Diana Krall
Canadian Diana Krall (b. 1964) is a jazz singer and pianist who grew up in British Columbia amid a musical family. She studied classical piano as a child but gravitated to jazz by the time she reached high school. Her early association with visiting bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jeff Hamilton provided encouragement and helped direct her to Los Angeles, where she studied with pianist Jimmy Rowles, who convinced her to sing more. She relocated to Toronto in 1984, and was visiting New York to perform by 1990. She began recording albums in 1993, and she has enjoyed considerable popularity since2.
When I Look in Your Eyes was released on June 8, 1999, by Verve Records. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, the first time in 25 years that a jazz album was nominated in that category, and won two awards for Best Jazz Vocal and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 42nd Grammy Awards.
In When I Look Into Your Eyes, Krall's keyboard style is crisp and swinging. Her vocal style is intimate and casual, and she exudes a winsome charm. It's a winning combination, especially when surrounded by other excellent musicians.
An 8-bar instrumental intro (0:00-0:10) sets the stage for Diana Krall to sing Berlin's tune (0:10-0:53), a 36-bar modified AABA' song form (8+8+8+12) that seems appropriately punctuated by the additional four bars in the A' section. Krall trades eights with guitarist Russell Malone through the second chorus (0:54-1:39). Bassist John Clayton solos through the first half of the third chorus (1:40-1:55) before Krall reenters to sing the second half (1:58-2:21). The instrumental intro returns to serve as the outro, leaving it up to the listener to "complete" the piece's whimsically inconclusive ending.
"I Heard it Through the Grapevine" has been recorded by several different artists, including Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye, and Roger Troutman, who all had #1 R&B hits with their versions, making this the only song to hit #1 on R&B charts for 3 different artists.
