Blog
Jun 26, 2015
Vocal minority: floating on top of the band
As the summer jazz festival season gears up, a glance at its sometimes crowded bills sees singers jostling for space Jazz is a predominantly instrumental tradition and it can be tough for vocalists to get a look in One of the exceptions is the...
Jun 25, 2015
Kurt Elling’s Passion World: Confessions of the Human Heart in Song
Album number 11 from Kurt Elling sees the singer casting his stylistic net far and wide, its eclectic song list drawing not only on Brazilian and Cuban music, but also on French chanson, Brahms, and traditional Scottish music With an impressive...
Jun 23, 2015
Jazz singer Kurt Elling expands musical horizons on new CD, ‘Passion World’
On "Passion World," jazz singer Kurt Elling expands his musical horizons way beyond his previous CD, "1619 Broadway-the Brill Building Project," which focused on classic pop tunes by the songwriting teams housed in a single Manhattan...
Jun 22, 2015
Elling in the Rain
It was more In the Wee Small Hours than Songs for Swinging Lovers It was a rainy, damp, dark night on New Haven Green An orchestra played and a man sang anyway, because that's what they do Over 1,000 hardy souls hung out on the Green...
Jun 19, 2015
Expanding the Jazz Experience: An Interview with Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling grew up the son of a Lutheran church Kapellmeister and learned early on that music is transporting "It can move people's imaginations," says the Chicago-born jazz vocalist and composer in advance of his appearance at the TD...
Jun 17, 2015
Kurt Elling bringing ‘Passion World’ to the Dakota
Gustavus Adolphus grad and Grammy-winning vocalist Kurt Elling released his 11th album last week, "Passion World" It's his broadest, most diverse recording yet, and it offers ways in for all kinds of listeners, jazz fans or not Elling won...
Jun 17, 2015
There’s a world of love and music
Trying to set up an interview with acclaimed jazz singer Kurt Elling is tricky An early-June proposed interview date didn't happen, as Elling had shows in Scotland, and then flew directly to Australia, where he performed with the Melbourne...
Jun 17, 2015
Review: Pittsburgh Jazz Celebration looks to past, but not future
Some of the guests were missing at the Pittsburgh Jazz Celebration They were the musicians who are moving the music further into the 21st century On positive side, the June 16 concert at Heinz Hall, Downtown, was a rich look at...
Jun 17, 2015
Concert review: Pittsburgh Jazz Celebration showcases range of talent
Toward the end of Tuesday's Pittsburgh Jazz Celebration, guest artist Ramsey Lewis asked the rhetorical question, "What would I be without Pittsburgh" Perhaps a better question would be: What would jazz have become without Pittsburgh The...
Jun 17, 2015
Elling With Strings, Including Heart Strings
On tour promoting one of his most challenging recordings, the standout, constantly evolving jazz vocalist Kurt Elling performs with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in a free concert on Saturday, June 20, at 7:00 pm as part of New Haven's...
Jun 15, 2015
Kurt Elling: Passion World
In his years on the Concord Jazz label, Kurt Elling has recorded several impressive concept albums, and his latest disc "Passion World" may be his most ambitious project to date It collects love songs from all over the globe, sung by Elling in...
Jun 14, 2015
Kurt Elling: Passion World review – a stirring travelogue in song
The ways in which passion is expressed in song vary from nation to nation, Kurt Elling maintains Melody, language and style of expression are intimately connected and that's why he sings these 12 songs from around the world in their...