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BUSINESS TIMES
AUGUST 4, 2001
Executive Lifestyle
Krall's feat
Grammy-winning Diana Krall sings like a chanteuse but talks like a cowgirl. Beneath the sexy image lies a jazz singer serious about her music. Tan Hwee Hwee discovers what keeps the world enthralled

With a Grammy on her mantelpiece and an album that's shifted nearly two million copies, Diana Krall is the undisputed Queen of Jazz. The multi-platinum success of When I Look Into Your Eyes is all the more amazing if you consider that most jazz musicians struggle to make a living, playing to small crowds in smoky bars and hotel lobbies. Krall's one of those rare jazz artists who's managed to cross-over to the mainstream, breaking into the Billboard Hot 100 and performing to 17,000 screaming fans in mega arenas like the Hollywood Bowl.

With her sultry voice and blonde bombshell looks, Krall is every record executive's dream - a sex siren who sounds like Ella but looks like Monroe. 'They're not marketing me as a sex symbol,' said Krall in exasperation, bristling at the suggestion that the suits at Verve are trying to turn her into the poster girl for jazz.

Speaking from her hotel room in Concord, California, Krall dismisses allegations that she's nothing more than a marketing gimmick, an artist who owes her success more to the glamorous shots on her CD cover than for her interpretations of Cole Porter. 'I got criticised for that cover which I didn't think was overtly sex-symbolly,' said Krall, referring to the shots that celebrity photographer Bruce Weber took for her No 1 album, When I Look Into Your Eyes. Krall felt that they were going for a 'very outdoorsy' look.

Growing up in the west coast of Canada, Krall grew up loving outdoor sports, especially skiing, hiking and horse-back riding. 'We shot the album cover in Carmel, where I keep my horse. I did the shoot in pouring rain and 45 degree weather. It was very cold, very challenging. Somebody without my outdoors experience might not have been able to deal with that. I felt very inspired by the elements.' Krall's vocals are slinky - even a little kinky - but when you hear her speak, her voice is full of spunk, bright with feisty energy. She's a diva who sings like a chanteuse but talks like a cowgirl.

Glam slam
A self-proclaimed jock, Krall is baffled by the media's portrayal of her as a hip hottie. 'I sang the Canadian National Anthem recently and I was wearing a baseball jersey and a pair of jeans - not very glamorous at all - and I came off the stage and people still said 'that's the sexiest version of the national anthem!' ' After that incident, Krall decided that 'if I'm going to get a hard time even about that, I might as well just do what I want to do. I think it's very important as a woman, that if you're putting in the blood, sweat and tears - if you're putting your art first, your music first - that you should be able to wear whatever the heck you want. I think it's sexist to criticise a woman for what she wears.'

Obviously, the questions struck a sensitive chord. 'I know I've been criticised for my imaging, which I think is ridiculous,' she added. 'You have critics saying 'oh she's just a marketing product' but it's really important for people to know that I'm in control of my career.' Krall is no producer's pawn. She manages all aspects of her career, from choosing her songs to picking the photographer for her album shoot.

So why IS the world in thrall of Krall? The Canadian crooner feels she owes her success to the fact that she's 'honest. I really love what I do and there's no angle of trying to sell. I just go out there and be myself. As a woman, I think you should be able to do whatever you want to do as long as you have integrity - that's the most important thing.'

Krall thinks that the media's portrayal of her as a jazz zinger is out of synch with who she really is. 'I used to be so freaked out in having to be grand, and be this kind of person who had to say 'Hello, good evening ladies and gentleman'. I've always been kind of a jock. I'm very athletic and very awkward.'

A former member of her high school swimming team, it seems this Girl is more Sporty than Posh. After watching her perform at the JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall, a reviewer from the New York Times commented on her 'awkward' gait. 'The critic obviously wasn't wearing Jimmy Choo shoes!' she said. 'It's hard. You're trying to do music and they comment on how you walk.'

Like any woman, she's sensitive to comments about her looks. 'Gosh, I have the same insecurities as anyone else - mine are just a little more public. I will admit that I, like any other woman, am concerned about my weight. I've never considered myself to be on a model level.'

Singaporeans will get a chance to see Krall 'live' in action when she appears in a solo concert at the Raffles Hotel's Jubilee Theatre on Sept 2. Krall performed in Singapore two years ago and has fond memories of her visit. 'I love Singapore! I bought a whole bunch of furniture when I was there.' But wasn't she only on our tiny island for a day or so? 'I'm a fast shopper. I know what I want. I just went into the shop, chose this and that and had them ship it.'

Krall's concert will feature an exclusive world premiere of songs from her new album, The Look of Love, which will be released that weekend. This new album re-unites her with Grammy-winning producer Tommy LiPuma and features the London Symphony Orchestra with arrangements conducted by the legendary Claus Ogerman. Krall lights up when she talks about working on her new album. 'It's the best process. One of my favourite parts of making the record is that embryonic stage of picking songs. I work really well in the fall so I went to Tommy LiPuma, and he has a house in the country, so we just sat around listening to records.'

They chose 30 tunes, about half of which made the final cut. 'It's a wonderful process, because it's doing what I love to do, which is sit around listening to records. I listened to Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. It's what inspires me and what moves me to do what I want to do. I think about what stories I can find and how can I can interpret it my way. It's a fantastic process.'

Speaking with intelligence and earnest passion, Krall comes across as a savvy, dedicated professional. And looking at her gruelling tour schedule for 2001, which sees her travelling across America, Europe and Asia, it's clear that Krall's an unstoppable workhorse. Diana Krall might look like a babe, but she's no bossa nova bimbo.

As a graduate of the acclaimed Berklee College of Music in Boston, Diana Krall would much rather talk about music than marketing. 'Jazz is a serious art form and I'm very serious about it,' she said. But whether she likes it or not, Krall's commercial success means that she is a celebrity, and fair game for the scandal sheets. With the Daily Mail recently trumpeting rumours of an affair between herself and Clint Eastwood, how does she manage to stay calm within the media maelstrom? 'My mother's been battling cancer for five years,' she said. Having to deal with the potential death of a loved one helps Krall keep things in perspective. 'You feel so helpless. My mother is an amazing woman, so we've had a lot of time to think about what's important in life and what's not.' And ultimately, what's important is her music.

Even at the nadir of her career, when she was twinkling the ivories at tourist traps like the Happy Piano Bar in Switzerland, her passion for performing pulled her through. 'It's hard to always be travelling, to not have my things around, to not be home. Like tonight I have to sleep in a bed that I've never slept in before . . . but it's worth it - just to have that hour when you're on the stage and playing your music.'

Diana Krall will appear 'live & unplugged' on Sept 2 at Raffles Hotel, Jubilee Theatre in an exclusive world premiere of songs from her new album 'The Look of Love' out the same month. The evening is a 'gala dinner and performance' by invitation only. Enquiries from media, corporate, sponsors to corporate@M2us.com

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