Blog
Feb 24, 2014
Review: Scottish National Jazz Orchestra with Kurt Elling
Just as one American, Rene Marie, realised the deep gospel-blues potential in singing Loch Lomond, so another one has confirmed The Loch Tay Boat Song's latent jazz ballad status Because although he gave his sources - the Corries - as...
Feb 24, 2014
Stellar: Kurt Elling and the SNJO, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
Jazz singers are not in short supply these days, but genuinely great ones are always a rarity to treasure Kurt Elling is undoubtedly in that category, and the latest phase of his ongoing collaboration with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra...
Feb 24, 2014
Kurt Elling & Scottish National Jazz Orchestra – Syntopicon
This musical project was inspired by the 'Syntopicon', a cross referencing index for 'Great Books of the Western World' published by Encyclopaedia Britannica in 1952 SNJO director Tommy Smith bought the entire 54 volumes in...
Feb 24, 2014
The Ideas Men – An Evening with Kurt Elling and The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra
You know, bookish, thoughtful people are not at all introverted and unapproachable Just get into a conversation with a librarian about their favourite stories from childhood and you will see what I mean In a series of weekend concerts, the...
Feb 19, 2014
Kurt Elling sings the praises of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra
The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra has attracted many compliments in the past few years After working with the orchestra as its featured soloist in 2012, American trumpeter Randy Brecker volunteered that SNJO "is among the very best jazz...
Feb 15, 2014
Encyclopaedia prompts SNJO-Kurt Elling collaboration
You can thank the Encyclopaedia Britannica for the latest collaboration between the SNJO and Kurt Elling Saxophonist Tommy Smith and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra he directs have never been loath to engage with big ideas as well as big...
Feb 13, 2014
In Dakota show, Kurt Elling makes jazz standards his own
Jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, who sang at the Dakota on Thursday night, is a masterful reinventor of songs He seems to have no trepidation about taking on standards you've heard a zillion times that have been (almost) indelibly identified...
Feb 10, 2014
Kurt Elling Returns to the Dakota in Minneapolis, February 13
"If there is a royal bloodline of male jazz singers, I'd suggest it progresses from Satchmo to Mel Torme to Jon Hendricks to Mark Murphy to Kurt Elling" ~ JazzTimes Kurt Elling, arguably the greatest jazz singer of his generation, has...
Jan 22, 2014
Kurt Elling concert celebrates music’s creative minds
From the mid 1930s to the early '70s, the Brill Building at 1619 Broadway in midtown Manhattan was a one-stop shop for some of the most creative minds in American popular music, from singers and songwriters to publishers and...
Jan 13, 2014
Kurt Elling: King of jazz singing
Somewhere between a duck and sausage gumbo and a delicious cinnamon roll from Mikey's Donut King in Opelousas Louisiana, I spent 15 delightful minutes talking to Kurt Elling Listening to Elling sing Herbie Hancock's "Come Running to...
Jan 02, 2014
GearHead: Top Vocalists on Their Microphones of Choice
Kurt Elling, Kate McGarry and others weigh in on their favorites It is widely accepted that Bing Crosby set the standard for future generations of jazz singers But Bing had help His meteoric rise in the 1930s was in large part facilitated by...
Dec 30, 2013
The Evolution of Kurt Elling
Since 1995 Kurt Elling has been the gold standard in male jazz vocalists, with one Grammy win and 10 nominations (literally every CD he has put out has been nominated for best jazz vocalist), he sets the tone for guys singing jazz But he not...