18 Exactly Like You
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Musician personnel: Diana's rhythm section (John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, Anthony
Wilson) is joined by Rio-born percussionist Paulinho da Costa and a
local orchestra assembled by the São Paulo-based Maestro
Ruriá Duprat, who conducted the original arrangements written by
Claus Ogerman for the upcoming "Quiet Nights" Audio CD (Verve), as well
as some other scores previously penned by Ogerman and Johnny Mandel for
other Krall albums.
REVIEWS:
Diana Krall: Live in Rio
Eagle Rock Entertainment
DVD Talk
Review by Jeffrey Kauffman
The Movie:
Visitors to my home in Portland, whether or not they are professional
musicians, regularly marvel at what we comically refer to as my "wall
of Brasilian music," a collection of probably well over 1000 CDs of
various kinds of music from "down Rio way." While I was too young to
experience the first wave of Bossa Nova, which really hit American
shores in 1962-63 (yes, for you sticklers, it had been around since
1959 and several artists recorded Bossa Nova before Getz-Gilberto made
it a household word), I was the perfect age to experience the second
wave of the "Brasilian invasion" when Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
started charting regularly in the late 1960s. Brasil '66 literally
changed my life--I had never heard anything so harmonically advanced or
so rhythmically expressive, and it didn't hurt that the group's leader
played keyboards, my instrument of choice. My love affair with
Brasilian music has only grown in the intervening decades and I count
myself blessed to be able to make a substantial part of my musical
livelihood off of playing this remarkably complex yet accessible music.
Diana Krall has proven herself to be a jazz-pop star of unusual
crossover appeal, and she continues to mine that vein in her most
recent CD, "Quiet Nights," which takes a pass at several Bossa Nova
standards, everything from Jobim's "Corcovado" to the Valle Brothers'
"Summer Samba (So Nice)," as well as jazz standards at least slightly
tinged with latin rhythms. Krall, in her CD and on this new DVD (also
out on BD), is helped immensely by orchestrator Claus Ogerman. Ogerman
famously arranged the first American Verve sides for Jobim, and
continued to work with the master for decades afterward, contributing
his impeccable instrumental backings to a host of recordings that
numbered among Tom's best.
This DVD is an enjoyable romp, if somewhat light on the Brasilian side
of things (despite its insert notes to the contrary). Diana works her
trademark swing style with her soft, Peggy Lee inflected vocals. I must
confess I'm not a huge fan of Diana's singing. If you want something
soft and Brasilian, there's always Astrud Gilberto, not to mention
Wanda Sa, Elizete Cardoso, Gracinha Leporace and a host of others who
will give you a more "genuine" experience. Where Krall excels is with
her lovely and I think underappreciated piano. Krall isn't necessarily
the flashiest keyboard artist out there (she can't hold a candle to
Brasil's Eliane Elias, for example), but she's unfailingly smart and in
the pocket in a Nat King Cole sort of way, and she proves that time and
time again on this release. She's also backed by an incredible band,
including the wonderful guitarist Anthony Wilson. Listen to Wilson's
ingenuity in introducing "Let's Fall in Love" with a great little quote
from "Felicidade" from Black Orpheus. Krall does bring a little native
Brasilian expertise to her band with legendary percussionist Paulinho
da Costa (from Sergio Mendes' band, among other credits too numerous to
mention). Krall exudes sultriness, something you will either find
endearing or annoying, depending on your frame of mind. Tossing her
golden locks to and fro, she's pinup girl as jazz "artiste," something
that some Brasilians may find a bit off putting. The Brasilian musical
ethos is typically one of absolute non-pretention, something which
Krall approaches in her musicality if not her actual physicality.
The best charts in this set are the tunes which lend themselves to the
Bossa Nova treatment, like Rodgers and Hart's "Where or When," from the
"Quiet Nights" CD, as well as the handful of actual Bossa Nova tunes
included. Some of the straight ahead swing tunes, like concert opener
"I Love Being Here With You," while pleasant, may be a bit too much of
"been there, done that" for longtime Krall fans, bringing back memories
of other tunes in the same vein like "Hit that Jive, Jack." Other songs
that you might think would be naturals, like Bacharach and David's
"Walk on By," are curiously ineffective.
