Rough ease
Cold gives Krall’s voice an even sultrier sound
Published: June 12, 2009, 12:30 am
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LEWISTON — In concert, Diana Krall is a solid pianist with the kind of personality that invites a listener into her world, however briefly. Wednesday night’s program at Artpark’s Mainstage with Krall and her trio was a perfect example of this ability as she played, sang and charmed, in near equal proportions, a full house.
Krall was handicapped with a cold and chose to describe the resultant vocal changes as “sultry sounding.” In many ways, this quality was most evident in the relaxed phrasing required by the ballads and bossa nova classics upon which “Quiet Nights,” her latest CD, is based.
Songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim like “Corcovado” (aka “Quiet Nights”) and “The Boy From Ipanema” benefited from Krall’s temporary vocal shortfalls as her newfound huskiness meshed with the impossibly delicate, superbly flexible Brazilian rhythms, coaxing the deceptively simple melodies out.
Then there was the Frank Sinatra-inspired tunes (“Where or When” and “Come on and Dance With Me”), the Peggy Lee tribute (“Let’s Fall in Love”) and a Julie London reference (“When I Look at You”) in the set list. These were all songs that could be crooned in a hotel lounge or a cabaret, but when sung by Krall they developed a certain tension in their delivery, the kind of thing that keeps an audience on the edge of their seats without them realizing it.
This isn’t to say that the concert verged on the soporific. Uptempo and midtempo tunes balanced the slower-paced material, and Krall’s backing trio was in the pocket all the time.
The venerable “Dancing Cheek to Cheek” benefited from well-constructed solos from guitarist Anthony Watson and drummer Jeff Hamilton, the former dispensing long-limbed, single-note flurries while the latter punctuated his solo with rapid-fire brush strokes. Bassist Robert Hurst had to wait until the encore, a performance of “East of the Sun,” to reveal his impressive set of chops.
Through it all, Krall proved that she can lay back or cook, delivering bluesy lines, vocally and instrumentally, that could take center stage or offer solid support to her musical cohorts. She also had an easygoing stage patter, rife with tales of her twin rug rats, how her husband (Elvis Costello) was working in New York City at the same time she was working in Lewiston, life on the tour bus and, of course, her cold.
Everything blended for a nice evening. It wasn’t a life-changing show where you’re floored by the talent, but there is a place for folks who merely show up, deliver a polished, feel-good type of performance and leave the audience in a good mood. Krall’s concert was that kind of event.•
REVIEW
WHO: Diana Krall
WHEN: Wednesday night
WHERE: Artpark Mainstage Theater
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