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More pop than jazz here
Diana Krall: The Look of Love
Universal Music; Rs 125
COMING SO soon after her Love Scenes, reviewed earlier in these columns, Diana Krall's The Look of Love inevitably invites comparison — and suffers.
Although Krall is an accomplished jazz singer and pianist, she obviously has an eye on the more lucrative pop market here, to the detriment of her jazz credentials.
The sensuous cover photo only reinforces the strong pop touches to the musical treatment, from a large orchestra playing lush instrumental accompaniments to Krall's own frankly sentimental singing.
There is no trace of the irony that usually helps Krall's husky voice to lift love songs out of the rut of the plainly romantic. Moreover, the ensemble orchestration allows too little scope for the solos, especially improvisations that should be the essence of jazz.
What partly redeems the album's claim to jazz is the presence of some solo improvisations scattered through the lush orchestration. Krall herself, on piano, and an unknown guitarist share the bulk of these, which are often brief but quite delectable.
The improvised solos are also most often backed by bass and drums rather than the whole orchestra, and these are the best parts of the album.
Despite the oversweet lyrics, lively rhythms characterise several numbers, especially the Latin beat of Besame Mucho, played on Latin percussion instruments besides drums.
In general, this album would have been more authentic as jazz if it had had only piano, guitar, bass and drums, and much perkier singing.
Billie Holiday: Loveless Love
Times Music; Rs 100
Loveless Love is perhaps the most satisfying jazz album from Times Music in the last couple of years. Billie Holiday was one of the three great singers of the swing age of jazz (the 1930s to the '50s), especially appealing in romantic ballads, sometimes sad, sometimes happy, occasionally even chirpy.
Twenty of her numbers are collected here. Judging from the youth and clarity of her voice, they come from the late '30s and early '40s, before personal tragedy imbued her voice with a rasping quality and a biting tone. Some are of poor sound quality, others merely indifferent, yet both her emotional intensity and the virtuosity of the instrumentalists shine through. Her lilting, syncopated phrasing was a constant feature of her singing style. It helped the consistent contribution of accomplished soloists on piano, trumpet, trombone, and saxophone to firmly place all her work in the genre of jazz at a time when many other jazz singers had a foot in the pop camp. The liberal tenor saxophone solos, marked by a smooth, light sound, probably come from her friend and guide Lester Young. The even more liberal piano solos probably come mostly from the nimble fingers of Teddy Wilson.
Several numbers have extended solos either before the vocals, or after the opening vocal theme. Singing and instrumentals are neatly balanced, as should be in good jazz. Up tempo and slow numbers each get a fair share of time here, including some of Holiday's most famous pieces, such as What a Little Moonlight Can Do and Miss Brown to You.
JAZZEBEL
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