Music is not only a matter of knowledge and competence but also of taste and fashion. After fantastic albums such as When I Look In Your Eyes, The Girl in the Other Room and The Look of Love, Diana Krall made a foray into the world of popular music with, for my taste, some poor results given the standards she had set before.
For her great 2017 album Turn Up The Quiet (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de), Diana Krall worked once again with producer Tommy LiPuma. Unfortunately, at the age of 80, he passed away in New York City on March 12, 2017. In his long life as a music producer, Tommy LiPuma had worked with the likes of Miles Davis, Bill Evans, George Benson, Barbra Streisand and many others, including Diana Krall. He received some 33 Grammy nominations and netted 5 Grammy wins.
Turn Up The Quiet marks Diana Krall’s return to jazz and other standards from the Great American Songbook (sheet music) the music that originally made her famous. She produced the album together with Tommy LiPuma. On her album, you can hear Diana Krall (vocals & piano), Russell Malone (guitar on tracks 1, 7 & 10), Anthony Wilson (guitar on 2, 3, 4 & 8), Marc Ribot (guitar on 5, 6 & 11), John Clayton Jr. (double bass on 2, 3, 4, 8 & 9), Christian McBride (double bass on 1, 7 & 10), Tony Garnier (double bass on tracks 5, 6 & 11), Jeff Hamilton (drums on 2, 3, 4 & 8), Karriem Riggins (drums on 5, 6 &11), Stefon Harris (vibraphone on track 2) and Stuart Duncan (fiddle on 5, 6 & 11). The strings were arranged and conducted by Alan Broadbent on the tracks 2, 4, 8 & 10.
As the title suggests, Turn Up The Quiet is a quiet, introspective ballad album with eleven songs known to all of us. Her interpretations are understated, not flashy. The musicians do not try to shine through technical virtuosity.
Among my favorites is L-O-V-E, written by Bert Kaempfert and with lyrics by Milt Gabler. It was first recorded by Nat King Cole in 1964 and made it to #81 in the US Billboard Hot 100.
Another great interpretation from the new album is Night and Day from 1932. It was written by Cole Porter for the musical Gay Divorce and a hit for Cole Porter.
In addition, on Turn Up The Quiet, you can find a quiet version of Sway by lyricist Norman Gimbel. The piece was originally written as an instrumental Rumba in 1953 by the Mexican composers Luis Demetrio and Pablo Beltrán Ruiz. The original title was Quién será? Diana Krall’s version contrasts sharply with the 2003 rendition by Michael Bublé.
The last song, I’ll See You In My Dreams, was written in 1924 by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn. It ended up #1 for seven weeks in the original interpretation by Isham Jones and the Ray Miller Orchestra. Diana Krall’s version offers a lively, elegant final note to her new jazz album.
Diana Krall chose the album’s repertoire, made the arrangements and recorded Turn Up The Quiet with three bands: a trio with double bass player Christian McBride and guitarist Russell Malone; a quartet with double bass player John Clayton Jr., drummer Jeff Hamilton and guitarist Anthony Wilson; and a quintet with drummer Karriem Riggins, fiddle player Stuart Duncan, guitarist Marc Ribot, double bass player Tony Garnier.
Diana Krall: Turn Up The Quiet. Verve / Universal Music, 2017. Order the CD from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de. Find Diana Krall sheet music.
Diana Krall photographed by Mary McCartney. All photographs of Diana Krall are the copyright © of Mary McCartney, Universal Music.
Album review and photos of Diana Krall: Turn Up The Quiet added added on May 10, 2017 at 18:12 Swiss time. Added to our WordPress pages on April 26, 2022 at 22:09 Paris time.
