A top seller defends her course

Chart-topping jazz act Diana Krall discusses career’s highs and lows in Kathimerini interview

By Yiouli Eptakili - Kathimerini

It’s no secret how willing the music industry is to discover the next big thing in music, or the successor of an older great. Just a few years ago, the banter surrounding Diana Krall was along these lines. In one of numerous descriptions, Krall was hailed as the next Shirley Horn. Contrary to most of the industry’s hype-propelled artists, Krall is proving that she is no flash in the pan. Now 42, the jazz artist continues to maintain her artistic effervescence while maturing further. Despite her marriage to the veteran musician Elvis Costello, Krall continues to remain a self-reliant act. She has just released her career’s first compilation album, “The Very Best of Diana Krall,” which brings together highlights from her six studio albums to date, as well as three previously unreleased songs, covers of hits by Frank Sinatra and Tom Waits. Kathimerini spoke to Krall in St Louis, Missouri, one of the stops on her current US tour. The interview took place as the wildfires around the country spread havoc.

“I’ve been following the news from Greece and I’m very saddened by it. Especially because I’ve been to your country and experienced, even if just briefly, the place’s spirit and the people. It’s shocking to hear about the loss of human life, apart from the ecological disaster. In recent years, there’s been much talk about the consequences of climate change,” Krall told Kathimerini.

Asked whether initiatives such as this summer’s Live Earth event served the ecological cause or simply added further gloss to the status of celebrities, Krall remarked: “It’s nothing new. The same thing happened with the initiatives taken by musicians for Africa, AIDS, and other matters. I can’t see why we should be suspicious of these efforts. Is it better for artists to remain silent and pay attention to nothing beyond their art? As far as I’m concerned, there’s gain even if just one individual is influenced for the better.”

Krall is the mother of two children. Her views are, no doubt, guided by her motherhood.

“Yes, I’m certainly more concerned nowadays and I want the best possible environment for my children,” she said.

Much has changed since she emerged in the mid-90s. Asked to make a comparison of herself – now and then – Krall spoke of the impact of marriage and children. “I have the reputation of being shy and not good at communicating. To a certain degree, that’s true because I like to keep quiet about my life. Of course, Elvis and the children have made me more extroverted. That’s an important change in me,” said Krall. “I feel that I’m at the best point in my life. I’m happy next to a magical partner and good father with two children I’m never away from, not even when on tour,” she continued.

Asked whether music was no longer her top priority, Krall did not hesitate to remark: “Not at all. This goes for both the music and the cherished personal moments. I still meet up with my friends at my favorite bar in New York, go on the same trips... nothing’s really changed.”

On a professional level, the Canadian singer and pianist ranks as a top-selling artist. Her popularity is made even more impressive by the fact that jazz music, her domain, comprises just 3 percent of the industry’s total sales. An award-winning artist who enjoys both critical and commercial success, Krall’s work regularly breezes onto the Top 10 and reaches platinum status. Which doesn’t mean that she does not have to deal with critics, including the esteemed jazz artist Dee Dee Bridgewater, one of Krall’s harshest. In a recent interview, Bridgewater described her Canadian colleague as “a good singer who focuses on the wrong things which stops her from gaining artistic ground. She has chosen to live in a golden cage, guided by the regulations set by record companies, which are juicing her. She has to seek new sources for inspiration. It’s not good to remain stuck with the Porters and Gershwins all your life.”

“I’ve often been criticized for choosing the easy way of the American Songbook. As I see it, I don’t think that I’m stealing anything,” responded Krall. “On the contrary, I’m constantly trying to discover new aspects in the songs I interpret. Whether I succeed or not is judged by the people. And the truth is that nobody would be dealing with the fact that I choose to do popular songs if I weren’t as successful.”

Commenting on her career’s first compilation album, Krall said it was a release her label wanted to put out.

“Not that I didn’t agree but I could have released it at some other point in the future,” she said, while adding that she remained self-critical. “I get up on stage, sit at the piano, and still find it hard to take my eyes away from the keys.”