She's on the front page of the New York Times' Arts & Leisure section. She's in Vanity Fair. She's on the home page of cdnow.com. Her lipstick red cover of Jazziz magazine has just gone off the stands. Wherever you turn in musicville these days, Diana Krall is around. That's what happens when you go from being a respected jazz singer to being a commercial entity who slots in the Billboard Top 200 next to Incubus, J. Lo, the Calling, and others. Krall's a skilled improviser, an authoritative vocalist, and right now, she's also jazz's It Girl.

What got Krall to this position is her voice. Several years ago, on her Nat King Cole nod All For You, her singing was feathery and fun. And with each disc it has greatly matured. Last year, on the sublime The Look of Love (Verve), she sent her breathy tones gliding through Claus Ogerman arrangements of classic tunes that offered wisps of blues, samba, and bossa nova. The disc is about finesse, understatement, and less being more. And you shouldn't doubt such power. In February, The Look of Love won itself a Grammy.

These days Krall's looking for inspiration outside common jazz pieces. She participated in the TNT channel's fete of Joni Mitchell, impressing listeners with a simple,

deep spin on the songwriter's "A Case of You." Currently she's recording tunes by Patsy Cline and Elvis Costello for upcoming projects. But don't think her interest in jazz is flagging. On the phone after a Minneapolis tour date, she mentions that she's trying to learn a Coleman Hawkins shout chorus for "Just You, Just Me." Stressing the need to be well-rounded, Krall reminds us that there's always plenty of stuff to learn.

Q: Your music is built on intimacy, but fame puts you in larger and larger venues. Have you had to come up with a way to sustain nuance in these new situations?
A: Not really, no. I like playing at places like Carnegie Hall, because it has an aura about it -- it's Carnegie Hall. And last summer I played at the Hollywood Bowl for 18,000 people and it felt like I was playing in a club. So I'm playing large venues, but the vibe of the room can be intimate. It's about the audience. I've been fortunate to have great audiences. What I do notice is that there are different kinds of people there. Some have never been to a jazz show before. Some are hipsters and know to clap after a good solo. If you're playing the Newport Jazz Festival in the middle of the day, and there are a million people out there and it's daytime, sure, I find it a bit harder than when it's dark and I can't see anyone. But really you can get intimacy in a lot of . . . well, it's amazing what people can do.

Q: The last time you were here it was a rainy night at the Tennis Hall of Fame -- an odd gig where there were some interruptions. But you seemed fully focused -- in an offhanded way.
A: I remember -- our guitarist didn't show up till we were almost done. Well, really, I'm focused on the music. Other things aren't going into my head when I'm playing. It might be maturity, you know? I don't know if I could have had that when I was 22, 23.

Q: Has stardom been useful as far as music-making goes?
A: [Laughs] What are you talking about?

Q: Maybe easier travel arrangements so you're more rested, having more clout might get you better pianos, more rehearsal time, people listening to your ideas . . . .
A: Okay, stardom. My days are this: get out of the hotel, try to get some tea, try to get a room that doesn't stink like cigar smoke . . . well, really, on this tour we're having a blast because there's a great vibe around me. What stardom really does provide is an opportunity to have Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton when I want them, to work with people I think are the best and have them kick my butt and learn things from them. And it helps that there's now someone to take my suitcase instead of me schlepping it. Therefore I can go out to dinner or have more time to focus on the music. Success has given me freedom and more opportunities. Three years ago I wouldn't have been able to afford to work with the London Symphony Orchestra, like I did. It's opened creative possibilities. There are negative aspects of it, too. But I get over that.

Q: You've got to build certain muscles to be a public character.
A: Yeah. I went through that in October in Canada. They build you up and then . . . It was, "Hey, I'm doing my Look of Love tour in Canada, my home. Cool!" And they just slam you. The reaction to the cover was controversial . . . .

Q: Yeah, there's been a reaction in the jazz community that you're too sexy, or too sexily "arranged," on the recent record's cover art. Isn't it a bit late for that? It's 2002.
A: I don't have to defend anything I do because it's coming from a totally honest place. Jim, I knew what I was doing, and that's the point. I read press that says, "The suits at Verve have really marketed her, and there's no piano on the cover, and there's this cleavage." And I say, "Yeah, ain't it great? I busted my ass in the gym for that body." Then they go back to the Charlie Parker questions. Hey, I see all the pictures first. They say here are your two choices: airbrushed cleavage and the natural stuff. I said, "Just go for it, man, it's Bruce Weber photography, the music is sensual, it all makes sense and I feel comfortable with it." It's just a snapshot of who I am. I'm not going to Denny's for breakfast wearing [a black cocktail dress].

Q: Funny -- or sad, really -- how we only get a grip on one aspect of an artist's persona.
A: One recent interview asked me how I liked being classified as a smooth jazz artist, and I said, "Look, what-ever." Put me on the country and western stations, I'll be thrilled. But there's positive encouragement coming my way from all over -- my peers, certain journalists.

