SINGAPORE (Reuters) -
Diana Krall may be best known for sultry jazz standards and tickling the ivories, but the Canadian singer and pianist wouldn't mind broadening her range to Hollywood movies and Asian music.
"I'd like to be involved in acting, to do something with animation," Krall told Reuters during an interview while in Singapore to promote her sixth album, "The Look of Love."
"I saw 'Shrek' recently, which I really liked," Krall said, referring to the hit cartoon, which put a contemporary spin on well-loved fairy tales.
"I'd like to be part of something like that," Krall added. "I think it would be really fun to be a character -- and it involves music as well." Without revealing details, Krall said she has been in talks about working on an animated feature but was far too busy at the moment doing publicity for new album.
With her sexy image and husky voice, the 35-year-old is one of the few modern jazz artists to make a successful crossover to the mainstream when many of her peers are still slugging it out in smoky hotel lounges.
Her 1999 Billboard chart-topper "When I Look in Your Eyes" won her a Grammy Award for best jazz vocal performance and has sold around two million copies worldwide. Not that she hasn't paid her dues.
MUSICAL ROOTS
Krall did the rounds of piano bars before clinching her first big break when legendary bassist Ray Brown heard her play at her hometown jazz club in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Brown was impressed enough to take her under his wing.
Pianist Jimmy Rowles, who worked with jazz greats like Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, also counts as a major influence in encouraging Krall to sing. But Krall isn't entirely comfortable with the exposure that comes with fame. Tall, blonde and athletic-looking, dressed in an elegant black dress, she would rather concentrate on her music than worry about what the public thinks of her.
"I'm wearing shoes with bows on them that say Prada," she said. "I'm a little bit of a girlie-girl but I have a horse and I'm a bit of a cowboy. Do I have time to think about such things? I'm too busy living my life to wonder at the public persona."
The singer has a grueling schedule that will take her to Japan and then London to plug her new album, which is stocked with ballads and bossa nova flavors.
Krall, who enjoys everything from jazz and classical to opera and pop, said she would like to learn more about Asian music and possibly incorporate its influences into future albums. "That is a space in my repertoire that needs to be filled more," said the singer, who credits her parents with introducing her to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Fats Waller.
But right now, Krall is enthralled with Czech composer Leos Janacek's animal opera "The Cunning Little Vixen" -- a children's tale that affirms the different stages of life. "I love that magic sort of fairytale. When I was a child, I loved the music from Hansel and Gretel," Krall said.
"When I go back to my room, I want to put on that Janacek record because I want to hear that magic again."
