Ya know, she’s not the greatest vocalist in the world, but she’s got her own personal style, she makes it work, and she can SWING. She’s not the greatest pianist in jazz either, but again, she’s got her own style, and she DOES have chops, and she makes it work, and she SWINGS! Somehow, this lady almost personally transformed jazz standards into something that is acceptable to the pop world, yet, as she showed in ample display before the packed Hollywood Bowl crowd, she’s lost none of her jazz credentials; if anything she’s honed them down into perfection.
The show opened with a handful of songs performed by the LA Phil, wonderfully conducted by one of jazz’s best pianist and arrangers in his own right, Alan Broadbent. Delivering material like Charlie Parker’s “My Little Sued Shoes,” “Where Is Love” a Woody Herman chart of “The Children of Lima” and Miles Davis’ “Milestones” gave a whole new meaning to the term “classic jazz.” The jazzed up orchestra served as a perfect backdrop and drapery for Ms. Krall and her own trio of Anthony Wilson/g, Karriem Riggins/dr and Robert Hurst/b as the swung like an intimate evening at Vitellos on tunes like he raucous “I Found Out About Love” or the romantic “Do It Again” or “Let’s Fall in Love.” Her vocals have an incessant sense of rhythm to them, as she knows when to clip a note, or stretch it out to maximum benefit, as she displayed on a wondrous take of “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” and “Corcovado.”
Krall’s time with just the small band showed the audience where her heart is. She played some strident stride that rivaled Fats Waller before delving into a snappy little take of “’Deed I Do,” and closing the set with a rousing reading of “Cheek to Cheek” before returning with a glorious collection of encores that made the grandiose Bowl seem like a second set before the lights are turned out. Few artists make the whole sum this much better than just the parts, but Krall has, and does, it like no one else, and does the rare feat of satisfying both the snob and plebe in all of us music fans.
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