Customer Reviews

Diana Krall: The Language of Love

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book will give you interminable lists of jazz artists and music-world movers and shakers: who played for what group, who studied with which mentors, who is listed on the liner notes of various CDs. Some of these lists even have a direct relationship to Diana Krall, but many do not.

It will also give you some cliché-soaked descriptions of Diana Krall: "On stage in the act of playing, Diana Krall is even more beautiful than in the glamorous photographs gracing her recent album covers." "She is almost without makeup - only a pale lipstick on her full and sensuous lips." "Her teeth are as white and straight as the keys on her Steinway grand." Diana Krall is certainly an attractive woman, but she is no super-model. She is a super jazz musician, so why the over-the-top physical descriptions? I do not recall anyone every trying to make Louis Armstrong or Ray Brown into male hunks; why do it to Diana Krall?

What you will not find in the book is much about Diana Krall, the person. Reid apparently never managed to speak to Diana or her parents or sister. Many people who have known Diana personally chime in with nearly-perfectly-consistent comments: Diana is a pleasant, down-to-earth person. That is nice to know, but hardly the basis for writing a biography. So what drives Diana Krall? What motivates her and demotivates her? What makes her angry, sad or happy? Where has she ever stubbed her toe on the road to success? What does SHE consider to be her greatest accomplishments? What does SHE have to say about her childhood, her various teachers and mentors, her successes and setbacks? The book is silent on all of this.

Reid has written a very pro-Diana Krall book, but, as biographies go, it is not a very good book. The book has no list of releases or albums. It has no index. The references are unreferenced - just a list of sources. This book would be a starting point for research on a real biography, but a real biography it is not.

I thought this book did nothing for Krall or her music and seemed to have been thrown together simply to make a buck.... what a waste

I have just finished the new book on Diana Krall, The Language of Love, by Jamie Reid. I would say that it is the "look of the
language", to again paraphrase a song title, that grabbed me. Reid, it seems, is a well known poet and it shows in the precise
and dexterous use of language he employs to tell the story of a Nanaimo girl's ascendency to the top ranks of jazz, and even
pop stardom.

Reid tells the story from the point of view of someone apparently very conversant with the west coast jazz scene in Canada
over many years. He details all the singer's background in Nanaimo against the tapestry of the local scene.

The book also makes one aware of the supposrt she received from jazz legends like Ray Brown during her rise to prominence.
It makes a fascinating story the way Reid tells it and also makes one realize that it was talent and not just packaging and
promotion which have made her so famous.

I think that just about anyone would appreciate the qualities of Mr. Reid's book, even non-jazz fans, as it does convey the
warmth and support that Krall received early on from her family and the community and makes us realize that Canadian talent is
second to none in the world.

A truly refreshing approach to biography, best read while one of Diana CDs plays gently in the background.

I have just finished the new book on Diana Krall, The Language of Love, by Jamie Reid. I would say that it is the "look of the language", to again paraphrase a song title, that grabbed me. Reid, it seems, is a well known poet and it shows in the precise and dexterous use of language he employs to tell the story of a Nanaimo girl's ascendency to the top ranks of jazz, and even pop stardom.

Reid tells the story from the point of view of someone apparently very conversant with the west coast jazz scene in Canada over many years. He details all the singer's background in Nanaimo against the tapestry of the local scene.

The book also makes one aware of the supposrt she received from jazz legends like Ray Brown during her rise to prominence. It makes a fascinating story the way Reid tells it and also makes one realize that it was talent and not just packaging and promotion which have made her so famous.

I think that just about anyone would appreciate the qualities of Mr. Reid's book, even non-jazz fans, as it does convey the warmth and support that Krall received early on from her family and the community and makes us realize that Canadian talent is second to none in the world.

A truly refreshing approach to biography, best read while one of Diana CDs plays gently in the background.

I have just finished the last words of Diana Krall: The Language of Love by Jamie Reid and I must say I was captivated by the entire story. This book is jazz. Reid, a jazz artist in his own right, captures the essence of jazz as he describes the great Canadian practitioner of mood, Krill. This book sings soul to you and is a must-read for anyone interested in what exists beyond the pedantic.