Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Krall & Company nail it - LIVE
A live musical performance can be one of two things. If you know the artist by only their studio efforts, when you see them live it might be a major disappointment (there's no special wiz-bang effects to cover up their "real" sub-par sound). On the flip side, seeing & hearing them live might turn your opinion around and think "Wow... this is better than I thought!" Diana Krall's "Live In Paris" follows the latter thought... THIS IS GOOD STUFF. Gone is the slick production and tweaked voice-overs that you'd find on her studio albums. The background orchestra here is minimal (I found they were too much and almost took something away from Krall's "The Look Of Love"). "Live In Paris" takes you overseas to a stage with torch-singer-queen Krall on her piano accompanied by her crew... Clayton on bass, Hamilton on drums and Pisano on guitar. Jazz is playing a song with feeling mixed with a bit of improvisation. You'll find that here. These songs are done with style and any of the great composers or singers (Nat King Cole, Jimmy Rowles, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee) would be proud the way Krall represents them here in live form. Check out songs, "I've Got You Under My Skin", "S'Wonderful", "Fly Me To The Moon", and "Let's Fall In Love"... actually all are good - no filler here. This disc gets better with repeated spins. If you're a Krall fan, this CD is necessary.
Rating: - the only bad thing is that it's too short
Diana Krall has been hailed my many as one of the great jazz musicians of the modern era. After hearing her last album, the wildly successful The Look of Love, I couldn't understand why. Sure, it was recorded well, but to these ears, it was little more than a cure for insomnia. It seemed like her management was more interested with marketing her based on her looks, rather than her musical abilities. But now, on her newest release, Live in Paris, I can hear what all the fuss has been about. Accompanied by her core band--Anthony Wilson on guitar, John Clayton on bass, and Jeff Hamilton on drums--Krall wows the crowd time and time again. Then again, it's hard to go wrong when most of the material is coming from the Great American Songbooks of Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, George and Ira Gershwin. Recorded live over four nights at the historic Olympia Theatre, Live in Paris gives you a firsthand account of the ambience and excitement of a musical evening with her. The only thing missing is the stage banter you'd hear at a 'real' show. Krall is actually very talkative during her shows and (as anyone who's had the pleasure of seeing here perform will tell you) the fact that the interaction with her audience is missing is a disappointment. The majority of the songs are performed by her core band. They're joined by the Orchestre Symphonique Europeen on "Let's Fall in Love" and "I've Got You Under My Skin." In addition, percussionist Paulinho Da Costa joins them on 4 tracks, and John Pisano contributes acoustic guitar on 3 tracks. However, make no mistakes. As great as her accompanying musicians may be, this is Krall's show. Swinging like there's no tomorrow, tracks like "I Love Being Here With You," "'Deed I Do" and "Devil May Care" are the disc's biggest highlights. She doesn't slack off on the ballads either, though. Her distinctive phrasing and cool, sultry vocals turn the songs into true works of art. Her stunning cover of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" is a perfect example. The only drawback, if you can call it one, is the extra studio track here--a cover of the wedding reception staple, Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are." It's not that it's bad (it's a straight rendition of the song); it's more a case of just being unnecessary. All told, Live in Paris is an excellent place to start for those who may not be familiar with the Grammy Award-winning musician, and longtime fans are sure to enjoy it as well. The only bad thing about this CD is that it's too short.
Rating: - The Real Diana Krall
I have not been a fan of where Krall's handlers have been taking her recently. In The Look of Love, I thought the creative artist got lost in the packaging of the beauty queen.Anyone who has seen her live knows she has chops at the piano which equal (at least) the great voice. So I purchased this CD (I'm addicted so there was never a choice about 'not' purchasing) with some trepidation. However, the opening bars on the first cut, I Love Being Here With You, told me this was going to be fun! If you're not a Krall fan and want to know what all the buzz is about - get this CD and you'll know why. This lady can sing, she can play, and she can work an audience like a politician. The only downside of this CD (if you can call it that) is that you can't use it for background music - it won't be ignored. So just crank the volume up and have a good ole time!
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