Blog
Nov 15, 2012
Kurt Elling and Sheila Jordan at the London Jazz Festival
Just occasionally an artist hits the truth of the song in such spectacular fashion that it makes you feel with ever greater intensity what it means to be human Last night, vocalist Sheila Jordan's performance of the Jimmy Webb standard,...
Nov 15, 2012
Kurt Elling: Mesmerizing
Kurt Elling walks on stage as if he owns it, launches into Come Fly with Me, and the packed audience greet him as if he were the king of jazz singers Elling's jazz festival set was dominated by numbers from 1619 Broadway, his latest album...
Nov 14, 2012
1619 Broadway: Some of the freshest interpretations around
The Brill Building holds a special place in popular music history, not just because of the songs crafted within its walls, but also because of what it has come to represent The ideal of the Brill Building is associated with songs that...
Nov 13, 2012
Kurt Elling, jazz singer: Portrait of the artist
When did you discover jazz By hearing people like Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee and Andy Williams My folks liked to drive across the country to visit the grandparents We'd be out in the desert, all the windows down, eating Velveeta cheese, with...
Nov 11, 2012
Blue Notes: 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project
There is probably no building in the world that has provided a setting for more songwriting history than 1619 Broadway in New York The Brill Building, as it is better known, was built in 1931, and attracted music industry businesses more or...
Nov 07, 2012
London Jazz Festival preview: Kurt Elling & Sheila Jordan
The poetic, technically-dazzling Chicago singer Kurt Elling has become a big star by jazz standards, even if a fondness for understatement, arthouse lyrics and unusual material will keep him from stardom of the Cullum/Krall kind His new album...
Nov 07, 2012
1619 Broadway: New perspectives and irrefutable imagination
Two memories from this summer's Newport Jazz Festival: Kurt Elling bending the shape of "Come Fly With Me" into something personalized and provocative, and Elling beaming through the wry lines of Kenneth Patchen's "Job" while onstage...
Nov 07, 2012
DownBeat’s The Hot Box: 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project
DownBeat critics' capsule reviews to accompany Jim Macnie's full review in DownBeat's December 2012 issue A loosely enforced license for Elling to tackle 11 pop gumdrops jazz has mostly ignored A bit of hokum and much good...
Oct 31, 2012
Vocalist Kurt Elling savors chance to share jazz tradition
When I interviewed Kurt Elling, he was en route from New York to Boston on the Amtrak The phone reception was spotty and the train was noisy, but Elling's message was clear: he is an ambassador for jazz music The 44-year-old Chicago native...
Oct 31, 2012
Elling Radiates Retro Vibe at Kennedy Center
A common reaction to singers like Kurt Elling is that they were born a few decades too late Some might say they missed out on the heyday of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Mel Tormé and thus are consigned to be a retro novelty But Elling...
Oct 29, 2012
Kurt Elling at the 33rd Annual Clearwater Jazz Holiday
Critically acclaimed vocalist Kurt Elling was in top form and quick to demonstrate why he is widely regarded as one of the best male Jazz vocalists around His incredibly unique take on the Frank Sinatra classic "Come Fly With Me," which appears...
Oct 28, 2012
Kurt Elling at Kennedy Center, jazzing up songs from the Brill Building era
A couple of years ago, the jazz singer Kurt Elling moved from his native Chicago to New York As he said during his Saturday concert at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater, he enjoyed exploring his new habitat, discovering the places where...