Since she made her debut at the Montreal International Jazz Festival back in 1995, B.C.-born Diana Krall effectively
skyrocketed her career to become one of the best-known jazz pianists in the
world. And her smoky, sensual voice added to her piano playing talents helped
Krall to sell millions of albums as well.
And nearly 20 years since that career-making debut,
Krall has returned to the jazz festival to thank her Montreal fans in a large-scale
manner.
Last
Sunday night (June 29), more than 100,000 people – including Mayor Denis
Coderre, provincial Minister Responsible for the Montreal Region Robert Poeti
and federal minister Maxime Bernier -- crammed into the Place des Festivals in
the Quartier des Spectacles in downtown Montreal to be treated to a free
concert by Krall, as part of her Glad Rag Doll tour, which was part of the
festival’s annual Grand Evenement TD.
Krall,
along with her quintet of fellow musicians, delivered a memorable 90 minute
show with a repertoire that represented 90 years of music, from Tin Pan Alley,
to Neil Young, to Bob Dylan, to her own catalogue of jazz tunes. The stage was
made to resemble a 1920s Prohibition era saloon (complete with an antique
upright piano), and through most of the numbers, a selection of film clips from
the silent and early sound eras were played on a giant screen behind Krall that
lent itself to the ambience of each song (my personal favorite was when she
played “Everything’s Made For Love”, which was accompanied by a scene from the
Marx Brothers’ 1930 comedy “Animal Crackers”, which featured Groucho Marx and
leading lady Margaret Dumont). And it was an excellent showcase for her
extraordinary talents behind the keyboard, as she can adapt to any style of
piano playing, which certainly had the massive crowd cheering loudly
(especially how she echoed the piano patter of the late Fats Waller when she
played one of his standards from the late 1920s).
And
as an extra bonus to the crowd, for the encore, she was joined by her just as
famous husband Elvis Costello, as they performed three numbers together to
bring the concert to its satisfying conclusion.
And
speaking of Elvis Costello, he entertained a full house at the Maison
Symphonique two hours earlier with his solo show. Surrounded by seven acoustic
and electric guitars, which he alternated every second or third number,
Costello – decked out in a black suit and white Stetson hat – amazed the
audience with his flawless guitar playing, as he performed 35 years worth of songs
from his catalogue (such as “Watching the Detectives”, “Alison” and “Everyday I
Write the Book”, in which for the latter song, he said that it took him only 10
minutes to write), as well as ballads and cover tunes (including his rendition
of the Beatles’ “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”).
Also,
Costello proved that he is quite the entertaining storyteller, as he regaled
the crowd with anecdotes from his more than 40 years in the music business, including
one of his first live gigs, in which he performed with his father (who was a
well-known dance band vocalist) in the English seaside resort town of Blackpool
(“it’s like Vegas without the sin,” quipped Costello).
Halfway
through the show, Costello was presented with this year’s Montreal Jazz
Festival Spirit Award by jazz festival co-founder and artistic director Andre
Menard, who recognized Costello for being “one of the most diversified talents
in music today.”
All
in all, it was a night to remember at the jazz festival.
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