Diana Krall
- Music Artist
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Diana Jean Krall was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, to Adella A. (Wende), an elementary school teacher, and Stephen James Krall, an accountant. She has Czech, German, English, and Scottish ancestry. Krall was raised in
Nanaimo, a small community on Vancouver Island, where she began
performing professionally at age 15 as a jazz pianist. In 1981, Diana
won a Vancouver Jazz Festival scholarship to study at Berklee College
of Music in Boston and, after a year and a half of serious study, she
returned to British Columbia. Renowned bassist
Ray Brown heard her playing one
night in Nanaimo and convinced Diana to move to Los Angeles where she
obtained a Canadian Arts Council grant to study with
Jimmy Rowles. Jimmy encouraged Diana to
explore her vocals to supplement her already blossoming piano skills.
With several successful CDs to her credit, Diana has won numerous
awards including Canada's Juno Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album (2000)
and a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance (2000). She received the
Order of British Columbia in 2000 for being a good-will ambassador for
British Columbia and epitomizing Canadian culture. The greatest talent
in the jazz field to come along in a generation, she frequently
acknowledges her roots in Nanaimo where she began. She epitomizes
Canadian culture and is an outstanding citizen and good-will ambassador
for British Columbia.
