Jazz pianist/volcalist Daina Krall thrills crowd at Red Butte Gardens

It must be nice — leave your mark on the world a la the Gershwins, Irving Berlin or The Beatles.

And jazz pianist/singer Diana Krall toasted them all in her Red Butte Gardens concert on Wednesday night.

As rain clouds threatened, crowds were undeterred, lining up before 3:30 p.m. to make sure they had a decent view of both the singer and her hands.

Vocalist/pianist Denzal Sinclaire opened the evening on keyboards and another man on bass who, together, performed fantastic renditions of "Amazing Grace" and Willie Nelson's "You Were Always on my Mind," among others.

After a brief break, Krall could be seen walking to the stage through Red Butte's lovely gardens, arriving in a red, patterned dress and sunglasses she wore throughout the evening.

Opening with "I Just Found Out About Love," Krall segued into "Deed I Do," followed by "So Nice," before speaking to the sold-out crowd gathered in Red Butte's lovely amphitheatre.

"How is everybody?" she asked, answered by shouts, whistles and claps — but, apparently not enough. She then razzed the crowd asking if she was performing for just four people in the audience; they argued otherwise.

Krall noted the last time she was here was with her husband, composer/musician Elvis Costello. "He's home cooking dinner this time." Costello and Krall are parents to two young boys. "He's a really good cook," she said. Joking that on her next trip to Utah she'd try to bring him and she'd "sing back-up for him."

With her small ensemble — guitar, bass, drums and Krall on keyboards, naturally — they danced through a repertoire of everything from Berlin to Tom Waits.

The evening was packed with songs. Krall hardly paused to chat but did give plenty of time to showcase the talents of her band.

Krall thanked the crowd and left. After a minute or two of cheers, she returned with some Beatles arrangements, including "Come Together," that had the crowd on its feet.

Nestled into the hillside, the Wasatch mountains looming overhead, the valley below, crickets chirping and Krall crooning, it's enough to make you wonder why you're not sitting on that hill every night. What an extraordinary treat on a perfectly still summer night.

Thankfully, the clouds only LOOKED ominous.