Diana Krall Biography

Early Life

Diana Krall was born Diana Jean Krall on November 16, 1964, in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. She is the daughter of parents Adella A. (née Wende), an elementary school teacher and Stephen James "Jim" Krall who is an accountant.

She is Canadian by nationality and belongs to the White ethnicity. She has a sister, Michelle Krall who is a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Krall was raised in a musical household as her mother sang in a community choir and father played piano at home. Her unofficial career as a pianist started when she was just four which led her to play jazz in local restaurants when she was just 15. 

Krall attended  Berklee College of Music in Boston on a scholarship before moving to Los Angeles to play jazz. In 1993, she returned to Canada to release her first album, Stepping Out. She has a sister, Michelle Krall who previously worked in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She, unfortunately, lost her mother in 2002 as she suffered multiple myeloma.

Career

Diana Krall released her first album, Stepping Out which she recorded in collaboration with John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton. The success of her debut album impressed the producer, Tommy LiPuma who helped her produced her second album, Only Trust Your Heart. 

Before she rose to prominence, she used to sing at hotel bars in Sandvika, outside Oslo, Norway during her initial days. On which she said, 

"As soon as someone speaks Norwegian, I feel very comfortable."

In 1996, Krall launched her third album, All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio. The album was nominated for a Grammy and it ruled the  Billboard jazz charts for 70 weeks. It was also her first RIAA-certified Gold album. She released her next album, Love Scenes with Russell Malone (guitar) and Christian McBride (bass). The group of trio received critical acclamation for their outstanding work.

In association with Johnny Mandel, Krall launched her fifth album When I Look in Your Eyes through Verve Records in 1999. The album garnered her two Grammys and certified Platinum in both Canada and the US. The title track from the album, a cover of the Casino Royale reached 22 on the adult contemporary chart.

In 2001, Krall's sixth album got released, The Look of Love by Verve Records. The album topped the  Canadian Album Chart and ranked #9 on the US Billboard 200. Besides this album certified 7x Platinum MC; Platinum by ARIA, RMNZ, RIAA, and SNEP; and Gold by BPI, IFPI AUT, and IFPI SW,

After a year, she paired with professional jazz artist Tony Bennett for a 20-city tour. The duo again teamed up for a song on the TV series Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... In 2001, she started her world tour and her concert at the Paris Olympia was released as her first live record, Diana Krall-Live in Paris. 

The album contained the covers of Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are" (a hit on U.S. smooth jazz radio) and Joni Mitchell's "A Case Of You". She also sang for  2001 movie The Score starring Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando entitled: "I'll Make It Up As I Go". The song was accompanied the film's ending Credits and was composed by a fellow Canadian, David Foster.

Later, she started composing her own songs and released her album,  The Girl in the Other Room in April 2004. The album quickly rose to the top five in the UK and stood at the Australian top 40 album charts. The same year she joined  Ray Charles on his album, Genius Loves Company for the song,  "You Don't Know Me".

Her next album, Christmas Songs was released in 2005 which featured Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. A year later, her ninth album From This Moment On was unveiled.

In 2012, Krall performed at Capitol Studios along with Paul McCartney on his live performance of his album Kisses on the Bottom which was telecast live on the internet. That year, she sang "Fly Me to the Moon" at astronaut Neil Armstrong's memorial service in Washington, D.C.

Her album, Glad Rag Doll was commercially successful. She launched her 12th studio album, Wallflower on February 3, 2015, produced by David Foster.

Diana Krall has worked with popular musicians and singers like, Eagles (two songs), 10cc ("I'm Not in Love"), Elton John and Bernie Taupin ("Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"), Gilbert O'Sullivan ("Alone Again (Naturally)") and Neil Finn ("Don't Dream It's Over").

Krall has also sung for various TV series and movies. In 1999, she appeared in the American romantic drama film, At First Sights as a singer and where he sang"Mack The Knife".

In 2003, she appeared in two TV series, Anything Else and De-Lovely and performed the songs, "It Could Happen to You and "Just One of Those Things". She also guest-starred in the few episodes of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... Her last screen appearance was back in 2009  American biographical mob drama film, Public Enemies.

Honors and Awards

In 2000, Diana Krall was honored with the Order of British Columbia. She was given an honorary Ph.D. (Fine Arts) from the University of Victoria in 2003. The following year, she inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. 

