The Look Of Love

Performer: Diana Krall
Artist: Claus Ogerman; Christian McBride; Peter Erskine; John Pisano
Engineer: Chris Clark; Richard Lancaster; John Hendrickson; Al Schmitt
Producer: Tommy LiPuma
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Diana Krall (vocals, piano); Claus Ogerman (arranger, conductor); Russell Malone, Romero Lubambo, John Pisano, Dori Caymmi (guitar); Christian McBride (bass); Peter Erskine, Jeff Hamilton (drums); Paulinho Da Costa, Luis Conte (percussion). Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York, New York from Januray 22-27, 2001 and Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California on June 3 & 4, 2001. THE LOOK OF LOVE won the 2002 Grammy Award For Best Engineered Album. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Personnel: Diana Krall (vocals, piano); Dori Caymmi , John Pisano, Romero Lubambo, Russell Malone (guitar); Jeff Hamilton , Peter Erskine (drums); Luis Conte, Paulinho Da Costa (percussion). Audio Mixer: Al Schmitt. Recording information: Avatar Studios, New York, NY (01/22/2001-06/04/2001); Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA (01/22/2001-06/04/2001); EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England (01/22/2001-06/04/2001). Photographers: Jane Shirek; Bruce Weber. While there's no denying that jazz-pop star Diana Krall's movie-star good looks went a long way toward endearing her to mainstream America, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Just as undeniable are Krall's gifts as a pianist and singer. Far from a crass populist, she's a subtle, nuanced performer who approaches her craft with an excess of skill and knowledge. This is apparent from the very beginning of THE LOOK OF LOVE, when Krall tackles the overly familiar Gershwin chestnut "S'Wonderful" not the way countless jazz singers have done in preceding decades, but in a style influenced by Joao Gilberto, who recorded the tune years before in a simmering bossa nova mode. This marriage of canny craft and artistic inspiration is repeated again and again throughout the album. Most of the songs here have been trotted out countless times by Krall's contemporaries and (especially) predecessors, but her thoughtful phrasing and low-key dynamic shifts match her unhurried, pastel piano style on each tune to bring out something special at the song's core.

Entertainment Weekly (9/21/01, p.82) - "...The most romantic vocalizing she's ever done, the set benefits from the soft, subtle string backgrounds of legendary German orchestrator Claus Ogerman..." - Rating: A- Down Beat (1/02, p.66) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A clear success..." JazzTimes (05/03, p.161) - "...THE LOOK OF LOVE is extravagantly lush, with endless velvet depths of violins..."

With her pre-bop piano style, cool but sensual singing, and fortuitously photogenic looks, Diana Krall took the jazz world by storm in the late-'90s. By the turn of the century she was firmly established as one of the biggest sellers in jazz. Her 1996 album ALL FOR YOU was a Nat "King" Cole tribute that showed the singer-pianist's roots, and since then she has stayed fairly close to that tradition-minded mode, with wildly successful results.

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