Album review: Diana Krall - Quiet Nights (4/5)

I'm not much of a jazz listener, although I've been tuning in more and more recently. Two things I've been into so far are bossa nova, the South American jazz style popularized in the late '50s and '60s and perhaps best represented by the 1964 album Getz/Gilberto, and Canadian vocalist Diana Krall.

That the two come together on Quiet Nights is a real treat. While bossa nova is traditionally guitar and vocals often with piano and light drumming, here it also gets a glossy orchestral sheen, emphasizing the songs' lush romantic tones. This is the kind of gentle tunes that sound good with a romantic dinner or late-night cocktails.

Many of the songs will sound familiar, particularly those popularized by Getz/Gilberto and remade countless times since, such as the classic "The Boy from Ipanema" and the title track, an English translation of "Corcovado." There's also a great version of Burt Bacharach's "Walk on By," as well as the Bee Gee's "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" (you may recognize it from the Al Green/Joss Stone version that appeared during a key scene in Sex and the City last summer.)

Since so much of the album is similar, and similarly well done, it's hard to pick specific highlights. However, in addition to those mentioned above, I also enjoy the lovely opener "Where or When" an the playful "So Nice."

This certainly isn't cutting edge, envelope-pushing stuff. It's just impeccably produced bossa nova jazz classics with an appealing singer. Something nice to turn to when you need a break from New wave-sampling, hip-hop flavored indie pop and Lady GaGa.

Best: So Nice, Walk on By, Where or When, The Boy from Ipanema, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?