DIANA KRALL BRINGS THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK TO BUFFALO

Concert Review, Buffalo Spree, April 1, 2022.

Diana Krall's jazz quartet came to UB's Center for the Arts on Thursday, March 31st, only her second live performance since November 2019. Live music is becoming part of our world again, and she spoke for many of us when she said, "it's so beautiful I'm afraid I will start to cry."

Diana Krall and her band (Anthony Wilson (guitar), Bob Hurst (bass) and Karriem Riggins (drums)) are touring behind her pre-COVID 2020 release, "This Dream of You." The virtuoso quartet has been playing together for a long time and they have developed a powerful musical bond.   

Krall and her band journeyed through the American Songbook for ninety minutes from a minimal stage.  She never left her Steinway and her band stayed old school, avoiding electronic sound effects in favor of a woody, acoustic tone that supported but did not overshadow Diana Krall's signature contralto.

At once airily sweet and world-weary, Krall's voice was mesmerizing.  As she sang against a beautiful walking bass in "All or Nothing at…