A Lunchtime Concert at the World Financial Center (Diana Krall and Orchestra)


Diana Krall and her orchestra took the stage promptly, and the audience greeted her entrance warmly. She played songs from the new album, a sexy, lingering affair, including classics of bossa nova. It's a tall order to sing "Quiet Nights" (Corcovado) and say something different from the memorable one recorded by Astrud Gilberto. With her breathy but full vocalizations and improv, Krall made it her own, choosing to rest her good piano talents for the moment to concentrate on the phrasings. Her "Boy from Ipanema" was likewise tropical and sexy, giving a full sense of the pleasures of the female gaze. Of

Leaving the building by the exit near the concourse and the water, everyone seemed impressed with the overwhelming blue skies and warmer weather. It was good to know that there will be many more concerts down here this summer, indeed on the sultry evenings imagined in the Jobim lyrics. I overheard someone say, "I wish I was unemployed, too, so I wouldn't have to go back to work." While the landscape didn't include Rio's hunchback mountain, boats floating in the Hudson seemed good enough for everyone on such a brilliant day.
Images: Diana Krall in concert. The Winter Garden, World Financial Center, New York by Walking Off the Big Apple. More images will be posted on Flickr WOTBA.
Sounds like a great concert! And free, no less. We actually got to see Astrud Gilberto in a club here in Chicago years ago. What an absolute treat.
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