Nope. Nothing wrong with it. The standards are mostly great melodies and often beautifully crafted lyrics, even when they're painfully goofy ("In shallow shoals, English soles do it; Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it. Let's do it...."). Great stuff. Again, it's the expectation, and the oppressive popularity of it (people who listen to little else shouldn't be allowed to callit jazz
). Krall is a perfect example. How many of these lush, overwrought albums has she done? And how many "Live in Paris" or Girl in the Other Room?"
The tyranny of the American songbook is its damping effect on jazz. Particularly for female vocalists, it makes careers and kills artistry. A tender trap.
Tim
Don't know how you can say that the "tyranny of the American songbook is its damping effect on jazz." The core of jazz is improvisation on these songs, from Ella to Brubeck and back again. Some groups, like the MJQ, play their own compositions, but this doesn't disprove my point. These standards were the bread and butter and still are, nothing like a Gershwin song, seeped in the blues. DK, turning out overwrought, lush albums? Let's look at the Krall in my collection:
1. Only Trust your Heart - backed by a quartet incl. Ray Brown, for god's sake - jazz
2. All for you - trio à la Nat King Cole - jazz (This may be my favorite - so jazzy
3. When I look in your eyes - mixed incl. Claus Ogerman arrangements but some mightily swinging jazz- e.e. East of the sun with trio
4. The Look of Love - okay mostly big orchestrations, some overwrought but I Remember You is gorgeous.
5. Live in Paris - mixed but she is belting them out - JAZZ - Her great record.
6. Live scenes - small group jazz
7. The girl in the other room - small group jazz including homage to her mother
8. Quiet nights - mostly big, lush orchestrations but mixed with bossa nova
9. From this moment on - small group and big band jazz
10. Doing all right - quartet at the San Sebastien jazz festival improvising on those standard songs - jazz
It seems that the overwrought, lush albums are in the minority and she is playing for the most part standards and improvising on those songs as most jazz musicians do. I'm not saying that DK is the finest jazz player in the world but her music is predominately jazz, although it sometimes is hard to draw the line. Her latest album digs into songs she heard her father play on 78s when she was a child and so rescues some obscure songs from oblivion. Gotta get that with T-Bone Burnett.