Roots & Diana Krall

I'm finally hearing her. I've had people telling me to listen to her and that I'd like her, for years. Sad and true. My ENNL supervisor, who was also a singer/songwriter, first told me about her. Then, I met a string trio in Wenatchee that played at the only Jazz bar in town, and they asked if I knew any Diana Krall and invited me to sing with them for a winery function and go from there.

So, now I'm hearing what everyone has been talking about. She has a pretty good interpretation of "All Or Nothing At All" and the "Peel Me A Grape" song, well, the piano in that song is what I GREW UP WITH. That section with the piano sounds exactly like the style my Dad used to play ALL THE TIME. So, I guess my Dad was always playing jazz and I never picked up on it until now. There are so many forms of jazz, but the piano rift in the grape song is what my Dad was doing. I always thought it was some kind of 70s/blues things. Now the CD is on another song and the piano sounds like my Dad's playing again.

I always wished I could play piano. My Dad never had a lesson--he could just play anything and everything by ear. No Chopin of course, but jazz, oh yes...

How funny I'm discovering my roots NOW, today of all days.

If I listen a little more, I could do Krall style. I really like Erykah Badu though and I still don't have her CD. She reminds me, in originality, of Billy Holiday to some degree, but I think Badu is almost even more creative. I always liked Ella Fitzgerald too, sometimes more than Billy. Billy could be depressing after awhile, but Fitzgerald was a little more optimistic in tone.

I like this "Most of All, I Miss You So" song. It's got me singing along. If I could find a decent piano player over here somewhere, or a small string trio...I don't know, you really need a piano to feel these songs out vocally...anyway, I think I'd like to sing a little, in this style. I like to dance to hip hop and rap, but I like to sing jazz, standards-styles, and blues, and a little folk rock (especially ballads and Irish styles).