Apr 15, 2015
Sittin’ In: Kurt Elling performs on Jeremy Siskind’s Housewarming
The two CDs under review this month [Jeremy Siskind's "Housewarming" and Harold Mabern's "Afro Blue"] are both led by pianists; however, they both qualify as vocal albums since the majority of the tracks on each disc feature...
Apr 15, 2015
Sittin’ In: Kurt Elling performs on Harold Mabern’s Afro Blue
Harold Mabern has always enjoyed the challenge of working with singers He recorded with Betty Carter, Bill Henderson and Johnny Hartman, and on his new album, "Afro Blue" (Smoke Sessions Records), he adds collaborations with five current...
Apr 10, 2015
Kurt Elling pays tribute to Frank Sinatra
Kurt Elling knows he will never out-Sinatra Frank Sinatra But as a Grammy Award winning and internationally renowned jazz vocalist, Elling being himself is a pretty good thing Elling will take on the catalog of Ol' Blue Eyes himself this...
Apr 09, 2015
In Conversation with…Kurt Elling
To describe Kurt Elling as a jazz singer is only part of the story He is also an explorer, a scholar, a poet, a historian, a photographer, a traveller and widely acknowledged king of his artform At once, and in his stylish, idiosyncratic way,...
Mar 18, 2015
The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra Directed by Tommy Smith present Kurt Elling Swings Sinatra
The spring of 2015 is set to burst into wonderful life as the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO), now in its twentieth year, and their very special guest Kurt Elling celebrate the birth centenary of a truly household name in popular music,...
Mar 13, 2015
Classy line-up populates Portland Jazz Festival’s Eleventh Year
One of the themes of this year's Portland Jazz Festival, presented by Alaska Airlines under the omniscient direction of Don Lucoff, was the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra's birth Two panels were devoted to the subject, the first...
Mar 06, 2015
Kurt Elling: Elling Swings Sinatra
To say that Kurt Elling and Frank Sinatra have a lot in common would be an understatement at best Sinatra shaped his era's musical landscape and was its dominant force for decades Elling, too, is shaping the contemporary male jazz scene,...
Feb 28, 2015
“Elling Swings Sinatra” Swings!
Segerstrom Center for Performing Arts hit a home run in their outstanding jazz series with Elling Swings Sinatra Set up like an upscale jazz club with low lighting, and round tables for four the Samueli Theater was the perfect venue for an...
Feb 26, 2015
Kurt Elling pays tribute to Sinatra
He was known as "The Voice" And Kurt Elling remembers how, when he was a child, those vocal cords stood out Elling, the son of a high school band instructor, often listened to the music his parents played on the family stereo His father favored...
Feb 23, 2015
Kurt Elling, Bill Charlap deliver strong first weekend at PDX Jazz | Festival review
The first weekend of the Portland Jazz Festival surpassed the usual high expectations, particularly in the piano department The festival, which runs through Sunday, March 1, took the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra's birth as a...
Feb 21, 2015
Live review: Kurt Elling brings swing, sensitivity and Sinatra to the 2015 Portland Jazz Festival
Kurt Elling was talking about the Grammys Not this year's, with Beck and Beyonce and Kanye West's big mouth But the first one, in 1959, where Frank Sinatra competed against himself for Album of the Year, and was up for Song and Record...
Feb 17, 2015
Kurt Elling digs into Sinatra legacy for SFJAZZ shows
Jazz sure needed Kurt Elling when he eased onto the scene in the 1990s Male jazz singing had been in a rut ever since the demise of the swing era Elling, who performs this weekend at SFJAZZ Center, shook off the cobwebs with a brashly original...