Blog
Jul 23, 2009
Sondheim, Styne Meet Jazz in Charlap’s Series
Pianist Bill Charlap, always an engaging host, interrupted his concert Tuesday night with a story As a teenager, he told the audience at New York's 92nd Street Y, he'd met Jule Styne and asked the great Broadway composer, "What makes a great...
Jul 23, 2009
Show Tunes, Through a Jazz Wringer
When he was a teenager, the jazz pianist Bill Charlap recalled at the 92nd Street Y on Tuesday evening, he met the composer Jule Styne and asked him for the secret to writing a good popular song Mr Styne, choosing his words carefully, replied...
Jul 20, 2009
Jazz singing doesn’t come much better than this
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman4 stars Jazz singing doesn't come much better than this Elling's taste for angular Beat-era lyrics has sometimes stretched his audience's patience, but on this live set he...
Jul 20, 2009
Out of a set of American Songbook tunes, Elling’s created another original
On this live recording from New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center, Chicagoan Kurt Elling remembers fellow baritone Johnny Hartman He's taken inspiration from Hartman and John Coltrane's partnership in the 60s and got together with sax player Ernie...
Jul 17, 2009
The Guardian: 4 Stars for Dedicated to You
This is a Lincoln Centre live recording of singer Kurt Elling's 2008 London jazz festival show It pays tribute to John Coltrane's ballad meeting with singer Johnny Hartman, Impulse records' 1963 attempt to soften the messianic sax improviser...
Jul 09, 2009
“We remember them both . . . We’re jazz people”
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman is a live collection recorded as a part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series, a creative homage to the now classic 1963 John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman recording...
Jul 09, 2009
In Conversation with Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling sets the standard for the current generation of male jazz singers, with a stage presence, smarts and stylishness that are up-to-date but also deeply in the tradition Now the vocalist takes on a John Coltrane classic, recreating an...
Jul 06, 2009
Moving tribute to legends lost & portrait of a gifted artist
Kurt Elling has never shied away from a challenge -- the nimble singer has carved a unique place for himself in the jazz pantheon, with a signature sound that cunningly combines blues, ballads, and beat-inspired poetry On his eighth outing as...
Jul 05, 2009
Vancouver Jazz Festival: Elling’s poise and taste
There are some consistencies in life The Middle East will always be a hot spot, the New York Yankees will overspend to be also-rans, and Kurt Elling will never disappoint an audience The Chicago-based jazz singer gave another star turn Friday...
Jul 02, 2009
Vancouver Jazz Fest: Kurt Elling pays homage to Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane
Dedicated to You, the new CD from jazz singer Kurt Elling, pays tribute to the 1963 duo recording that paired vocalist Johnny Hartman and saxophonist John Coltrane What began as a commission from the Chicago Jazz Festival has turned into a...
Jul 02, 2009
Kurt Elling channels Johnny Hartman
When Clint Eastwood wanted to evoke a mood of simmering romance tinged with rue, he called upon the velvet-smooth baritone of Johnny Hartman, generously ladling the crooner's voice throughout his film "The Bridges of Madison County" For...
Jul 02, 2009
Jazz.com’s Song of the Day: Say It (Over & Over Again)
Kurt Elling: Say It (Over & Over Again)Rating: 95/100 Originally produced as a concert for the Monterey Jazz Festival, Kurt Elling's CD "Dedicated To You" celebrates John Coltrane's Ballads and the classic John Coltrane And Johnny Hartman In...