But don't hate her because she's beautiful. Krall's pleasant looks and quiet charms don't get in the way of making good jazz/ pop music. "The beautiful package doesn't compromise the artistic integrity," she tells LAUNCH executive editor Dave DiMartino, who recently sat down with Krall to discuss her new record, critics, and the challenges of being a pop star in the jazz world.
Video excerpts of the following conversation can be viewed in Issue No. 32 of LAUNCH on CD-ROM; an exclusive live performance of Krall performing Cole Porter's "I Got You Under My Skin" can also be viewed on the same disc.
LAUNCH:
Your career really has taken off recently. Can you cite a particular time or a specific turning point when you thought, "I've made it"?
DIANA:
I don't think there was one even in particular. That's a question that I wouldn't even think of asking myself. Well, we've been touring very heavily the last few years. The album All For You was a turning point.
LAUNCH:
Do you consider your music jazz? Or pop music?
DIANA:
Nat Cole was a great jazz pianist and he influenced many great artists like Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans. He made a lot of records as a jazz pianist, and from what I've read he made a conscious choice to be singing out front and making "pop" records. I've been asked that a lot and I never know quite what to say. Pop means "popular," and the jazz world and the pop world can be, obviously, two things. If my music is popular, I hope people will check out Nat Cole, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Billie Holiday.
LAUNCH:
Are there any current mainstream pop artists that interest you?
DIANA:
I've met a lot of interesting people and had a lot of interesting experiences in the pop world. As a kid, I listened to Teddy Wilson, Hank Jones, Queen, Supertramp, Elton John, and Billy Joel. I had the Peter Frampton poster on the wall, along with my Jack Benny poster, Charlie Parker and James Dean posters. I've always been interested in a lot of different genres of music and artforms. I was at a Universal Music party after the Grammys last year and I met Elvis Costello, Bono, and Erykah Badu, and I'd met previously with Lilith Fair's Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole, and we were talking about music. I had their records, they had mine. I met Elvis Costello, and he's like, "Diana, I have this tune you've got to do." And I thought, "How do you know who I am?" I'm always mistaken for someone else. It showed me that it's all music. It's not like you're over here, and I'm over here. I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of different artists, like the Chieftains, that have just opened me up.
LAUNCH:
How would you rate yourself as a singer and a piano player? Do you do one better than the other?
DIANA:
How would I rate my own singing vs. piano playing? I don't sit around and think about that too much. I'm an okay singer and an okay piano player. I love to play music and I love to sing, so I don't know I'd rate it.
LAUNCH:
Do the critics "get" you?
DIANA:
I try not to read my own press, but it's really important what's said. Print interviews are more difficult for me, because you'll do an hour interview and you go, "I didn't say that, I didn't mean that. Oh, they got that? Good." I'll talk for an hour about all these artists like Charlie Parker and Fats Waller, and they'll come up with what shoes I'm wearing. As long as it comes across that I'm serious about what I do and I'm passionate about what I do...the most important thing is, when you put my record on, what do you hear? And I don't underestimate the public who actually listens to the records.
LAUNCH:
It sounds like you get frustrated--do people concentrate more on the fact that you're a woman rather than a musician?
DIANA:
They're reviewing my legs more than my album. There were 68 threads [on the Internet] on whether Diana Krall was pretty. I don't want to sit and read that stuff about me. I want to make music. That can be misinterpreted. I don't even want to look at that. I don't want to waste time talking about that. I want to talk about my music. You have to be focused on what you say. You have to have a sense of humor about what you do.
LAUNCH:
Do you ever feel as though you were born too late? Like you should have been around in the "good old days"?
DIANA:
No, I don't think I was born in the wrong era, except that I missed the live radio shows. But I can still do that. That was a tough time. I have great respect for this artform and those who created it in spite of a very tough time. I acknowledge that tradition and where it came from, and I feel very lucky that I get to interpret this music and get to be inspired by it. I went to the Jazz Awards in New York City, [and] I saw Milt Jackson say in just a few words something that was very deep. Lou Donaldson, as well as my peers, and other artists I admired...I felt great humility, and I didn't go through what they did, but am friends with a lot of great musicians who did.
LAUNCH:
What is it that excites you about making music?
DIANA:
Well, I always feel like I'm sounding corny and sentimental, which I probably am. But when the recording's done and you get the orchestra on top, and we're all there wearing double headphones, it's fresh and exciting to have something realized that was in your mind. I was driving through Italy and looking at these beautiful sunflowers and listening to two recordings by Gilberto Gil, and for some reason, I started thinking, "This would work really well, this groove." And then to hear it back and have it be more than you thought it would be when you were looking at sunflowers and hearing a tune in your head--that's a really great feeling. And then I went to my parents' house and we listened to it with a glass of wine, and it's like being a kid bringing the report card home.
LAUNCH:
Your album artwork is really beautiful and really plays on the fact that you're an attractive woman. Tell me your perspective on art vs. commercialism.
DIANA:
Music comes first, and I make a record for music's sake and art's sake. I've never had to sacrifice artistic integrity. The record company and my producer have nurtured me and want me to grow into who I am, rather than to make me into something. I have control over how I'm marketed and imaged. And just because my record comes in a pretty package doesn't compromise the integrity of the music. I have input. I find that the most important thing for me is honesty and integrity. The beautiful package doesn't compromise the artistic integrity. I have an artistic director in Hollis King. I really wanted to shoot the album art outside on the beach. We had a huge van and it was really cold, but it was what I really wanted to do and that was how I wanted to be represented because that's who I am. I love to be outside. I love the beach. It's part of who you are. It doesn't take away from your music.
LAUNCH:
Do you have any role models?
DIANA:
Besides my family? I have so many role models. I'm constantly searching for knowledge.
LAUNCH:
What challenges have you encountered since becoming a "pop" star?
DIANA:
Talking to someone you just met [a journalist] about something very intimate and being prepared to answer questions that are personal. I don't think I've given up anything--that's part of the deal when you're a public person. You are a public person because people like what you do. And I know when I like someone, I like to learn about them so I can learn from them. It's taken me by surprise, but I'm learning to balance that.
LAUNCH:
What's up next for you?
DIANA:
I don't even know where I'm going day after tomorrow! It's been a good way for me to work. I work very spontaneously. I never dreamed that I would have the opportunities that I've had. And every day there has been some exciting developments and I just sit back and watch what happens. I try to do the best job I can and perform at the highest level I can and be passionate, honest, inspired, and excited about playing music.
LAUNCH:
Walking out onto the stage of the Hollywood Bowl--do you ever stop and reflect for a second, like, "Wow! Look at me, I'm here at the Hollywood Bowl!"
DIANA:
Sometimes when I walk out onstage I go, "Wow there's a lot of people here!" But when I start playing, it's me and the bandstand. And I'm playing to the audience the way I'm talking to you. That's how I approach it.