Behind it all, though, are Ogerman's incredibly lovely
orchestrations. If you're not familiar with Ogerman's work, you simply
must take some time to check out his legion of albums with everyone
who's anyone in the jazz (and sometimes, pop) world. Ogerman goes back
some 50 years now in the American and Continental music scenes, and you
will find no more tasteful, brilliant orchestrator in the annals of
popular music. His restraint and unmistakable luster seem ideally
suited to Bossa Nova, with its languid rhythms and shifting,
quasi-French impressionistic harmonies.
A little more than halfway through the Brasil '66 canon, Sergio Mendes
released an album called "Ye-Me-Le." A lot of longtime fans felt Mendes
was suddenly coasting after the artistic high water marks of "Look
Around" and especially "Fool on the Hill." After all, here was someone
who had introduced a remarkable array of post-Jobim Brasilian writers
(people like Edu Lobo and Milton Nascimento) to a lot of Americans,
suddenly opting to do not very Brasilianized versions of tunes like
Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman." Some viewers may find themselves
reacting similarly to this Krall outing--it could be argued she's
coasting, not exploring very much and kind of taking it easy. Of
course, that may be perfectly Brasilian in and of itself to some folks,
but I think with careful listening, there's a lot to enjoy in this
concert DVD, even if, as in the case of Mendes' "Ye-Me-Le," there's a
dearth of actual Brasilian material here. Krall's piano chops are
always distinctive, if never very far outside the mainstream, and her
alto, while not especially remarkable, has the smoothness and lack of
vibrato that is the hallmark of some of the greatest Brasilian
chanteuses.
Diana Krall in Rio is a quiet night in and of itself. It's about as
antithetical to bombast as you can get, but that's part of its charm.
The Special Edition of Diana Krall's "Live in Rio," in a 2-DVD set with
210 minutes, will be released in the USA by Eagle Vision on October 27,
2009.
This special edition of "Live in Rio" includes features not only the
complete material from the standard DVD, as well as a second disc with
extra live tracks recorded in Canada, Spain and Portugal, plus the
"Rooftop Sessions" (featuring Brazilian bossa nova master Carlos Lyra
on guitar) which were only available on the Blu-ray release and on the
Japanese issue of the standard DVD. The promotional film for the "Quiet
Nights" CD completes the second disc.
This 2-Disc Set contains tracks from Krall's "Quiet Nights" album on Verve, arranged by Claus Ogerman, as well
as some other scores previously penned by Ogerman and Johnny Mandel for
other Krall albums.
Compositions by Jobim are listed on the tracklist below.
Tracklist:
Disc 1:
1.) I Love Being Here With You
2.) Let's Fall In Love
3.) Where Or When
4.) Too Marvelous For Words
5.) I've Grown Accustomed To His Face
6.) Walk On By
7.) Frim Fram Sauce
8.) Cheek To Cheek
9.) You're My Thrill
10.) Let's Face The Music And Dance
11.) Every Time We Say Goodbye
12.) So Nice
13.) Quiet Nights
14.) Este Seu Olhar (Jobim)
15.) The Boy From Ipanema (Jobim)
16.) I Don't Know Enough About You
17.) S'Wonderful
18.) Exactly Like You
Disc 2:
Canada:
1.) Where Or When
2.) Exactly Like You
3.) Walk On By
4.) Deed I Do
5.) Quiet Nights (Jobim)
6.) Frim Fram Sauce
7.) A Case Of You
8.) I Don't Know Enough About You
Madrid:
1.) Deed I Do
2.) So Nice
3.) P.S. I Love You
Lisbon:
1.) Walk On By
2.) Este Seu Olhar (Jobim)
The Rooftop Sessions:
1.) The Boy From Ipanema (Jobim)
2.) Too Marvelous For Words
3.) Cheek To Cheek
4.) Quiet Nights (Jobim)
