Product Description

STEPPIN' OUT was singer Diana Krall's first released session, recorded in 1992. Jazz singing aside, what most attracts listeners at first are Krall's prodigious piano chops. A former student of legendary pianist Jimmy Rowles, Krall is eager to show her stuff here, making this release as much an instrumentalist's debut as a vocalist's. Unlike just about every other new pianist, Krall doesn't go in for the murky chromatic maelstroms that currently pass for improvisation. She'san unpretentious traditionalist with a big funky sound and splashy dynamics worthy of Erroll Garner and Red Garland. Check out instrumentals "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" and "Big Foot" for thoroughly hard swinging of the old school.
Of course Diana Krall has since made a name as oneof our better jazz singers. The simplicity and taste marking her piano playing also characterise Krall's approach to singing. And the bluesy spare attack she employs leaves plentyof room for the liquid piano accompaniment to fill up. She's also fond of bending a phrase or two, but doesn't overdo it like many neophyte jazz singers. Most of all she sounds honest, a rarity in a young artist performing in such a classic style.

Track Listing

1. This Can't Be Love
2. Straighten Up And Fly Right
3. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
4. I'm Just A Lucky So And So
5. Body And Soul
6. 42nd Street
7. Do Nothin' 'til You Hear From Me
8. Big Foot
9. Frim Fram Sauce
10. Jimmie
11. As Long As I Live
12. On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38741 in Music
• Released on: 2004-04-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
For years singer-pianist Diana Krall has been bringing new lifeblood to jazz through her dual knockout talents. And while her later recordings reveal a consistently maturing artist, this 1992 debut album shows that the Nanaimo, British Columbia, native had the goods right from the get-go. In her mid-20s here, Krall sings with honesty, subtlety, and persuasion while playing the piano with head-shaking authority, both as accompanist--she offers amazing asides in between vocal phrases--and as an absolutely A-one improviser. Indeed, it is remarkable to hear her weave her gifts into a wondrous whole. Working with bass ace John Clayton and the superb drummer Jeff Hamilton, Krall presents one winner after another. "This Can't Be Love" is typical, a selection where it is all but impossible not to tap your foot. After a nicely enunciated vocal--she slides into phrases much like Sarah Vaughan--the pianist cooks in her Oscar Peterson-meets-Gene Harris style, playing hip ideas that fall easily on the ear, underwritten by her rock-solid feel for time. "As Long as I Live" is another example of Krall's ability to sing and swing a standard with a nonstop groove. "Straighten Up and Fly Right" is slower and features a deeply bluesy vocal; "I'm Just a Lucky So and So" is equally sultry. The classic ballad "Body and Soul" finds her singing with intimacy and playing with a caressing touch. This is a very impressive start for a very impressive artist. --Zan Stewart

Customer Reviews

GREAT PIANO-STYLE JAZZ
HAVING LISTENED TO ALL OF DIANA KRALLS CD'S, I SUPPOSE THAT MAKES ME A BIT OF A FAN AND THEREFORE BIASED TO HER WORK. HOWEVER, THIS ALBUM IS GREAT. HER RENDITION OF 42ND STREET IS SO DIFFERENT YOU CAN HARDLY RECOGNISE THE TUNE,TAKING YOU AWAY FROM THE OLD TAP-DANCE FAVOURITE. AS A DANCE TEACHER THIS CD IS GREAT TO TAP TO! THIS CD IS JAMMED PACKED FULL OF OLD FAVOURITES PERFORMED IN A NEW JAZZ STYLE.