Krall was chosen as a Steinway & Sons Artist and performs exclusively with Steinway pianos. 

In 1996, Diana Krall was nominated for the first time in Grammy Awards in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Album. Altogether Krall earned eight Grammy nominations out of which she won five for "Best Jazz Vocal Performance" and "Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical" for When I Look in Your Eyes in 2000.

Similarly, she earned Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and for The Look of Love (2001), "Best Jazz Vocal Album" for Live in Paris (2003), and "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)" for Quiet Nights in 2010.

In 1998 she was nominated for Soul Train Lady of Soul Award. Krall won three Candian Smooth Jazz Awards in 2005 for Female Vocalist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Album of the Year.

She also bagged eight Juno awards out of the 21 nominations. Between 2000 to 2002, she won four Juno in a row. In the category of  "Vocal Jazz Album of the Year", she earned four Juno for Live in Paris, The Girl in the Other Room, Christmas Songs and From This Moment On.

Krall awarded two "National Jazz Awards" in 2004 for International Musician of the Year. Likewise, she bagged another  "National Jazz Awards" in 2007. She also won three National Smooth Jazz Awards in 2003. In 2005, Krall honored with SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) Awards. 

She also earned  MOBO Awards (an acronym for Music of Black Origin) nominations in 2009 for Diana Krall in the category of "Best Jazz Act". Diana Krall is one of the most award-winning singers who has won 24 awards from 50 nominations. She is also a reputed board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

Net Worth

Diana Krall is one of the successful musicians of her times and her estimated net worth as of 2018 is $18 million. Her yearly salary is more than $2 million. As of 2012, her estimated net worth is $10 million which hiked in 2013 by $14 million and $15 million by 2014.

Krall earned $1,144,674 between the years 2011-2012 and every year her income rising like her fame. In 2012 her earning increased to $1,411,765, $1,411,765 (2013-2014), $2,117,647 (2014-2015) and $2,435,294 (2015-2016).

She earned millions from her albums. In 2006, her album, From This Moment On made $1,136,364. She made $1,247,228 from her The Very Best of Diana Krall album.

Her 2015 album, Wallflower (Delux Edition) wins million hearts along with commercial success, the album earned $3,146,853. Additionally, her other albums earned Glad Rag Doll ($1,948,052), Wallflower ($2,556,818), Quiet Nights ($1,461,039).

Personal Life

Diana Krall is a married woman. She tied the knot with her longtime boyfriend, Elvis Costello. Her husband is well renowned English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer.

The duo exchanged vows on December 6, 2003, at Elton John castle outside London in Surrey. Elton John is the closest friend of Costello. The same year in May they also announced their engagement. As per some online sources, their wedding was a lavish ceremony attended by more than 150 of their friends and family.

Krall and Costello first met at a concert and then met backstage at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. In September 2003, Costello released his album, North and most of the album song describe his former marriage and his falling in love with Krall.

The couple is proud parents of twins sons, Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James who was born December 6, 2006, in New York City. Costello is a supportive husband, encouraging Krall to write her own music, and eventually, the couple began composing songs together.

In 2004, the pair released an album, Girl in the Other Room which was commercially successful and garnered huge success in Australia and the UK. They also collaborated for Glad Rag Doll. Krall and her husband shared a healthy relationship. 

Once in an interview, Krall talked about her husband and she said, 

“The fact that he’s my husband didn’t really enter into it. There’s no power struggle in our marriage. Once we were in the recording booth, he’d give me a wink and a smile, and we had fun.”

Prior Krall, Elvis Costello was married twice- with first wife Mary Burgoyne in 1974 with whom he had a son. Later he married Cait O'Riordan, his second wife in 1986 byt divorced in 2002.

In 2001, Krall was named one of the "25 Most Intriguing People" by People Magazine. She is the daughter-in-law of Ross MacManus and she is related to Jamie Chisholm.

In 2002, she faced terrible losses with the death of her close friends and family. She lost her mother to multiple myeloma and soon after her mentors Ray Brown and Rosemary Clooney also died. Their death affected her mentally and emotionally for a long time.

Check out the video where Diana Krall chats to Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty about her album, Wallflower on BBC Breakfast February 2015,