Krall gives classy performance within her comfort zone

IF Diana Krall was a comic book character, she'd be Schroeder, the Peanuts character who finds security and comfort in his piano.

The 51-year-old came across pretty much like that on Tuesday evening - the first of a two-night engagement at the Esplanade Concert Hall - often uncomfortably mumbling song intros in a hurry before returning more enthusiastically to her singing and piano-playing.

But even if the Canadian jazz-pop crooner never quite broke the ice with the near sold-out crowd, she still won them over with her classy performance. The nostalgic setlist of jazz standards and more also suggested Krall must own a very eclectic collection of records.