Blog
Apr 06, 2011
Kurt Elling opens The Gate to some contemporary classics
It was through his father, a Kapellmeister at a local Lutheran church, that jazz maestro Kurt Elling was first introduced to music In growing up in Rockford, Illinois, Elling embraced a range of musical instruments including playing the violin,...
Apr 06, 2011
Elling continues mining new material for jazz
Kurt Elling is a jazz singer in the purest sense of the term Like a Billy Eckstine or Sarah Vaughan, the jazz characteristics of Elling's art come from his singing more than his song selection Like those two singers, Eckstine can improvise a...
Apr 05, 2011
In Praise of Kurt Elling
With the world's greatest jazz voice, a sense of effortless cool and a wealth of celebrity fans, improv-king Kurt Elling's addiction to touring has - in spite of the genre's low record sales - seen him play his way on to the list of all-time...
Mar 28, 2011
Kurt Elling on Youth, Critics
This month's cover story for JazzTimes, re: singer Kurt Elling, has been excerpted online There's way more insight behind the paywall, so if you like what you see, please go buy a copy, or swipe one from your neighbor Meanwhile, I thought I'd...
Mar 26, 2011
What’s in a Grammy?
As this issue [of JazzTimes] went to press, one of the big stories in the music world was that 26-year-old Esperanza Spalding won the Grammy for Best New Artist, triumphing over such popular favorites as teen idol Justin Bieber and Canadian...
Mar 25, 2011
What Makes a Jazz Singer
Since debuting on Blue Note in 1995, Kurt Elling has earned a reputation as one of the preeminent jazz singers of our time Now based in New York City, Elling details his ascent, responds to his detractors, and sets out to define the slippery...
Mar 24, 2011
Kurt Elling Puts Jazz Spin on Classic Rock With Producer Don Was
The first time we came across Kurt Elling was in June of 1997 during a guerrilla campaign of gigs in the Northeast over a six-week stretch It was towards the end of that run and the singer was walking with crutches after a hiking mishap His...
Mar 22, 2011
Kurt Elling’s ‘The Gate’ Ventures Beyond Jazz
You don't have to be a jazz fan to appreciate Kurt Elling In fact, when you look at the names of the artists whose works he's covered, jazz may not be the first thing that comes to mind On The Gate, he turns to the music of The Beatles,...
Mar 20, 2011
Living Organism: Don Was on working with Kurt Elling
Better known as a stellar rock producer, Don Was talks to Peter Quinn about working with Elling "In all areas of music, the thing I hold at a premium is truth in the vocal -- not stylistically conscious, not technically conscious, but just...
Mar 20, 2011
Spirits from Above: Jon Hendricks on Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling's unique approach to vocalese appeals to the master of the technique himself, Jon Hendricks -- as Edward Randell discovers One of the most distinctive aspects of Kurt Elling's work is his development of the style known as vocalese:...
Mar 20, 2011
Come Running to Me
It's one of the great what-ifs of jazz Imagine, for a second, that in 1992 Kurt Elling hadn't ended up a language credit shy of gaining a Masters in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Chicago The picture might have looked something...
Mar 18, 2011
The Gate: Jazz-pop blur
Last Saturday night, one of Ottawa's biggest jazz fans took me aside at Cafe Paradiso -- we were there to see David Braid -- to voice his disappointment with Kurt Elling's latest CD, The Gate I wasn't surprised For that long-time jazz fan,...