Diana Krall, Royal Albert Hall

Canadian pianist and singer Diana Krall is unashamedly retro: a preservationist of low-key jazz classics. Her contralto, which has critics reaching for words like smoky, was made for early 20th Century numbers that she favours. With five Grammys on her mantelpiece and more than 15 million albums sold, it can be said that her combination of grainy vocals, nostalgia and butter-smooth piano is a winning one.
Krall started recording in 1993, but it wasn’t 'til her Grammy-nominated third album, 1997’s All For You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio that she really hit the big time. Since then, she has recorded 8 albums, married Elvis Costello, amassed a worldwide following and become one of the best selling jazz artists of all time.
As traditional as they come and definitively easy listening, Krall is best known for her interpretations of old favourites. Her take on Dusty Springfield’s ‘The Look of Love’ is pure class; grown up and much less kittenish than the original. In her hands Billy Joel’s ‘Just The Way You Are’ is laden with hushed tenderness, a touch vulnerable, her voice cracking in just the right place.
It’s Bob Dylan’s turn next: the title-track of her eleventh album Wallflower, released next February 3, is an interpretation of his own. Krall also pays homage to the Mamas and the Papas, The Eagles and the Beatles, in an album with a distinctively poppier flavour. Expect to hear this new material, as well as old favourites, at the Royal Albert Hall next year autumn.