Diana Krall – Live In Paris (2xLP, Verve, 60th Anniversary Edition)

Diana Krall's Live In Paris captures her sold-out late-2001 run at the Olympia in Paris, arriving at a point when she had already helped bring piano-led vocal jazz back into the mainstream. Rather than treating the concert as a victory lap, the album leans into what makes Krall convincing in the first place: elegant time, close attention to melody, and a feel for standards that keeps them conversational instead of museum-like.

The set moves easily between the Great American Songbook, bossa nova-inflected phrasing and a few carefully chosen later songs. Regular collaborators including Anthony Wilson and Jeff Hamilton give the band a supple, unshowy swing, while orchestral arrangements by Alan Broadbent broaden the scale on selected performances without overwhelming the intimacy. That balance is a big part of the album's appeal: you hear both the room and the detail.

There are a few especially telling choices here. Burt Bacharach and Hal David's The Look Of Love fits Krall's cool, controlled delivery perfectly, while Joni Mitchell's A Case of You strips things back to voice and piano. The closing Just the Way You Are, recorded in the studio for The Guru soundtrack, adds a different coda, with Michael Brecker contributing a standout tenor sax solo. Live In Paris went on to win the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and it still works as one of the clearest snapshots of Krall's concert presence at her commercial and artistic peak.

Features

• 2xLP, 180g
• Mastered from the original analogue master tapes by Bernie Grundman
• Pressed at RTI
• Numbered deluxe laminated double gatefold jacket

Reviews

• this recording will give you a firsthand account of the ambience and excitement of a musical evening with her. - AllMusic.com