She has a great sense of humor, but she also has remarkable chops. As the pianist and bandleader in a drummerless trio, Krall accomplishes the difficult feat of providing both the rhythm and the melody for every song. And while her hands are doing all that work on the keys, she sings. Beautifully.
Growing up in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Krall spent her childhood studying classical piano and listening to Nat King Cole and Fats Waller. After a year at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, she left school to pursue jazz professionally. She’s been on the road ever since. Ask the weary 31-year-old where she lives and she’ll tell you: ““in Samsonite and Tumi.''
In her 20s she recorded two albums that sold only a few copies. But last year’s ““All for You,’’ a tribute to the Nat King Cole trio, has been on the Billboard Jazz Top 20 for a stunning 82 weeks. And Krall’s new release, ““Love Scenes,’’ a collection of standards and blues ballads, has been the No. 1 jazz record for the past six weeks. Krall credits Wynton Marsalis with inspiring her to stick with jazz and songs that were written long before she was born. ““When I got out of high school, Wynton Marsalis was just blasting on the scene,’’ Krall says. ““He’s responsible for putting a younger face on jazz.’’ And now, for a new generation of listeners, so is she.
