Grammy-winning jazz vocalist and pianist Diana Krall incorporates bossa nova into her latest release.

When we heard that Diana Krall‘s Quiet Nights (Verve, 2009) melded Brazilian bossa nova with West Coast jazz, we were eager to experience what the Grammy-winning pianist/vocalist had in store for her 12th album. As we listened to the CD, we found a place where Brazilian rhythms meet jazz stylings, interwoven with Krall’s rich contralto voice and precise piano.

Krall teamed up with arranger Claus Ogerman, who worked with her on 2001′s The Look of Love, and longtime producer Tommy LiPuma, who noted Krall, 44, has matured musically with this release. Krall herself has said she feels the album itself is “very womanly — like you’re lying next to your lover in bed whispering this in his ear.”

Krall’s intimate crooning against the backdrop of Ogerman’s arrangements transports listeners to the time when bossa nova was king. Krall also recorded Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Este Seu Olhar (That Look You Wear)” and breathes new life into his classic “The Boy From Ipanema,” following in the footsteps of influences Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee.

Krall does a smooth and meandering version of “Walk on By,” made famous by Dionne Warwick. “You’re My Thrill” is slowly seductive, while “So Nice” is upbeat and playful. Krall said she thought of Quiet Nights as “a love letter to my husband [musician Elvis Costello] and my children [her 3-year-old twin boys] in many ways.”

We love the bossa nova sound that Krall incorporates into her new album. What’s on your playlist when you’re in the mood for a romantic evening in?

Photo credit: Robert Maxwell

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