elvis, because he's patient and encouraging with me.
Q: From where do your songs come?
A: This album is more about Jimmy Rowles than any other I've done. It's taken me 20 years to process a lot of the things that Jimmy taught me. I felt inspired by him on almost every tune on this record. "I've Changed My Address" was a definite tip of the hat to Jimmy. Somebody said, "It's a little more dramatic than you
usually do." I purposefully did that because I was hearing Rowles in my ear, that voice he had; and it references places where people like him once played but now have a pool table where the piano was. Melodically and harmonically, "I've Changed My Address" and "Abandoned Masquerade" bear the direct influence of Jimmy.
Q: I can hear both you and Elvis in the songs. But a song like "Narrow Daylight" sounds more like him and "Abandoned Masquerade" sounds more like you.
A: He wrote the lyrics on "Narrow Daylight." It's based on a personal experience, but it's a gospel tune, basically.
Q: The first chord you play on "Abandoned Masquerade" shows the jazz in you.
A: That's a Jimmy Rowles chord. And "The Girl In The Other Room," you can hear little references to "502 Blues," the Jimmy Rowles tune that Wayne Shorter recorded. These are things that are returning to me, the subtle melodies and harmonies I heard in Rowles. I could never hope to capture that, but that's what inspired me.
Q: What do your remember best about Jimmy?
A: He was a cowboy. He could write something like "The Ballad of Thelonious Monk." You couldn't pigeonhole him. He taught me about beauty first. We would listen to classical music, like "Daphnis and Chloe" conducted by Ernst Ansermet. When I was 16, I first heard him perform "My Buddy" over the radio. My grandfather used to sing that to me. Jimmy was a nonconformist. There was this traditional beauty in an abstract way.
Q: You're playing more piano on the new album.
A: It was my choice to play less piano on The Look of Love. It's frustrating that people assume, "they're taking her away from the piano to do all these covers." I was influenced by Jobim bossa novas and ballads and I didn't want to tear it all over the place. It was challenging to play something melodic and simple. That's artistic freedom. I was ready to do something different.
Q: Your career seems to get exponentially bigger and better. But you always hang onto the girl from Nanaimo [her hometown]; that girl anchors you.
A: I hope it shows in the music. I wanted to get away from Nanaimo. I wanted to go to New York. I wanted to meet the people who inspired me. One of my goals in life was to feel what it felt like to play with Ray Brown. It was like a drug. It was the best thing in the world, and I can still feel it. But now I go back to Nanaimo, and I see things that are simple but are now quite exotic. Like seaplanes. I realize how much I wanted to go away, but I go back to Nanaimo and love it. I'll never be relaxed about certain things. I've always been neurotic, but I'm happy.
This interview is courtesy of Michael Bourne and Down Beat Magazine.
*This interview is available for use in the marketing and/or promotion of Diana Krall Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival(program guides and/or Web sites). No part of this interview may be used relating to any product or service, other than the program.
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