Diana Krall - Stepping Out (Reissue, Remastered, 2016) LP

Stepping Out launched the career of one of our generation’s greatest Jazz artists. “Diana Krall’s 1993 debut shows that she had the goods right from the get-go. Krall sings with honesty, subtlety, and persuasion while playing the piano with head-shaking authority, both as accompanist - she offers amazing asides in between vocal phrases - and as an absolutely A-one improviser.” (Zan Stewart). The Justin Time Essentials Collection introduces the album to a new generation of fans, but this time with an added bonus track from the original sessions – Diana’s incredible arrangement of “Summertime”.

Double LP 180 Gram Vinyl
First Time ever on Vinyl
Previously Unreleased Bonus track
Gategold Cover

Diana Krall's unique artistry has not only made her one of the most recognizable artists of modern jazz but it has also transcended any one particular style of music. Krall has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist in the last 30 years, and it all started here with her sterling 1993 debut Stepping Out, available on vinyl for the first time complete with Diana's previously unreleased arrangement of "Summertime." Backed by a sound rhythm section featuring bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton, Krall offers up romantic renditions of signature numbers like "Straighten Up & Fly Right," "Frim Fram Sauce," and her lone original "Jimmie" and steals the show with a compelling unaccompanied take on the evergreen "Body & Soul."

"Krall's first recording remains an eye and ear opener. Without the overt schmaltz, Krall proves a sincere singer and, more so, a fine pianist whose talent in this area would later become sublimated. If you want to hear not only the roots of Krall's jazzier and romantic side, not to mention the fun, you'll get it all, with a bulletproof rhythm section of the peerless bassist John Clayton and always on-the-money/in-the-pocket drummer Jeff Hamilton. The program contains several songs that have become Krall's signature tunes. "Straighten Up & Fly Right" is typically cute as she nicely modifies the lyric. "Frim Fram Sauce" is easily swung and wittily rendered. Several standards such as the easy swinging, bluesy "I'm Just a Lucky So & So" with its impressive bridge piano or the straight read of "Do Nothin' 'Til You Hear From Me" seem like child's play. She uses delayed, staggered phrasings with energetic pianistics during "As Long As I Live," jumps in more pronounced and driving tones for "This Can't Be Love," and cleverly deviates from the melody in now typical Krall-ian fashion for the previously unreleased "On the Sunny Side of the Street." She's most convincing on the unaccompanied take of the classic "Body & Soul" and goes into semi-classical mode with Clayton's bowed bass during her lone original "Jimmie." There are two instrumentals: "42nd Street" swings very well with flourishes inserted here and there on a slight re-arrange, while Klaus Suonsaari's (not Charlie Parker's) "Big Foot" sports heavy modal introductory chords, impressive stop starts on a blues strut, and the most interaction during this set. Krall's fans should consider this an essential recording in her growing discography, and perhaps in many ways her best." - Michael G. Nastos, All Music