Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36445 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-11-22
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 89 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Diana Krall: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival is a portrait of an already-accomplished musician in the process of evolving into a great artist. Always a fine jazz pianist, an expressive singer, and a capable interpreter (mostly of the Great American Songbook), Krall spent little time developing an original voice prior to her marriage to Elvis Costello and her CD The Girl in the Other Room, which features multiple songwriting collaborations with Costello as well as more adventurous choices in cover material (Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow", Tom Waits's "Temptation"). That 2004 recording is the centerpiece of this concert; fully nine of the 13 selections here, including the Waits and Mitchell songs as well as five Costello-Krall compositions, were drawn from it. Purists may lament the lessening of the straight-ahead jazz element in Krall's music (indeed, with its simple major chords and countryish lilt, the original "Narrow Daylight" will inevitably invite comparisons to Norah Jones). But Krall and her excellent band still swing mightily (cf. an extended version of the standard "All or Nothing at All") and improvise like the seasoned jazz pros they are. It's a heady combination: Krall is at least as good an instrumentalist as her contemporaries; add to that her singing and now an interest in songwriting that reflects the influence of pop music as well as jazz, and you have a genuinely unique talent. --Sam Graham

DVD Description
5.1 and 2.0 dolby surround

Synopsis
The tracklist includes: 'Sometimes I Just Freak Out', 'All Or Nothing At All', 'Stop This World', 'The Girl In The Other Room', 'Abandoned Masquerade', 'I'm Coming Through', 'Temptation', 'East Of The Sun (West Of The Moon', 'Devil May Care', 'Black Crow', 'Narrow Daylight', 'Love Me Like A Man' and 'Departure Bay'.

Customer Reviews

Average perfomance poorly recorded
Some people in their reviews referred to the musical contents. I will just say that it is a fusion of Jazz with modern pop/country songs. It is a matter of taste, but I prefer "Live in Paris".

Diana appeared somewhat tired. Se rushes on "West of the Sun" and only catches fire in "Devil may care". God knows why...

The bass section in notably inferior to the duo Hamilton/Clayton in "Live in Paris", but these gentlemen as she calls them have other engagements...Anthony Wilson is very good on the guitar, and of course Dina Krall is very good on piano, but her left hand is weak. Almost all notes are played in the middle of the keyboard. Thus the lady maintains composure and does not need to move on the seat, affording correct placement of the microphone when she sings.

This is a recording of a Jazz Trio in a large arena hall. These venues are, in general, not good to record acoustic instruments (to reach the audience they need to be amplified).
Therefore close miking is a necessary "bad practice".

Regarding the DVD there is a significant error in the package. The sound is Dolby 5.0, not 5.1, meaning there is no subwoofer. I personally like that, because I have 4 large speakers and can hear bass from all of them. But a large number of people have 5 small speakers and a subwoofer. When they play this DVD they will simply hear no bass.
If Universal put 5.1 in the label on purpose I think some customers have legitimate right to claim their money back...

Another important point is the fact that only Dolby Digital is available for both surround and stereo. Dolby Digital at the lowest compression rate (highest bit rate) is still not good for music, period.
This is a strange decision for a company called "VERVE" which recorded the greatest Jazz groups in the 60's and 70's with great fidelity. Listen to "Night Train" by the Oscar Peterson Trio on CD and you will hear the difference...
Why this decision to allocate the majority of the DVD to the video and a small portion to the sound in a music record is beyond belief. They could at least put the stereo track in PCM.

Compared to Warner's Paul Simon "You are the One" at the Paris Olympia that has DTS surround and PCM in addition to Dolby 5.1 and subtitles of the lyrics for the non-English native language customers this DVD should be priced at half of the normal...

Since I got my copy from the USA, that's more or less what I paid and therefore I will make a recommendation to the fans and collectors of Mrs. Krall. , but a CD such as "Only trust your heart" is better way of spending cash.

Disappointing release..
I was at Diana's concert yesterday in Vejle, Denmark and brought home the new Montreal DVD. A great 5-star live concert in Vejle - but the DVD is very disappointing. Granted.. after "Live in Paris" my expectations were high.. probably too high. But this DVD release really leaves a lot to be desired.

The video boasts "stunning 14-camera shoot".. and it's alright.. but are we supposed to believe that the greatness of a video shoot is equal to the number of cameras in use? The editing seems random at times, but you do get a nice view of Diana's piano playing for all us piano players out there.

The audio options are 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby surround. Why no DTS? The audio sounds thin and cold, there's no warmth or depth to the sound of any of the instruments... again (unfairly maybe) compared to "Live in Paris".

The concert is also not complete (not that "Live in Paris" was), but the highlight of this particular concert (June 29, 2004) is supposed to have been a closing duet with Diana and Ron Sexsmith performing "Secret Heart". This was promised to be on the DVD - it is not.

Also promised to be on this release was a 15-minute documentary on the Montreal Jazz festival and its 25th anniversary - not on the DVD.

The promised Oscar Peterson Awards ceremony (recipient Diana Krall) was also promised to be on this DVD - it is not.

The extras you do get are:

- the video for "Narrow Daylight"

and in case you do not have internet access (well.. how could you be reading this then?) - you can spend a good 1 or 2 minutes exploring:

- a Diana Krall "discography" and
- a photo gallery

On a positive note.. the next Diana Krall DVD-release is guaranteed to exceed this one .. unless they decide to sell it on adding one and using FIFTEEN cameras!

So in other words.. if you don't own "Live In Paris".. buy that one first instead of this one.

OK Diana
I cannot understand the other reviews. I found this an attractive and interesting addition to the Krall catalogue. The great advantage of the live concert dvds is that you get so much more of Diana's piano-playing than on her CDs. The camera angles add to the enjoyment and although this does not reach the dizzy heights of her Live in Paris dvd - and it is true the "extras" are fairly puny - it would be sad if people were deterred from buying it because of a couple of negative reviews. I hope this may help redress the balance. I certainly find it well worth the money.+