Diana Krall
Diana Krall is a jazz musician who achieved crossover success with her sultry, understated vocals and her bop piano playing.
Diana Krall
Synopsis
Diana Krall is a Canadian jazz musician whose breakthrough came in 1996 with the album All for You. She received her first Grammy Award for 1999's When I Look in Your Eyes. On The Girl in the Other Room, Krall for the first time included some of her own compositions as well as songs written or co-written by British singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, whom she had married in 2003.
Early Life
Diana Krall was born on November 16, 1964, in Nanaimo, Canada. She grew up in British Columbia, where she began taking classical piano lessons when she was just 4 years old. In her youth, Krall spent hours listening to her accountant father's 78 RPM record collection. Her grandparents exposed her to jazz music, and she spent many weekends singing the classics at their house.
By the age of 15, Krall was performing classics in bars and restaurants. She received a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where she studied music. After graduating, she lived briefly in Los Angeles, California, before moving to Toronto, where she recorded her debut album, 1993's Stepping Out. She moved to New York City shortly after the project's release.
Career Success
In 1996, Diana Krall released All for You, a Nat King Cole tribute album that served as her breakthrough. The wild success of her follow-up project, 1999's When I Look in Your Eyes, made it clear that audiences loved her traditionalist jazz sound. The album sat on top of the charts for more than a year and became an international best-seller. It also earned Krall her first Grammy Award, for best jazz vocal performance.
Krall went on to win the 2002 Grammy for best jazz vocal album for her seventh album, Live in Paris. She also received plenty of accolades in her home country; she took home three Juno Awards (from the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) for her 2001 album, The Look of Love, including for album of the year and artist of the year.
Diversifying Her Sound
In 2003, Krall married British musician Elvis Costello; the couple has a pair of twin boys, Dexter and Frank.
Costello actively encouraged Krall to write her own music, and eventually, the couple began composing songs together. The resulting album, Girl in the Other Room (2004), was criticized for erring toward a contemporary pop sound instead of staying true to Krall's jazz roots, with some dissatisfied fans even walking out of her concerts. But that didn't scare Krall away from experimenting with new styles; 2009's Quiet Nights features Brazilian songs, and 2012's Glad Rag Doll is comprised of Prohibition-era singles.
New Pursuits
Krall has toured worldwide, mostly with her trio—a guitar and drums, in addition to her piano—but often with a symphony. She's performed at Carnegie Hall, and at the White House for President Barack Obama, among various other venues.
In addition to creating music, Krall has produced music for legendary singer-songwriter Barbra Steisand. She also played piano for several songs on Steisand's 2009 album, Love Is the Answer. Additionally, Krall worked with rock icon and former Beatle Paul McCartney on his 2012 album, Kisses on the Bottom.