<Sigh>
While listening to Diana Krall at the Santa Barbara Bowl last Sunday night, I kept sighing with overwhelmed feelings. As she played the piano and elicited so much music from the one instrument, I turned to DH and said “THAT’S how you play the piano.”
I saw Diana Krall at Gainey Winery in the late 90’s. I want to say 1997, but I’m not sure (let’s see, how many kids did I have, who was the babysitter?) I had her CDs already and soaked in her sultry interpretations to the American Standards that I loved. As a side note, I met Fess Parker at that event.
A couple of years later, I saw her at the Lobero Theater (definitely post 1998) and swooned once again at her voice, her stylings, the emotions that she evoked. The Lobero is smallish, more intimate than an outdoor venue and we could really have a full body impact of the music.
So it had been more than a decade since I had seen her perform. In that time, she’d married Elvis Costello, had twins, and continued her music career. She’s still amazing.
She played East of the Sun (and West of the Moon) which was one of the songs she played at the first concert I saw. It was a time warp. A good one. Her band was great: strong musicians with playful and serious improvisations.
At the end of the set, after she came back on for the encore, one of her sons came out with her. They had a private conversation and he ran off stage. She shared that he said that she had performed too long. The audience laughed because we thought she had played too short, 90 minutes. She shared that her boys liked music, liked the Beatles. How could you be a child of Diana Krall and Elvis Costello and not be into music?
This next part is not be exactly what she said, but my interpretation of what she said.
People ask me if I’m going to do a children’s song album. It would be all be smokey and bluesy, so no, I’m not doing a children’s album. Could you imagine me doing “The Wheels on the Bus?” Glad my kids don’t want me to sing that.
She did an encore of 3 Beatles tunes, as only she could do. Diana Krall’s voice and piano: that’s all I need for a soulful encounter.