Blog
May 17, 2018
Kurt Elling: From Church Choirs to Chicago Clubs
Jazz vocalist Kurt Elling cut his teeth in the clubs of Chicago, but his love of music began in infancy and was fostered by a childhood singing in choirs "Since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt...
May 16, 2018
Pure Vocalese
There was always something special about vocalist Kurt Elling Amid his myriad of sophisticated cabaret, some hard-to-describe essence drew me to his music in small doses, a music I used to scoff at, a music that always reminded me of Bill...
May 04, 2018
CD REVIEW: Kurt Elling – The Questions
You have to admire a singer's courage when not only does he begin an album unaccompanied but with the relentlessly repetitious melody line of the verses of Bob Dylan's A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall But is it courageous when that singer is Kurt...
May 01, 2018
‘Apprehend the Greatest Ideas’
For Kurt Elling, lunch is an event to be savored We start early at a neighborhood Italian joint he favors, around the corner from his home on Manhattan's Upper West Side When DownBeat encounters Elling at 11 am, he's already settled in...
Apr 24, 2018
The Questions: Sometimes cynical, sometimes hopeful, and all thoughtful songs
The stark dramatic intro to the first track, Dylan's A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, sets the tone for Kurt Elling's latest album A response to the widespread anxiety of the times we're living in now, The Questions brings together a collection of...
Apr 24, 2018
Kurt Elling: Ambassador for this music of jazz
Kurt Elling remembers the moment he had his "jazz epiphany" The Grammy Award-winning vocalist who is headed our way late next month as part of the New Zealand International Jazz & Blues Festival in Christchurch says the moment he knew what...
Apr 16, 2018
Important Male Voices: Kurt Elling: The Questions, Allan Harris: The Genius of Eddie Jefferson
In this day of most singers relying on The Great American Songbook, two singers take on a path less traveled, and that makes all the difference One of today's important voices, Kurt Elling has come a long way to his free-flying improvisations...
Apr 09, 2018
Kurt Elling, Cadogan Hall, London — a superlative singer
A stunning performance from the jazz vocalist and his ensemble The first lines of Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" opened Kurt Elling's superlative concert; unaccompanied, they rekindled the focused fury of Bob Dylan's dystopic vision...
Apr 09, 2018
Branford Marsalis Joins Kurt Elling for Thunderous Jazz Dylan Cover
In the opening minute of Kurt Elling's cover of Bob Dylan's anthem "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," the jazz singer turns the lyrics into a spoken-word sermon Without any accompaniment, he fully enunciates each line, then pauses, allowing time to...
Apr 08, 2018
Kurt Elling: The Questions review – sheer vocal beauty
When it comes to expressiveness, technique and sheer beauty of voice, I can think of no male singer alive to equal Kurt Elling As they used to say of Sinatra, he could sing the Manhattan phone book and have the audience on the edge of their...
Apr 03, 2018
The Questions: Lyrical, ruminative, beautiful music
Continuing the fruitful creative partnership that began with 2016's Upward Spiral, vocalist Kurt Elling once again pairs with saxophonist Branford Marsalis for the lyrical, ruminative 2018 effort The Questions Joining them are pianist Joey...
Mar 30, 2018
Kurt Elling: The Questions — ‘a supple jazz score’
The vocalist juxtaposes protest songs with poetry and follows showtune classics with literate vocalese Press notes tell us that the questions of the title range from the existential "What is this life" to the pertinent and political "Why is...