struggles with pop in Oakland
By Jim Harrington
jharrington@bayareanewsgroup.com
POSTED: 08/17/2015 02:51:24 AM PDT
Canadian jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall opens her concert at the Fox Theatre in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015, part of her Wallflower tour.
(D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group)
Photos: Diana Krall plays the Wallflower at the Fox Theatre in Oakland
Diana Krall went pop and the result was her worst album to date -- this year's "Wallflower," which finds the talented vocalist-pianist covering Elton John, Leon Russell, Bob Dylan and other usual suspects in a mostly jazz-free fashion.
Yet, Krall can usually be counted on to deliver on the live stage -- and that was certainly the case Sunday night at the Fox Theater in Oakland. The jazz queen, who is married to Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Elvis Costello, sounded equally strong on the microphone and keys during the two-hour set.
She was at her best when she stuck to jazz. Yet, even the "Wallflower" material sounded at least somewhat better live than it did in the studio.
Canadian jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall opens her concert at the Fox Theatre in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015, part of her Wallflower tour. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group)
The 50-year-old Canadian, who also performs Wednesday at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, opened the show with a dynamic run through Harry M. Woods' "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye," the Tin Pan Alley classic that also kicks off Krall's previous album, 2012's "Glad Rag Doll." She followed the album's track listing for two more numbers, thrilling the crowd with "There Ain't No Sweet Man That's Worth the Salt of My Tears" and then "Just Like a Butterfly That's Caught in the Rain."
Krall on this tour is leading an absolutely sensational sextet, consisting of bassist Dennis Crouch, drummer Karriem Riggins, guitarist Anthony Wilson, keyboardist Patrick Warren and fiddle player Stuart Duncan. Yes, that's right -- there is a fiddle player in the band. And Duncan, a Grammy-winning bluegrass musician, adds so much to the mix. His exchange with Wilson (one of Krall's longtime sidemen) absolutely sparkled on "On the Sunny Side of the Street," bringing new life to this 85-year-old composition.
It was hard to watch these virtuoso jazz players anchored to relatively commonplace pop arrangements. It's like watching NASCAR drivers cruise leisurely around in a small parking lot.
Thankfully, Krall soon led her band back to the jazz world, performing sensational versions of the standards "Just You, Just Me" and "'Deed I Do." She also paid tribute to the late great Oscar Peterson who would have turned 90 on Saturday.
"I am very fortunate to have met him and hung out with him and his family," Krall said.
She returned for a generous four-song encore, highlighted by her rambunctious cover of The Band's "Ophelia."
Diana Krall
When: 7:30 p.m. WednesdayWhere: Mountain Winery, Saratoga
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