Product Description

Bass superstar Christian McBride is featured on this debut album by jazz vocalist Diana Krall.
Genre: Jazz Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 14-FEB-1995

Track Listing

1. Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?
2. Only Trust Your Heart
3. I Love Being Here With You
4. Broadway
5. Folks Who Live on the Hill
6. I've Got the World on a String
7. Squeeze Me
8. All Night Long
9. CRS-Craft [Instrumental]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7659 in Music
• Brand: KRALL,DIANA
• Released on: 1995-02-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Diana Krall, here with her first GRP album, expands on the delights that populated her 1992 debut, Stepping Out. Again, her talents are simply remarkable: she sings with feeling, emotion, and nuance--she invests a lyric with believability--and plays marvelous piano, no matter the tempo. The program pleases on so many levels: slip the disc into the player, hit any track at random, and you'll be moved. Take the oh-so-slow, heartfelt groover "Squeeze Me," on which her alto is both breathy and demonstrative and her accompaniments are sly, and which features a winsome solo by bass maestro Ray Brown. On another gut-wrenching crawler, "All Night Long," Krall tears you up with her emotive, intimate vocal, interspersing her singing with telling, shimmering piano notes, then delivering a solo full of wry confidences. The succulent title track is a deliciously slow bossa where Krall's vocal is partly whispered, as if sung in your ear. More upbeat is the finger-popping "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby," where the artist sings with grit and life then solos with an economical drive. Tenor saxophone giant Stanley Turrentine adds a trademark saucy improvisation. "I Love Being Here with You" is a romping shuffle where Krall's voice hits some notes on the head and stretches others like pulled taffy. "Broadway" is another vibrant outing that includes a singing, fat-noted solo from bassist Christian McBride and Lewis Nash's deft brush work. Aces all around. --Zan Stewart

Customer Reviews

You Can Trust Diana
When I first bought Diana Krall's, "Only Trust Your Heart", I gave it one or two listens and then put it away being not too impressed. Then about a year later I saw her in concert where she opened with a tune called "I Love Being Here With You". I couldnt figure out at the concert, where this energetic little opener had come from. It turned out to be on the before mentioned CD. I gave "Only Trust Your Heart a relisten and I realized, what a wonderful jazz album it really is.I think the reason I like "Only Trust Your Heart" is because it sounds so unlike Diana's other albums. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Ms.Krall and her other albums.I love that smokey, honey-tinged voice and her wonderful piano stylings. But on this particlar album, rather then her usual sexy whisper, she seems to belt them out with a roar.Also her band seems more at the forefront of the production including a very sassy turn by veteran sax player, Stanley Turentine.There are plenty of song stand outs including "Is You or Is You My Baby" and "I've Got the World On A String."A special mention should be made also for the lovely ballad "Folks Who Live On the Hill." This is a really good jazz CD, that grows on you after a few listens.

A very good early recording
My Diana Krall collection started with "All For you" and continued with "Love Scenes" and "When I Look in Your Eye's", but I have since gone back to her earlier work like "Only Trust Your Heart" and I find it every bit as enjoyable as her more recent recordings. I guess I am most impressed with Diana's ability to sell the lyrics to almost any song she sings. There are some that contend that her vocal talents may lack the polish of a Natalie Cole, but nobody could ever question the passion and emotion she puts into every track. Her soft, breathy, often sexy vocals have a certain charm that can't be denied. As a pianist she shines, no matter the tempo. She has a tremendous amount of talent and an almost natural instinct for the genre, and you can hear the influence of Nat King Cole, and Jimmy Rowels in nearly everything she plays. If you are already a Diana Krall fan, or if you looking to become one, this is a great CD. Pick it up, give it a listen, and hear what so many others are already enjoying.

A real jazz album
Whatever you may think of Diana's more recent crossover music (which I think is brilliant), this early album demonstrates clearly that her music is rooted in jazz. There is no crossover here - it's pure jazz. Diana sings and plays piano, backed by a small but select band comprising a bass player (sometimes Ray Brown, sometimes Christian McBride), a drummer (Lewis Nash) and a ten saxophonist (Stanley Turrentine).

Like so many of Diana's albums, this one relies heavily on songs from the first half of the twentieth century, beginning with Louis Jordan's classic Is you or is you ain't my baby. Other classic songs featured here include Squeeze me (Duke Ellington) and two songs associated with Peggy Lee (I love being here with you, The folks who live on the hill). The only original is the closing bluesy instrumental, CRS craft.

This is a fine album that will particularly appeal to jazz aficionados. It may even expand the market as fans of Diana's later music learn to appreciate jazz. But some of those fans may not like this - if in doubt, listen to some of it before buying.