When one compares Diana Krall as a singer to the great jazz singers of all time, can someone please tell me what she brings to a song that the others don't? As far as I am concerned, she brings almost no interpretation, no phrasing, no vocal control, no style. It is not enough, or should not be enough to have a husky, lush voice which is well recorded. Her producer, Tommy Lipuma and engineer worked on Natalie Cole's CD "Take A Look" which is also excellently recorded. But aside from that, it does display what Natalie Cole can do with a song. Even though not a pure jazz singer, Natalie has a big pure voice, she can hit notes right on, and she can make vocal changes which can personalize a song in the way that Diana Krall can't. And I don't think Natalie is one of the greats. Diana's inability to make the vocal changes which personalize her vocal repertoire is particularly evident in that D.K. sings a lot of jazz standards and for every song she has recorded, there are other renditions available which are not challenged by her interpretations. As a jazz singer she is lacking vocal improvisational ability. This is something that Ella did not lack for. Ella Fitzgerald, probably the greatest popular singer of the twentieth century, invented whole vocal styles of singing. Of course there are other great singers in and out of jazz. I don't want to pit all my choices against everyone else's but if Diana Krall is a great vocalist, one should be able to verbalize something beyond that her voice is "pleasing" or "exciting". I understand that the appreciation of music is a subjective experience but since it is subjective, the need to comunicate this experience almost compels us to share the "why" as well as the "who" in whom we choose. What is it that D.K. does vocally hat puts her in the upper echelons of the female singers who have ever been recorded?
