2006 · Album
From This Moment On
Verve Records · Release Date: September 19, 2006 · Chart Position: Number one, Canadian Albums Chart
Diana Krall's Confident Third Peak
By 2006, Krall had mastered the art of sounding effortless while delivering exactly what her audience wanted.
From This Moment On arrives at a moment when Diana Krall had already proven she could sell records and fill rooms. This is her ninth album, and by this point she knows who she is as a performer — a pianist-vocalist working in the jazz-standards tradition, comfortable with ballads, capable with swing, never interested in pushing into experimental territory. The album topped the Canadian charts immediately, her third consecutive number-one record there, which tells you something about her standing: she had become genuinely popular, not just critically respected.
What distinguishes this record from her earlier work is how polished and confident it sounds. The material — standards, mostly — gets played straight without apology. Krall's piano work is clean and direct, her voice is warm and controlled, and the production never gets in the way. This is not a record that surprises you or challenges you. It's a record that does what it promises: good songs played well by someone who understands them. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2007 ceremony, which reflected how seriously the jazz establishment was taking her work by then. If you're already a Krall listener, this fits naturally into her catalog. If you're new to her, this is as good a starting point as any — it shows what she does and does it without pretension.
The real story here is about popularity meeting craft. Krall wasn't reinventing the jazz vocal album. She was proving that there was still an audience for singers who respected the material, didn't oversell the emotion, and played their own instruments. In 2006, that kind of straightforward approach felt almost radical because so much was happening elsewhere in music. For what it is, From This Moment On is solid work from an artist operating at the height of her commercial and critical powers.
Who's playing
John Claytonbass
Gerald Claytonpiano
Diana Krallpiano
Anthony Wilsonacoustic guitar
Jeff Claytonalto saxophone, solo
Terell Staffordsolo, trumpet
Gilberto Castellanossolo, trumpet
Ira Nepussolo, trombone
Jeff Hamiltondrums
Where next?
More by Diana Krall
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