Born into a musical family on November 16, 1964, Diana Krall’s passion for music quickly developed. By the age of 4 she was listening to her father’s jazz albums, taking piano lessons, and making music with her family.
In early childhood, the young Diana and her family would gather at her grandparents’ home in Nanaimo, British Columbia every Sunday to play music. Her mother and father both played the piano and her grandmother was a singer.
In her teens, Krall joined the high school jazz band. And at 15, she landed her first gig, playing piano three nights a week at a hometown restaurant.
Many opportunities became available to Krall after high school. In 1981, she won a prize at the Vancouver Jazz Festival. Her prize—a scholarship to study at the Berklee College of Music. She studied there for a year and a half before returning home to British Columbia.
“I’m not really on a mission to tell anybody anything. I’d rather be figured out.”
-Diana Krall
Krall’s next “big break” came when she met master bassist Ray Brown. He heard her perform one night and was so impressed that the two developed a mentor/student relationship.
In 1984, Krall won the Canadian Arts Council Grant, and Jimmy Rowles became her new teacher in Los Angeles. He encouraged her to sing while she played the piano.
During her three-year stay in Los Angeles, Diana Krall occasionally played with Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton. She recorded her first album “Stepping Out” in Los Angeles in 1992.
Throughout the rest of the decade, she moved between Toronto, New York, and Boston, performing with well-known jazz musicians. She made many more recordings and began to tour in Japan and Europe.
Her promise as a jazz singer was recognized as she was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Jazz Vocal Performance category in 1997.
Today, Diana Krall’s smoky, sultry voice continues to dance over the notes of her piano. Inspired by great past jazz legends, she inspires and entertains old and new jazz fans.