From This Moment On
This album appears in the footsteps of 2004'sThe Girl in the Other Roombut doesn't sound like a follow-up. WhereasThe Girlsaw the pianist-singer abandon the Great American Songbook for more personal pastures,From This Moment Onsees her working out on standards done in traditional arrangements. Although the tracks here are by the likes of Cole Porter, Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, and the Gershwins, Krall sounds more at ease than ever before; perhaps digging deep inside onThe Girlloosened her up. Backed by the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra on seven tracks, Krall sings off the big band with ease. On the title track, she keeps up with a galloping bass and explosive brass arrangements and even ventures into scatting toward the end of the song. Her voice has also acquired a wonderfully worn texture in the past few years, and it works wonders on the ballads (just listen to "Isn't This a Lovely Day" and "Little Girl Blue" for instance). When standards are done like this, there's just nothing like 'em.--Elisabeth Vincentelli