Diana Krall
jazz musician
Born: 11/16/1964
Birthplace: Nanaimo, Canada
Touted as the hottest pianist/singer/songwriter on the contemporary U.S. jazz scene, Krall grew up in a musical family. As a child she memorized the words of all her dad's Fats Waller albums. In the 1980s, she won a scholarship to Boston's Berklee School of Music, which she attended for a year and a half. She later studied with Jimmy Rowles in LA and jazz pianist Don Thompson in Toronto. Two albums, Stepping Out (1993) and Only Trust Your Heart (1995) registered Krall's presence on the scene. Her breakthrough album, All for You, a tribute to Nat King Cole, spent 70 weeks on the Billboard Top 10 Traditional Jazz charts and earned her a Grammy Best Jazz Vocalist nomination. She followed with Love Scenes (1997), also nominated for a Grammy, which became the first jazz album to be certified platinum in Canada. With the release of When I Look in Your Eyes in 1999, Krall followed the well-trodden path of the chanteuse by ditching her traditional quartet backing and melded her voice to the sound of a lush orchestra. She is married to rocker Elvis Costello.