Song:The Look Of Love
Album:The Very Best Of Diana Krall
Over the past decade, Diana Krall has become the most popular jazz artist in the world. She has legit jazz chops as a singer and pianist but with the 2002 album The Look Of Love, Verve Records had her abandon jazz to boost record sales. Jazz fans and critics weren't happy with this. But the strategy worked and it's her best selling CD to date. She was born Sept. 16, 1964 in Nanaimo, BC. Her father was an accountant but he played piano at home and he was a big Fats Waller fan. Diana began playing piano at age four. She studied at Berklee in Boston and then lived in Los Angeles and then Toronto. She moved to New York in 1990 and recorded her 1993 debut CD Stepping Out for the Canadian label Justin Time. It got the attention of veteran producer Tommy LiPuma and he signed her to Universal's GRP label. She also recorded for Impulse and Verve but all three labels are owned by Universal. She was very successful in the jazz market. But her 2002 CD The Look Of Love was her first to crack the Billboard Hot 200. LiPuma hired veteran arranger Claus Ogerman to give her a sound that was so lush that many jazz fans thought she abandoned jazz. Jazz musicians did play on the album including Roberto Lubambo on guitar, Christian McBride on bass, Peter Erskine on drums and Luis Conte on percussion along with the London Symphony Orchestra. Of course The Look Of Love is a Burt Bacharach and Hal David song that was a huge hit for Dusty Springfield in 1967. Despite the criticism that it wasn't a jazz album, The Look Of Love topped the Jazz Album chart and it reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 200. And it was certified Platinum. It was Diana's big breakthrough and her albums have been consistent sellers since then. I recommend this budget comp as a good intro to her music. Diana's latest CD Wallflower was released Feb. 2015 and it has done well as all her CDs have done since The Look Of Love. David Foster produced the CD. I don't think I'm alone in my opinion that she's not a jazz artist anymore. But Diana is very successful and you can check her out and decide for yourself. She has been married to Elvis Costello since 2003 and she is currently touring Europe. Here's the video for The Look Of Love by Diana Krall.
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