Julia Weber
Staff writer
Legendary jazz vocalist Diana Krall is set to perform at 8:15 p.m. tonight in the Amphitheater.
Krall, who performed at Chautauqua Institution in 2012, will bring her quintessential jazz vocals and piano chops to the Amp stage for renditions of timeless classics and new material alike.
“We are thrilled to have Diana Krall returning to Chautauqua,” said Deborah Sunya Moore, senior vice president and chief program officer at the Institution. “Often, you’ll find that some musicians really focus on the instrumental performance or on the vocal singing, and with Diana Krall, it’s this powerful combination of both that I think makes her so special.”
During Krall’s 2012 performance, Moore said she saw an “experience of intimacy” among attendees.
“It felt like she almost called people to lean in and listen,” she said.
Moore said part of Krall’s uniqueness as an artist is her ability to pull from so many genres and musical influences at once. While her formal techniques call on jazz and classical influences, her ability to bring them into the contemporary era attracts fans of popular entertainment as well.
“Diana Krall crosses audiences where she resonates with a symphony audience, with a jazz audience and also an audience that is looking for that feeling of popular music, something that relates to them and feels current,” said Moore.
“That’s where I think she’s really brilliant. She comes across almost as a classical and jazz singer, a classical and jazz pianist — she gives that sense of her performance — but she has a certain currency and relevance that people really respond to,” she added.
Krall released her debut album Stepping Out in 1993 and has since released numerous others, including studio recordings, live performances, holiday songs and a tribute album dedicated to The Nat King Cole Trio. In 1999, Krall released When I Look in Your Eyes, which secured a 52 weeks-long spot at No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz chart. She is the only vocalist to have eight albums debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart, and she is the recipient of two Grammys and 10 Juno awards.
Krall frequently collaborated with Tony Bennett throughout his life. The duo released the LP Love Is Here To Stay in 2018 and were friends for more than 20 years. She has also produced a selection of her own albums as well as albums for other artists, like Barbra Streisand’s Love Is the Answer.
Krall’s most recent release, This Dream of You, received wide acclaim from publications, including The Guardian and Jazzwise.
Each year, Moore said, the Institution brings a wide array of artists spanning genres, sounds and perspectives to the Amp stage.
“We always work to bring in a real mix of genres and artists. In a similar way to us trying to bring many perspectives on any of our lecture platforms, we try and provide different types of art from visual art to dance to orchestra to theater to popular entertainment,” she said. “We work to make sure there’s something for everyone in the mix of our program.”
