When the Curtain Comes Down: Piano/Vocal/Chords

Diana Krall's interpretations of these vintage and contemporary standards reveal why she remains one of jazz's most compelling pianists and vocalists. This folio captures songs that sit naturally under the hands, with chord voicings and melody lines that reward both study and performance without demanding excessive technical gymnastics. Pianists gain direct access to the arrangements that shaped one of the 21st century's best-selling jazz albums.

These songs evoke late-night venues, intimate stages, and the kind of weariness and longing that define blues and jazz ballads. The arrangements balance accessibility with sophistication, never sacrificing the melancholy or sensuality that makes standards timeless.

Pianists who read chord symbols fluently and understand jazz voicing conventions will find this folio immediately playable. Singers with piano accompaniment skills can expand their jazz standards repertoire with authentically arranged material. Classically trained pianists exploring jazz will discover how jazz piano differs from concert music in rhythm, touch, and harmonic thinking.

• Let the lyrics guide your phrasing at the piano. These are songs built on vocal storytelling; the instrumental breaks and accompaniment patterns should echo the emotional arc of each lyric line.
• Approach the older standards (1920s and '30s material) with attention to period idioms: stride bass patterns, swung eighths, and blue notes sit at the heart of these arrangements.
• If you're doubling on vocal and piano, map out your breathing points first. Test whether you can sustain the melodic line while maintaining the harmonic foundation, or plan to simplify the left hand during your sung phrases.
• Study how Krall voices chords in the higher registers on these tunes. The sophistication often lies not in bass notes but in the color of the upper structures.

A jazz ensemble or jazz elective class can draw individual tunes from this collection for student performances or sectional study of standards interpretation. Pianists preparing recitals centered on jazz, blues, or 20th-century popular song gain a curated set of tested arrangements in one resource. Vocal jazz ensembles benefit from having multiple song options at varying levels of accompanimental complexity.

• Reading and performing jazz chord symbols and voicings
• Understanding swing rhythm and jazz articulation at the keyboard
• Balancing melodic line and harmonic accompaniment as a jazz pianist
• Interpreting blues phrasing and blue notes in both melody and harmony
• Vocal-instrumental coordination when doubling as singer and accompanist