Diana Krall is a Nanaimo, British Columbia, native and was part of very a musical family. Her father began teaching her the classics when she was four years old through his extensive record collection. She studied classical piano at school but played jazz piano in a school band and emulated her heroes like Nat King Cole and Fats Waller.
Her first professional gig was at the age of 15. She won a Vancouver Jazz Festival scholarship to Berklee College Of Music in the USA but later returned to her hometown where she continued to play professionally.
Amongst her musical associates were visiting Americans Ray Brown and Jeff Hamilton. The duo wooed Krall into going to Los Angeles which she did with help from a Canadian Arts Council grant. In Los Angeles, she studied with Jimmy Rowles who encourage her to vocalize more.
As her repertoire began to include more vocally focused pieces, her demand as a jazz pianist increased. In 1984 she moved to Toronto and after a few false starts made her way to New York City in 1990. With the building respect from a community of her peers she recorded her first album accompanied by John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton.
After releasing her first album 'Stepping Out' on Justin Time Records in 1993, Krall was signed to GRP for her second, 'Only Trust Your Heart' in 1994. By the mid-90s Krall jazz fans began discovering her talents and even the non-jazz media started to take notice. Her accompanists on more recent records have included Brown, Stanley Turrentine and Christian McBride, and her regular working band colleagues, Russell Malone (guitar) and Paul Keller (bass).
In 1995 her releases were transferred GRP's Impulse! label division for her third release, a Nat King Cole Trio tribute album called 'All For You'.
The award winning 'Love Scenes' followed in 1997, and in late 1998 she issued the Xmas disc 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Her most recent chart topping release, 'When I Look In Your Eyes', was release in 1998.
Singles
1997 Peel Me A Grape (Impulse)
1999 Why Should I Care (GRP)
Albums
1993 Stepping Out (Justin Time)
1994 Only Trust Your Heart (GRP)
1995 All For You (Impulse!)
1997 Love Scenes (Impulse!)
1998 When I Look In Your Eyes (GRP)
1998 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas [EP] (GRP)
1998 Stepping Out: The Early Recordings (GRP)
1999 Love Scenes [bonus tracks] (MCA - Japan)
2000 When I Look In Your Eyes [bonus tracks] (Universal - UK)
Video
Compilation Tracks
1995 "And I Love Her" on 'I Got No Kick Against Modern Jazz' (GRP)
1995 "Christmas Song" on 'Justin Time For Christmas' (Justin Time)
1996 "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You" on 'Back To The Basics' (GRP)
1997 song on 'Midnight In The Garden Of Good & Evil' (Warner)
1998 "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" on 'Jazz To The World' (Blue Note)
1998 song on 'Melrose Place Jazz' (Windham Hill)
1998 "Frim Fram Sauce" on 'Jazz Central Station, Vol. 2' (N2K)
Collaboration Tracks
1996 'Two For The Road: The Music of Henry Mancini' by David Grusin (GRP)
[Krall sings on two songs]
1997 "Some Other Time" and "Early Autumn" on 'Forever Love' by Mark Whitfield (Polygram)
[Krall duets on two songs]
1997 "Rain Forest" on 'Visionary Path: Guided Journeys For The Mind And Spirit' (Prophesy)
[Krall narrates]
1998 "La Vie En Rose" on 'Chez Toots' by Toots Thielemans (Private Music)
1998 "Love Dance" and "The Nearness Of You" on 'Turn Up The Quiet' by Geoff Keezer (Sony)
[Krall sings on two songs]
1998 "I Thought About You" and "Little Boy" on 'Some Of My Best Friends Are...Singers' by Ray Brown (Telarc)
[Krall sings on two songs]
1998 'These Are Special Times' by Celine Dion (Sony)
[Krall plays piano]
1999 'Christmas Songs With The Ray Brown Trio' by Ray Brown (Telarc)
[Krall sings]
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