Diana Krall’s recordings offer a clear way to explore jazz interpretation: hear a melody, follow the singer’s timing, then listen to what the piano and the rest of the ensemble do around it. Comparing one standard in two performances can teach you more than moving quickly through a long list of famous songs.
Start with Turn Up the Quiet and its opening track, “Like Someone in Love.” Then compare another recording of that song. The aim is to recognize a shared composition while describing the choices that make a particular performance distinctive.
Start with a small ensemble you can follow
The label’s Turn Up the Quiet credits identify Krall on voice and piano, Christian McBride on bass, and Russell Malone on guitar for “Like Someone in Love.” The album was released in 2017 and includes other combinations of players. Track-level credits help you avoid assuming that every song uses the same ensemble.
Hear the opening track once without taking notes. On the next pass, listen for the low bass line and the way it supports motion. Then distinguish the plucked guitar sound from the piano’s attack and decay. When the voice enters, hear whether the other parts fill gaps, sustain a texture, or answer a phrase.
Now try “Isn’t It Romantic” from the same album. The credited ensemble is larger. Ask what becomes more prominent and what remains intimate as the palette expands. You can identify a change in texture before you can name every instrument in it.
Hear phrasing, accompaniment, and swing separately
Phrasing is the shaping of a musical line: its start, grouping, emphasis, length, and ending. Follow one verse and notice where a word is prolonged or a pause makes the next entry feel more deliberate. You can describe those choices in ordinary language.
Accompaniment supports the lead without always copying it. A piano chord may mark a change in harmony, leave space for the singer, or answer a phrase. Choose a moment after a vocal line and listen for what fills the space. Then follow a longer passage to hear whether the pattern repeats.
Swing concerns rhythmic feel and interaction. Start by sensing the main pulse, then attend to the placement of shorter notes and accents around it. Avoid reducing the experience to a rigid numerical ratio. The players’ timing, articulation, and responsiveness all contribute to the feel you hear.
Compare two interpretations of “Like Someone in Love”
Ella Fitzgerald recorded an album titled Like Someone in Love in 1957; it appears in her official discography and music catalog. Its title song provides a useful comparison with Krall’s recording. Select the identified album version for each performer before you begin.
- Listen to each complete performance. Establish the overall pace and sound before stopping to compare details.
- Follow the opening melody. Notice how soon the vocal enters and how the accompaniment prepares it.
- Choose a matching phrase. Compare the length of notes, the position of pauses, and the emphasis on the line’s ending.
- Switch attention to the ensemble. Ask how the backing changes the sense of intimacy, movement, or scale.
- State a preference with a reason. Name a musical moment that draws you toward one performance, then return to the other with that observation in mind.
Use the same equipment and broadly similar perceived volume. A streaming service may offer alternate masters or later live recordings under the same title, so keep the album and version labels in your notes. A standard is a composition that many musicians interpret; matching song titles creates the comparison, while matching recording information keeps it clear.
Follow musical connections into another recording
Krall’s 2004 Artist’s Choice compilation offered a route through music she selected. That is a useful model for your own listening: choose one performer who attracts your attention, identify the exact recording, and follow it into a full album. A selection can point toward an influence or a personal favorite without requiring you to treat every item as a direct model for the artist’s own work.
In a 2014 DownBeat interview, Krall discussed pianist and singer Jimmy Rowles as a major influence. Use that connection to explore how another musician combines vocal delivery and accompaniment. Listen for a specific shared interest, such as space around a phrase, while allowing the performers to sound different.
For another Krall release, the label’s catalog includes This Dream of You and her work with Tony Bennett on Love Is Here to Stay. Choose according to the question you want to pursue: a solo vocal setting, another standard, or the exchange between two singers. The official artist site provides current listening and performance links.
Finish by saving two versions of one standard and a few lines about their differences. For another close study of singing against a steady backing, explore Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black. For contrasting acoustic ensemble roles, try Alison Krauss and Union Station.
Keep your listening notes
Voice and ensemble listening notes (plain text) provides reusable prompts for identifying a recording, following its parts, and comparing versions. Save a copy and fill it in with any text editor.