Tribute concerts can present daunting challenges, but singer Kurt Elling obviously knows how to avoid them. The reason is fairly simple: he is too good a performer to get caught up doing sappy versions of another person's material. He also is too clever a performer to get trapped by mimicking someone. He proved both of those points Saturday evening when he closed the regular season at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild on the North Side by doing two tribute shows to... read full article

When vocalist Kurt Elling was last in Pittsburgh, he sang with the Bob Mintzer Big Band at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild Jazz Hall. He'll be back there for two shows Saturday but in a much different setting -- with just a backing quintet. And the setting isn't casual, either. Saturday's concerts recall the 50th anniversary of a 16-nation tour that Frank Sinatra did to raise money for children's charities. Those shows represent "some of the very, very few recordings with... read full article

Singer Kurt Elling admits there are risks to doing tributes to great artists, but says it is "part and parcel" of being a jazz performer. But he says paying homage to Frank Sinatra has its own special demands. "Sinatra has his own cache," he says about the shows he will do Saturday at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild on the North side. "But I think there will be people who will be happy to see me do some songs as he... read full article

Two renowned jazz vocalists, John Pizzarelli and Kurt Elling, will share the stage at Strathmore. The two, who just happen to be buddies and perform the same genre of music, vow there is no competition between them because they are both firmly grounded in their own sense of style. "John is a good musician -- he's a prince!" said Elling, who has received multiple awards including a Grammy. "And he is one of my favorite people to work with." And... read full article

American jazz vocalist Kurt Elling is a magician. He's capable of weaving a spell from a melody - and he lives and breathes the music while on stage. Elling's remarkable skill is obvious, but never daunting. He can play it straight with the accessibility of The Manhattan Transfer or offer a Frank Sinatra croon - just the right side of cheesy - or he can dazzle with his power and range, with a frightening virtuosity. Highlight of the night for... read full article

REVIEW: Dead saxy. That's what Eric Marienthal is, dead saxy and I daresay completely oversaxed. He owned the first half of the show at the Globe Theatre last night, produced some wondrous work with the Wellington Jazz Orchestra, directed by Rodger Fox. Highlight of the first set had to be Cherokee, which Marienthal described as saxes battling to the death. He and orchestra tenor saxophonist Colin Hemmingsen were still standing at the end of the number, but it was a... read full article

Moving as fast he's been known to scat sing to jazz tunes, Kurt Elling is always doing so much it can be hard to keep up. At just 44, his versatility is legendary. The celebrated American jazz singer can approach Nature Boy, first made famous by Nat King Cole, and make it his own as he croons "There was a boy/A very strange enchanted boy". Then, just as effortlessly, he can choose the humorous and absurdist The Uncertainty of the... read full article