Customer Reviews

All For You A Dedication To

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sorry but Nat would not be thrilled with vocals that would be more fitting to a Julie London tribute. If you really want to be blown away by a JAZZ DIVA tribute to Nat, then sample the tracks on Carmen McRae's brilliant "You're Lookin' At Me" tribute and you will hear a tribute collection that is classic and would get a big nod of approval from Nat himself! Diana does some excellent keyboard playing and I love the guitar work and rhythm but these vocals don't take you away like Carmen's or many other Jazz Diva's who are not getting the acclaim they deserve. I guess the music industry thinks that a pretty face is what sells in a well produced setting but you cannot build alone on this for too long. The character and soul in the Carmen McRae tribute is so strong and one can go to the Liza Minnelli "Minnelli On Minnelli-Live at the Palace" and sample "If I Had You" and hear how a rich soulful voice can turn this song into a really satisfying listening experience!!

Diana Krall is the consensus Diva of Jazz these days. While I don't necessarily agree, there's no denying her talent, and if you're curious about her artistry, this is a good place to start. This, her tribute to Nat King Cole, along with the ensuing "Love Scenes", are her best works to date. Highlights include the rollicking "Hit That Jive, Jack" and the haunting "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (the latter proving that Krall is capable of doing something memorable that isn't necessarily "cool.") Highly recommended, whether you're a big fan or not.

This is my favorite Krall CD as she swings much more on this Nat King Cole Trio tribute (not just sultry singing like her newer Cds) . Also she plays the piano more. I would buy her CDs just to listen to here play the piano as she is one the best jazz pianist on the scene today. I like her song selection which includes Hit that Jive Jack, Frim Fram Sauce, Deed I Do. Baby baby all the time, Gee Baby ain't I good to you . Her trio (like the Nat King Cole Trio)with no drums - Russel Malone on guitar and Paul Keller on bass really sound good together.

Every song on this CD is wonderful. Diana Krall is surely one of the most refreshing talents to come around in a while. She infuses each song with her smoky voice, very passionate. Her piano playing is fine and complements the other soloists perfectly. Lastly, her version of 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' is the best recording of that standard I've ever heard.

Sure, this album works on the same level as a fun dance album would- it's not dance, but it's something that you would put in when you don't want to hear music that is stirring and inspiring. And sometimes, you don't, right? But I wish people would stop making all these statements about how darn great Diana Krall is, come on??It makes me wonder if this is the first piece of jazz these guys have ever bought. To praise this and call it great jazz is insulting, to well, great jazz!!Diana is a completely middle of the road singer, and the catch is, is that,she doesn't really know what to do with jazz. She sings in more of a soft pop tone and doesn't possess any real emotion. There isn't anything distinctive or expressive about her voice. Her piano playing is lackluster-it doesn't bring out any of the nuances in the music and sounds positevely detached. I believe that Diana Krall is much more about good marketing, than she is about true music. There can't be any other reason such a mediocre singer has come so far.

"All for You" is the album Diana Krall came to prominence with in 1996. It scored a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album and although it lost out to Cassandra Wilson's gem "New Moon Daughter", remains one of the best releases of the talented Canadian singer/pianist.

Krall's piano skills shine here as on none of her other albums. She has a reputation of hitting fewer notes with great effect, but on this tribute album to the great Nat King Cole her pianism reached heights close to virtuosity.

Both on uptempo songs and ballads her style emits joy and intensity and, unlike with her later release "Love Scenes", the listener is not falling asleep at the end.

This is Krall pianist at her best and singer almost there as well.

After buying and enjoying her next two albums (Love scenes and When I look in your eyes), this one came as a surprise to me - but what a pleasant surprise. Like Jeri Southern, a brilliant singer-pianist of an earlier generation, Diana began as a pianist but was obliged to sing as well in order to get work. On this album, recorded when Diana was still unknown, Diana's piano is very prominent. For those who enjoy hearing Diana singing love songs, there are plenty here, but there are upbeat songs to give more variation than you will find in the other albums I mentioned.

Yet, this is all achieved with very few musicians. Russell Malone on guitar and Paul Keller on bass accompany Diana singing and playing piano. On most tracks, that's it. Steve Kroon plays percussion on Boulevard of broken dreams, while Benny Green plays piano on If I had you, leaving Diana (for that track only) to just sing.

You have to be good to deliver an album of such quality with so few musicians (especially without a drummer), but Diana and her musicians prove that it can be done. While I did not find this album as instantly appealing as her next two (perhaps because it was not what I expected), it is one that grows on me each time I play it.

And on this cd, they do alot of music of Cole I have never even heard. Thusly, I cannot recommend it. I don't even play it.

Being familiar with the work of great white female vocalists like Chris Connor, June Christy, Helen Merrill and Anita O'Day, I just can't figure out what all the fuss is about with Krall. For me, her singing is derivative and lacking in personality. While it holds my interest for a song or two, anything beyond that my attention tends to flag. In short, this CD would make excellent background music for a cocktail party or a poker game, but on its own I'm afraid that it just doesn't cut the mustard.

Diana Krall is one of the most beautiful women in comtemporary Jazz, and her looks has undoubtedly paid dividends in terms of her extraordinary popularity and album sales. However, there is no question she is a remarkably gifted artist and Jazz musician, a talent she honed in large measure through listening to the music of Nat King Cole and incorporating his sound and style into her own music. On "All for You", Diana pays a loving tribute to her childhood hero, and indeed the superb renditions contained here are definitely reminiscent of Nat King Cole's cool and breathtakingly smooth sound. Diana, who like King is also a singer-pianist, is at her best on seductive and heartbreaking ballads such as " Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," and "Baby, Baby All the Time." "All for You" is an impeccable and heartwarming collection of songs and certainly the best recording release in Diana Krall's promising career thus far. An essential album not only for King and Krall fans but anyone who enjoys intelligent music.