Q: What's the oddest event that's happened to you since you've become a public character?
A: Oh, this is so good. I told it to the audience the other night in Minneapolis. I was all dressed in a trench coat, doing my [Inspector] Clouseau, wearing my Woody Allen rain hat. I'm walking back from the mall, and I'm getting into an elevator. And I hear some guys in work clothes say, "Hey, know what, I think that was Britney Spears." Ha! The poor guys must have had 12 beers for lunch, or they were on their way back from their ophthalmologist appointment. But being mistaken for Britney was wild. Every day is a new experience. I did an in-store at Borders in Chicago and 300 people showed up. And I want to talk to them and chat -- that's who I am. People bring stuff. Firemen brought T-shirts, a person brought me a Joni Mitchell book. And that's one of the fun parts of being in public.

Q: What are some songs that make you cry?
A: There are Christmas songs that make me cry. Recently I was on this plane, coming back from Hawaii, stuck on the tarmac for five hours, sitting with my boyfriend. And I'm listening to Christmas music because I'm choosing songs for my Christmas disc. And I'm listening to everything from Ella Fitzgerald to this wonderful choir from Boston's Trinity Church, and I'm crying and he's sitting there reading his New Yorker magazine, and he knows what I'm going through and that it's really emotional for me. I'm thinking of my grandmother and personal stuff and people I've lost . . . I get choked up even thinking of it. So yeah, there are tunes that make me cry. Another one is something I'm working on from the Elvis Costello/Anne Sofie Von Otter record -- I don't want to say which one. And any Brahms. "Requiem" makes me cry.

Q: Working with Claus Ogerman on The Look of Love, you spoke in cinematic terms to get certain moods across regarding the orchestrations. Do you see yourself becoming more theatrical in performance?
A: I find a character, find a story, find a visual in my head of what the story is about, and then tell it. Sometimes it's hard to get the character. And I try not to be nostalgic. But . . . the other night on stage I spontaneously went into "As Time Goes By." For some reason that was the mood I wanted to create. I think from years of watching actors I've learned a few things. [About the new disc] people ask, "Why aren't you doing uptempo stuff?" And I say, "This isn't my romantic comedy." I have a very good friend in Laurence Fishburne; he just interviewed me for Interview magazine. We've talked about this kind of thing together. But I was inspired by skiing when I was 20 years. So I'm always searching for knowledge. I learned from Jack Benny and the Marx Brothers. It's about timing.

Q: What I'm saying is that it takes more than a pleasant voice to get across "Cry Me a River."
A: Know what it is? It has to be visceral. It's a physical thing as well as an emotional thing. You can't over-emote, you'll get laughed out. It's about tempo. Tempo, tempo, tempo. "I've Got You Under My Skin" -- I love the way Frank [Sinatra] did it, but with a tempo change it can be a tortured lament. It's fascinating. That's why jazz works so well: you can just twist and bend it and it's always new.

Q: What's the killer piece on The Look of Love?
A: I don't think about songs like that. And I haven't really listened to the record in awhile. But I was in Germany having dinner with Claus Ogerman and he kind of reminded me about "The Night We Called It a Day," and how great it is. That particular track is something that wouldn't happen again. It's just a great spot that Christian [McBride] and Peter [Erskine] were at that day. It wasn't planned. It was just one of those great takes.

Q: You did the tribute show to Joni Mitchell, and you said that in general you didn't really know all her stuff -- just the Blue album. But then after the show, you devoured her music. What do you learn jumping into a canon like that all at once?
A: I'm doing it now with Elvis Costello. I saw him at the Grammys, and he was so kind in helping me get over my nervousness. He said, "I met you four years ago at the Grammys and I said you should do this tune of mine." And I had to tell him that I hadn't checked it out and hadn't really checked him out. He seemed to appreciate that, and we clicked. And I think he's the coolest guy. I bought all of his albums the next day, and I'm stuck on four of them right now. It's great. But all of a sudden I'm up at three in the morning and I'm surrounded by Elvis records. I like being asked to do songs by other artists. I like being put in that position, taking on that challenge. Like this Patsy Cline "Crazy" that I'm doing? I'm scared out of my mind. It will either work or not, but I do like the challenge.

Q: And the lack of previous knowledge of Elvis or Joni precludes any weird nostalgia baggage you might bring a song that you choose to interpret.
A: I grew up with the Eagles, Supertramp, Eric Clapton, and Steve Miller, along with the records I was practicing with. I think the idea of "Okay, we're the jazzers over here, and we're into Ray Brown and such" is getting old. Guys I know are just into stuff, they're all over the place. Right now Christian McBride can't shut up about Frank Sinatra. Me, I'm into Willie Nelson.

Q: Will jazz vocalists always have a leg up over jazz instrumentalists?
A: [People go for] vocals, sure. If you're singing American popular songs, they'll react. The most eloquent instrumentalist [might get a similar reaction], but lyrics are powerful, right? I mean, it's not like I'm up there playing bass clarinet!

Diana Krall will appear at the Providence Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. Call (401) 421-ARTS.

Issue Date: March 29 - April 4, 2002