Diana Krall LIVE! at STNJ

Music fans who L-O-V-E jazz ready themselves this Friday, March 20, 2026 evening at New Brunswick’s State Theatre New Jersey for a concert by jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall.

Diana Krall was born in British Columbia and began studying piano at the age of four. By the time she was 15, she was playing in local restaurants and bars. While still a teen, Diana was awarded a scholarship to Boston’s Berklee College of Music. After two years, she moved to Los Angeles where she met jazz bassist, Ray Brown, who became her musical mentor. Upon moving to Toronto, Krall released her first album, Stepping Out, in 1993.

Throughout the ’90s, Krall grew increasingly popular, especially with the 1999 release of When I Look In Your Eyes, a recording which spent 52 weeks in the #1 position on Billboard’s jazz chart and was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year.

After marrying British singer/songwriter Elvis Costello in 2003, Krall accompanied Paul McCartney on his Kisses on the Bottom album in 2011 and recorded Love Is Here to Stay with Tony Bennett in 2018. To date, she is the only jazz singer to have eight albums debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. Her recordings have also earned her ten Grammy nominations in addition to nine gold, three platinum, and seven multi-platinum albums.

Inside the historic STNJ auditorium, the lights dim and the crowd cheers as Diana Krall takes the stage along with bassist John Clayton. “How are you doing?” asks Krall as she takes a seat at the piano and says, “I’m doing great because I have the honor of sharing the stage tonight with John Clayton.”

Opening with a swinging rendition of “It’s Almost Like Being in Love,” Krall sings in her sultry alto voice, “What a day this has been/What a rare mood I’m in/Well it’s almost like being in love,” nimbly accompanied by Clayton on acoustic bass.

Krall explains that “John has written arrangements for many recordings I’ve been fortunate to play and sing on,” prior to easing into Clayton’s arrangement of “Let’s Fall in Love.” Following a rubato piano intro, Clayton’s staccato bass line supports Krall as she sings, “Let’s fall in love/Why shouldn’t we fall in love?” before she renders a piano solo which incorporates the melody of My Fair Lady’s “On the Street Where You Live.”

Krall sings slowly and with feeling on “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and accompanies with soft chords while Clayton plucks out a melodic bass line. Fans cheer and Clayton announces, “I’m so proud of this woman, here,” going on to explain that he met Diana when she was only 19 years old and he, Ray Brown, and others worked with her on her “jazz piano playing,” before confessing, “We didn’t know the woman sang!”

Krall’s stride piano introduces “Like Someone in Love,” where she offers up a bluesy and dissonant piano solo which Clayton follows with a nimble bass solo. Coming back in with her vocal, Krall croons, “‘L’ is for the way you look at me,” acknowledging, “I started singing a different tune!” prior to concluding the song to animated cheers and applause.

After the tender Johnny Mercer ballad, “P.S. I Love You,” Krall talks about working with Natalie Cole as she steps into a swinging version of Nat King Cole’s “Just You, Just Me,” where she lays a boogie-woogie piano solo while Clayton scrambles up and down his bass. Following up with Nat King Cole’s “Exactly Like You,” Krall croons, “Why should we spend money/On a show or two/No one plays those love themes/Exactly like you.”

“I’m just thinking there are so many songs to play,” suggests Krall before changing things up and singing “She Had to Go Under,” a slow and mysterious minor-key ballad which captivates the audience. She follows up with “Mrs. Wonderly” where she cries, “Mrs. Wonderly/Takes lots of pictures of scenery/Her insect repellent is on thick/She’s so afraid of getting bitten by a tick,” on this humorous story song told in recitative fashion which elicits animated cheers and applause.

Announcing, “I’m going to play a song written by Thomas Waller,” Krall performs a slow stride rendition of Fats Waller’s “Keepin’ Out of Mischief.” Then, on a jazzy version of George Gershwin’s “Until You Came By,” Clayton plays a melody solo accompanied by Krall’s sparse piano playing.

Krall cries, “All of me, why not take all of me?/Can’t you see I’m no good without you?” on a freewheeling version of “All of Me” where she renders a barrelhouse piano solo before she and Clayton smile as they race to the arrangement’s three-chord Count Basie ending.

Following a melancholy and somber rendition of “You’ve Changed” where Clayton’s bowed bass produces a sweet crying tone, Krall and Clayton conclude tonight’s performance with a swinging arrangement of “I Just Found Out About Love and I Like It.”

The crowd stands and cheers and Krall responds, “Thank you very much!” as she and Clayton bow and exit the stage. Returning, Krall acknowledges, “I’ve had so much fun and I hope you did, too,” before a fan calls out, “We love you!” and Krall reacts by insisting, “Love you more!” Here, Krall launches into a swinging version of “L-O-V-E” where she vocalizes in her signature smoky style prior to executing a bouncy solo to avid applause.

Segueing into a soft and sultry interpretation of Burt Bacharach’s “The Look of Love,” Krall’s vocal soars as she accompanies herself playing reharmonized jazz chords on the piano. Lastly, bass and stride piano accompany Krall’s swinging interpretation of “Music Maestro, Please” which elicits hoots, hollers, cheers, and applause before she and Clayton hug and take one last bow in front of the standing crowd.

As concertgoers exit the STNJ auditorium, several share their thoughts on Diana Krall’s performance tonight. Declares Bruce from Parsippany, “It was such an enjoyable evening! Diana’s music is very healing to the heart, mind, and soul, and is something that can be highly appreciated in this day and age.”

Tom from Monroe insists, “Diana Krall was outstanding tonight! She owns the music she plays and it was great to see her live with all the emotion she puts into her performance.” Tom’s wife, Lois, concurs, adding, “I thought she was awesome! She’s got that sultry voice which just captured me, and it was fun watching her bass player, John, accompany her, too,” before acknowledging, “This was our first time seeing Diana Krall and we’d love to see her again.”

Remarks Artem from Russia, “I came to see Diana Krall tonight because I am in love with her voice, her performance, and her beauty! She’s a great singer and I enjoyed her show very much.” Early from Union agrees, noting, “I liked Diana Krall’s performance — I enjoyed her and her music, and her bass player, John Clayton, was fantastic.”

Bea from Highland Park confesses, “This is the first time I’ve ever heard Diana Krall. Her piano playing was amazing and her voice gets her music across so well! I loved her selection of songs — as a singer I knew a lot of them — and she and her bass player were wonderful together.”

Lastly, Joyce from Bound Brook recalls, “I first saw Diana Krall years ago when she was on Jay Leno’s TV show and I immediately got hooked on her music. Her voice is unique — it’s deep and throaty, wonderful and expressive — plus she’s got that sexy, sultry style which is perfect for jazz, along with her piano playing,” prior to concluding, “She was beyond fantastic tonight!”

To learn more about Diana Krall, please go to dianakrall.com. For info on upcoming shows at STNJ — including Graham Nash on April 11, Joe Jackson on July 8, and Buddy Guy on August 8 — please click on stnj.org.