Diana Krall: Quiet Nights

Bossa Nova versus jazz reaches another critical mass with Diana Krall's Quiet Nights. And what a long way Krall has come since "Peel Me a Grape." Couched in pop literary terms, the Diana Krall of the 1990s compares with that of the 2000s as Stephanie Meyer's Twilight compares with Ann Rice's Interview with a Vampire. There is nothing coy about Quiet Nights. This is Krall in full maturity sending husband Elvis Costello an audio love note... and what a love note it is. If music were a season, then Bossa Nova would be late summer—warm and humid; languid and lazy.

Krall's Bossa recital contains both Bossa classics ("The Boy from Ipanema," "Este Seu Olhar" and the Bacharach/David classic "Walk on By") and jazz classics cast in Bossa bronze ("Too Marvelous For Words," "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face," "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry" and "Everytime We Say Goodbye"). All are given a breezy treatment by Krall's quintet with strings. Krall, as a vocal performer, is placed front and center with little to draw one's attention from her. Krall's voice is breathy and spare, as is her piano playing. Sexy is not the adjective to describe this recording. A word deeper and more dense, where the physical and spiritual mingle, is necessary; a word not yet invented.