Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - Diana krall

charlene · 02-11-2015, 01:46 PM

Q: It sounds like you tailor sets to your venue.

A: When I was with Neil Young, we were in Regina with a lot of flannel shirts in the audience. I wasn’t going to sing Peel Me a Grape then. C’mon! So since Neil started talking about Gordon Lightfoot, I sang If You Could Read My Mind. I went on to record it and it will be on an EP soon.

Q: The CBC wrote about your version of Peel Me a Grape and claimed your version has dominatrix undertones. When you are singing live, are you having a 50 Shades of Grey moment?

A: Maybe when you’re 28. Now I sing that song because fans want it and I’m such a ham, I’ll stop between [lyrics] and say, “I really don’t believe that line—I’m a mom with two children.”

Q: You did a duet with Rosemary Clooney on an amazing version of The Boy From Ipanema.

A: She was like a second mother to me. She taught me to be myself. I don’t mean that in a [trite] way. She told me to not be afraid.

Q: At 70, Clooney was out on the road for 300 days. Is that an act you want to follow?

A: I would want to be Tony Bennett. I’d do what he did with Lady Gaga instead. Thank God they did that record. It gives me hope.

Q: The most humbling lesson you learned?

A: I came from a place that was not entitled. I remember Ray Brown was going to play with Oscar Peterson at the Blue Note and the tickets were $60. I was hoping he’d give me a free ticket. He said, “You can buy a ticket so you can learn what it’s like to work really hard to pay for a ticket . . . just like the rest of the audience.” So I did.

Q: You’ve stated that on your Live In Paris disc, you weren’t happy with your interpretation of Joni Mitchell’s A Case of You. Why?

A: I feel like I needed more time with it. Every night on tour when I do it, I try to find my way into it. It will be on a Canadian EP, which will be out soon. Live In Paris represents a favourite time in my life. My parents were there and it was at the peak of record-selling and you weren’t worried about streaming and Spotify. My mum had had a bone-marrow transplant and she was well and we were all able to have a big party.

Q: Are some songs best sung at a certain age?

A: Most certainly. Hearing Dylan sing [Frank Sinatra’s] Why Try to Change Me Now was hard. I’ve recorded demos of it and I couldn’t get to a certain passage in the song: [sings] “Don’t you remember I was always your clown / I’m sentimental so I walk in the rain.” I’m fine until halfway through and then it doesn’t represent anything that I am. It suits a 73-year-old like Dylan. He knows it and he’s lived it.

Q: Many artists don’t have that sensitivity when it comes to covers.

A: If I’m hard on myself, it’s because I saw Sinatra sing Angel Eyes and I heard Oscar Peterson—who I could never touch now.

Q: You can’t touch a Peterson song yet you produced a No. 1 selling album for Barbra Streisand?

A: She recently posted a picture of the two of us and said I was a good gin rummy player. My sister had to show me because I’m not a social media person. Anyway, when there was a lull in recording, she’d say, “Why is everybody not doing anything?” And I’d [explain] that microphones needed to be tweaked and so on. So I thank my nana for teaching me how to play cards because I was able to distract her from all the waiting.

Q: In an [old] interview with Jazz Times you were quoted as saying you are embarrassed by applause. Has that changed?

A: Of course. There’ve been a lot of changes over 20 years in this career. I want people to come to my shows. Björk just did a really good interview with Pitchfork. She talks about how you want to have humility and be grateful and thankful—I think I’ve expressed that I am—but I am also a realist. I know what my strengths are. I may not be the greatest piano player in the world but I can swing real hard.

02-11-2015, 01:46 PM	#3
charlene Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 16,004	Re: Diana krall - iycrmm Q: It sounds like you tailor sets to your venue. A: When I was with Neil Young, we were in Regina with a lot of flannel shirts in the audience. I wasn’t going to sing Peel Me a Grape then. C’mon! So since Neil started talking about Gordon Lightfoot, I sang If You Could Read My Mind. I went on to record it and it will be on an EP soon. Q: The CBC wrote about your version of Peel Me a Grape and claimed your version has dominatrix undertones. When you are singing live, are you having a 50 Shades of Grey moment? A: Maybe when you’re 28. Now I sing that song because fans want it and I’m such a ham, I’ll stop between [lyrics] and say, “I really don’t believe that line—I’m a mom with two children.” Q: You did a duet with Rosemary Clooney on an amazing version of The Boy From Ipanema. A: She was like a second mother to me. She taught me to be myself. I don’t mean that in a [trite] way. She told me to not be afraid. Q: At 70, Clooney was out on the road for 300 days. Is that an act you want to follow? A: I would want to be Tony Bennett. I’d do what he did with Lady Gaga instead. Thank God they did that record. It gives me hope. Q: The most humbling lesson you learned? A: I came from a place that was not entitled. I remember Ray Brown was going to play with Oscar Peterson at the Blue Note and the tickets were $60. I was hoping he’d give me a free ticket. He said, “You can buy a ticket so you can learn what it’s like to work really hard to pay for a ticket . . . just like the rest of the audience.” So I did. Q: You’ve stated that on your Live In Paris disc, you weren’t happy with your interpretation of Joni Mitchell’s A Case of You. Why? A: I feel like I needed more time with it. Every night on tour when I do it, I try to find my way into it. It will be on a Canadian EP, which will be out soon. Live In Paris represents a favourite time in my life. My parents were there and it was at the peak of record-selling and you weren’t worried about streaming and Spotify. My mum had had a bone-marrow transplant and she was well and we were all able to have a big party. Q: Are some songs best sung at a certain age? A: Most certainly. Hearing Dylan sing [Frank Sinatra’s] Why Try to Change Me Now was hard. I’ve recorded demos of it and I couldn’t get to a certain passage in the song: [sings] “Don’t you remember I was always your clown / I’m sentimental so I walk in the rain.” I’m fine until halfway through and then it doesn’t represent anything that I am. It suits a 73-year-old like Dylan. He knows it and he’s lived it. Q: Many artists don’t have that sensitivity when it comes to covers. A: If I’m hard on myself, it’s because I saw Sinatra sing Angel Eyes and I heard Oscar Peterson—who I could never touch now. Q: You can’t touch a Peterson song yet you produced a No. 1 selling album for Barbra Streisand? A: She recently posted a picture of the two of us and said I was a good gin rummy player. My sister had to show me because I’m not a social media person. Anyway, when there was a lull in recording, she’d say, “Why is everybody not doing anything?” And I’d [explain] that microphones needed to be tweaked and so on. So I thank my nana for teaching me how to play cards because I was able to distract her from all the waiting. Q: In an [old] interview with Jazz Times you were quoted as saying you are embarrassed by applause. Has that changed? A: Of course. There’ve been a lot of changes over 20 years in this career. I want people to come to my shows. Björk just did a really good interview with Pitchfork. She talks about how you want to have humility and be grateful and thankful—I think I’ve expressed that I am—but I am also a realist. I know what my strengths are. I may not be the greatest piano player in the world but I can swing real hard.