Krall's "Live in Rio" - Vancouver Sun review

Diana Krall: "Live in Rio"
by Marke Andrews
Vancouver Sun, June 18, 2009

As part of the world tour to promote her latest CD, Quiet Nights, singer-pianist Diana Krall travelled to Brazil, the source of many of the tunes and arrangements on the record. A Canadian singing Brazilian songs in English in front of a Rio de Janeiro crowd might intimidate some performers, but the response from the crowd at the Vivo Rio Theatre in November 2008 allowed Krall, her band and the backing orchestra to settle into a warm performance.

At one point, as Krall sings The Boy from Ipanema (changing genders for the Antonio Carlos Jobim classic), the crowd sings along, only in the original Portuguese. You can see the musicians moved by the emotion of the moment.

Krall shows she still has her jazz chops on the piano, firing off strong solos. The orchestra performs on less than half of the 18 numbers, leaving the set primarily to Krall and her backing band of guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton and, on occasion, percussionist Paulinho DaCosta.