DIANA KRALL, LIVE IN . . . NEW HAMPSHIRE

A couple of days ago, I happened to visit the website of legendary jazz photographer Herman Leonard. Two mouse-clicks into that site, the featured photograph is a priceless image shot from the rear of the bandstand in a New York City jazz club in 1949, capturing Ella Fitzgerald singing to an utterly enraptured Duke Ellington at the foremost table and an obviously impressed Benny Goodman at the table behind him—to my eye a classic instance of what another legendary photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson, deemed “the decisive moment.” Ah, those were the days, I thought, when jazz was performed in the intimate confines of a casual nightclub—not as it mostly is today, with audiences being herded in and out of cramped hotel lounges like Scullers or The Regattabar . . . or else with audiences congregating in massive numbers at a venue like the Meadowbrook Pavilion in Gilford, NH. So I was thinking about that photograph yesterday as the missus and I motored north of the border to see jazz chanteuse and pianist Diana Krall perform at the Meadowbrook Pavilion.

But as we were driving, we were iListening to Live in Paris, Krall’s remarkable recording from 2002, so I was hopeful that the show would at least approach that standard of excellence. (I should mention that back in the Fall of 1984, we had the fabulous fortune of seeing Ella Fitzgerald perform live in Mechanics Hall in Worcester—an evening made even more special with the unannounced appearance for the second set of guitarist Joe Pass, with whom Ella had collaborated on a couple of classic duet albums: it would be unfair to use that transcendent concert as a measure for every musical event we’ve attended since then . . .) Well . . .

Well, first of all the venue: the Meadowbrook Pavilion is a wonderful concert site! It’s easy to get to and from (about 2 hours from Boston); the parking was free; the site itself is spacious and clean with decent food options; there’s a “second stage” that features a live performance before the main event . . . And then there’s the pavilion itself—a large open-sided roofed structure that accommodates several thousand people: it has tiered seating, a full-size stage, a good sound system, and large screens at each side of the stage projecting the show from shifting camera angles—no reasonable complaints!

As for the concert . . . well, Diana Krall delivered! She played for a full hour-and-a-half and pretty much offered a thrill a minute. I recall that when she first emerged on the musical scene (about 15 years ago), critics debated whether she was a bona fide jazz artist. I think that debate has quieted down: Krall may not be the world’s “greatest” (whatever that means) jazz singer and she may not be the world’s “greatest” jazz pianist . . . but she may well be the “greatest” combination of those two musical identities, as she chooses both songs and arrangements that allow her to showcase her estimable strengths as a musician . . . which include truly “owning” a tune, both vocally and at the keyboard. She also knows how to own an audience. This was evident from the opening tunes, “I Love Being Here With You” and “Let’s Fall in Love” . . . which happen to be the opening tunes on Live in Paris. An auspicious start! The rest of the evening’s songlist comprised mostly jazz standards from her various albums, including a couple from her recent bossa-centered album Quiet Nights. Surrounding herself with a wonderfully supportive trio—Robert Hurst on bass, Jeff Hamilton on drums, and the dazzling Anthony Wilson on guitar—Krall shone in the footlights, but she also shared the limelight generously, making for a fully satisfying evening. We’ve been following Diana Krall’s career pretty much from the start, but this was the first time we’ve managed to catch her “live and in person”: no doubt we’ll try to catch her again, whatever the size of the venue may be.