Diana Krall is breaking out the big guns for her next studio album, her first in two years. The Grammy-winning artist is working with David Foster on demos for a "pop record" that tentatively includes tracks by Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, and a new composition by Paul McCartney.
Speaking with The Oregonian ahead of a concert date at Portland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Krall described the McCartney song as an outtake from his 2012 "Kisses on the Bottom" album, a collection of traditional-pop and jazz songs that she helped arrange.
"I still had a copy of the music and I asked him if he was OK if I did the song for my record and he said 'Sure,' so we recorded that and it came out just gorgeous," she said. "It's a new Paul McCartney song that's never been recorded that I'm pretty honored to have."
Krall said she and Foster have demoed 18 tracks in seven days, and that she's letting the veteran producer handle most of the piano parts. "I didn't want any re-harms or jazz chords in it," she said. "I wanted it to be our take on the same changes that they wrote, just a different rendition. It's a pop record. That's a new thing for me."
She said she was inspired to start the project after briefly touring with Young. "I met [Heart's] Ann Wilson at [Young's] Bridge School Benefit and started thinking about all that music."
Krall hopes to release the untitled album this fall. It would be her first studio effort since 2012's "Glad Rag Doll," produced by T Bone Burnett, which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on the Jazz Albums chart.