Diana Krall - Live in Rio (2009) DVD9

There are some music critics who will fault a successful artist for "selling out," for appealing to the lowest common denominator with music that is either highly processed or mediocre for the sake of not being offensive (read that, misunderstood). Such criticism has been leveled at Canadian pianist and singer Diana Krall, who by any standards of success is a rock star in the world of jazz—and it's true, Krall takes absolutely no artistic chances, choosing rather to perform mainstream jazz vocal music superbly well. But that is her charm. Krall's conservative approach has led her to wide crossover appeal and matching commercial success since her debut in 1993.
Live In Rio is Krall's DVD companion to her recently released bossa nova recording, Quiet Nights (Verve, 2009). It captures Krall and her long time band of bassist John Clayton, guitarist Anthony Wilson and drummer Jeff Hamilton, augmented by percussionist Paulinho DaCosta, performing at the Vivo Rio in Rio De Janeiro in November 2008. The performance was also supported by the Rio De Janeiro Orchestra under the direction of Ruria Duprat.
Apparent from the start of the show is the affectionate rapport between Krall and her Brazilian audience. It is obvious that Krall and company enjoy performing for the Rio crowd and that the Rio crowd enjoy being performed for. Also apparent is Krall's rapport with her band, all members smiling at one another. Krall's performance betrays her preparations for Quiet Nights with the performance of several songs from the then unreleased album. These are sprinkled among her typical repertoire of ballads and upbeats.
Krall opens with a frisky "I Love Being Here With You" and remains in this vein until bossa-ing it up with the Hal David/Burt Bacharach classic "Walk On By." This introduces the scaffolding performances of the show, Krall's oft-performed "Frim Fram Sauce," taken at a quick clip, and her newly arranged reading of Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek." On these two pieces Krall earns her living playing, singing and soloing with that creative efficiency she has become known for. So urgent is her performance that the humid Rio night glows on her, indicating just how special this pairing was.