Kurt Elling returns ‘home’ for performance in Hyde Park

Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Kurt Elling gave an electrifying performance at the Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St., Sunday, June 12. The performance was part of the annual N'DIGO Foundation Gala, an event that raises funds to cover the college tuitions of deserving Chicago youths.
Elling, who recently performed at the White House for the 5th annual International Jazz Day Celebration, said that Hyde Park feels like home.

Elling first arrived in Hyde Park in 1989 to attend the University of Chicago Divinity School.

“I was just trying to figure stuff out at that time and I did figure some things out,” Elling said, following his Sunday night performance. “I also made some life-long friendships.”

For Elling, one of those Hyde Park-spurred relationships is with his wife. Elling and his wife spent the first decade of their marriage in Hyde Park.

Elling described his Hyde Park performance as a respite from the chaos of 200 nights a year on the road.

“It feels like a relief, and like I'm home,” Elling said. “I get to see folks on the street that I'm happy to see, bump into old friends and have some good Rajun Cajun.”

Sunday's N'DIGO Gala raised funds to cover the college tuitions of three Chicago-area high school seniors: Danielle Smallwood, Chicago State University; Darinda Barlow, Harold Washington College; and Ebony Williams, Dudley Beauty School.