Diana Jean Krall is a jazz pianist and singer from Canada whose recordings have amassed over 15 million global sales. She was listed as the second-best jazz performer of the 2000–2009 era by Billboard. Krall began studying the piano at the age of four and came from a musical family. When she was fifteen, she was performing jazz at a nearby restaurant. She relocated to Los Angeles to begin her career as a jazz musician after completing her schooling at Berklee College of Music. Later, after coming back to Canada, she issued her debut record, “Stepping Out,” in 1993. She released 13 additional albums during the next years and was honored with eight Juno awards and three Grammys. She has nine gold, three platinum, and seven multi-platinum albums in her discography. The gifted performer has shared the stage with artists such as Shirley Horn, Nat King Cole, and Eliane Elias. She is the only jazz vocalist in history to have eight albums that made their debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. She is particularly well-known for her contralto vocals. She was awarded an honorary PhD in fine arts by the University of Victoria in 2003.
Early Childhood & Life
Diana Krall was born on November 16, 1964, in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. She is one of Adella A. (née Wende) and Stephen James “Jim” Krall’s two daughters. Her mother taught kindergarten, while her father worked as an accountant. Her mother sang in the neighborhood church choir, while her father played the piano at home. Both of her parents were amateur musicians. Michelle, her sister, used to work for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
When she started playing the piano at age four, she began her musical education. She was playing jazz music at a nearby restaurant at the age of 15. She eventually received a scholarship to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music before relocating to Los Angeles, where she developed a devoted fan base in the city’s jazz scene. For the 1993 release of her debut album, she returned to Canada.
The career of Diana Krall
Diana Krall released her debut album, “Stepping Out,” in collaboration with John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton. Producer Tommy LiPuma became interested in her work and they collaborated on her second album, “Only Trust Your Heart” (1995). For the third album, “All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio,” she received her first Grammy nomination (1996). It was also her first RIAA-certified Gold record and spent 70 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard jazz charts.
Love Scenes, her fourth studio album, was awarded Platinum by the RIAA and 2x Platinum by MC certifications in 1997. The commentators were quite complimentary of her work with Christian McBride and Russell Malone on guitar and bass, respectively.
Krall released her fifth album, “When I Look in Your Eyes,” through Verve Records in 1999, working with Johnny Mandel, who handled the orchestral arrangements. Her record was given a Platinum certification in both the US and Canada, and it also won her two Grammys.
She started her joint tour with American vocalist Tony Bennet in August 2000. In the late 2000s, they reunited once more to record a song for the UK/Canadian TV show “Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…
She began her first international tour in September 2001. Diana Krall’s performance at the Paris Olympia was recorded while she was in Paris and later released as her debut live album under the title “Diana Krall – Live in Paris.”
I’ll Make It Up As I Go was a song Krall recorded for the Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando movie “The Score” (2001). It accompanied the movie’s closing credits and was composed by David Foster.
For his album “Genius Loves Company,” Ray Charles gave her the opportunity to collaborate on the song “You Don’t Know Me” in 2004. The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra was included on her subsequent album, “Christmas Songs” (2005). Her eighth album, “From This Moment On,” was released a year later.
She was named the Lexus brand ambassador in May 2007, and Hank Jones played the piano while she sang “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” In March 2009, her brand-new album, “Quiet Nights,” was made available.
Barbara Streisand’s 2009 album, “Love Is the Answer,” was produced by her. She released three more studio albums between 2012 and 2017, including “Glad Rag Doll” (2012), “Wallflower” (2015), and “Turn up the Quiet” (2017). At Capitol Studios, Krall joined Paul McCartney for a live performance of his album “Kisses on the Bottom.”
Bigger Works of Diana Krall
On September 18, 2001, Diana Krall’s sixth album, “The Look of Love,” was made available via Verve Records. The album peaked at #1 on the Canadian Album Chart and #9 on the US Billboard 200. Additionally, it received certifications from MC for 7x Platinum, ARIA, RIAA, RMNZ, SNEP for Platinum, BPI, IFPI AUT, and IFPI SWI for Gold.
She co-wrote the songs on her seventh studio album, “The Girl in the Other Room,” with her husband Elvis Costello. The album, which was released on April 27, 2004, was a great hit in Australia and the UK.
Recognition & Achievements
In 2000, Diana Krall received the Order of British Columbia.
When I Look in Your Eyes (2000), Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, When I Look in Your Eyes (2000) and ‘The Look of Love’ (2001), Best Jazz Vocal Album, Live in Paris (2003), and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), Claus Ogerman, for ‘Quiet Nights’ are just a few of the Grammys she has won for her work (2010).
In addition to the Grammys, Krall has also received eight Juno Awards, three Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards, three National Jazz Awards, three National Smooth Jazz Awards, one SOCAN Award, and one Western Canadian Music Award.
In 2004, she was honored with a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada a year later.
Individual Life of Diana Krall
On December 6, 2003, Diana Krall wed Elvis Costello, a British musician, at Elton John’s house outside of London. This is Costello’s third marriage and her first. Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James, their identical twin boys, were born in New York City on December 6, 2006.
Krall’s mother passed away from multiple myeloma in 2002. Her mentors, Ray Brown, and Rosemary Clooney, had died away just a few months earlier.
Estimated Net Worth
Diana Krall, a jazz pianist, and singer from Canada, has a $20 million net worth. Diana Krall is the first jazz vocalist to have eight albums that started at the top of the Billboard Jazz CDs chart, and she has sold over 15 million albums worldwide. Krall’s albums include “Stepping Out,” “Love Scenes,” “When I Look in Your Eyes,” “The Look of Love,” and “From This Moment On.” She has won numerous Grammy and Juno Awards.
Trivia
The city of Nanaimo was renamed Nanaimo Harbourfront Plaza Diana Krall Plaza in 2008.