Oct 07, 2019
Jazz star Kurt Elling is still finding new ways of doing things
Duke Ellington had a saying: "the material is the material" It's a philosophy acclaimed jazz vocalist Kurt Elling has taken to heart through his career When the lights go down and curtain sweeps back, it really is all about the...
Sep 25, 2019
ALL THAT JAZZ: On eve of a Knoxville show, vocalist Kurt Elling reflects on a life well lived
Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Kurt Elling's career trajectory took a hard left turn one night at Chicago's fabled New Apartment Lounge Technically, it changed the next morning, when he showed up to a philosophy of religion class at the...
Jul 09, 2019
Jazz Concert Review: The Montreal Jazz Festival Turns 40, Part Two
At Montreal, singer Kurt Elling is a superstar And, in my world, so is his accompanist, Panama-born pianist Danilo Perez When Elling walked on stage he sat for a while and then sang a single syllable It sounded as if he were testing the...
Jun 01, 2019
Review: Jazz stars in top form on Live in New York
American singer Kurt Elling doesn’t listen to his own albums, so he may not be aware of how voluble he is in this impressive performance at New York’s Birdland jazz club His whimsical patter, laced with irony, however, is instructive Live...
May 14, 2019
Review: James Morrison & Kurt Elling live
Less than a week after performing on the very same stage for International Jazz Day's All Star Global Concert, two of the world's most acclaimed jazz stars, Kurt Elling and James Morrison, stretched out on some classic jazz tunes together at a...
May 12, 2019
Kurt Elling/James Morrison review: A portrait of the singer as a middle-aged man
It's been fascinating to follow Some 22 years ago Kurt Elling burst on to the international jazz scene as an already extraordinarily distinctive singer and improviser Initially he was too eager to shower us with all the options at his disposal:...
May 07, 2019
Tireless pair make jazz brilliance look easy
Last week, James Morrison and Kurt Elling were on stage at Hamer Hall as part of an epic All-Star Global Concert to celebrate International Jazz Day Morrison co-directed the concert and helped co-ordinate the nationwide program of events that...
May 01, 2019
Herbie Hancock Aims Jazz Day All-Star Concert Towards A World In ‘Turmoil’
Herbie Hancock took a moment during the International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert to address some fraught geopolitical realities Not that Hancock, in his dual capacity as UNESCO goodwill ambassador and chairman of the Herbie Hancock...
Apr 29, 2019
Australian jazz dynamo James Morrison & Kurt Elling on tour in Australia
It's a good thing James Morrison knows how to drive fast cars and fly his own plane With an overflowing schedule and commitments that span the globe, time is at a premium When we talk he's in Sydney, driving (within the speed limit, he assures...
Mar 08, 2019
Kurt Elling Goes ‘Big’ in new Radio Drama: The Big Blind Debuts at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater
One of the most admirable qualities of true artists is a willingness to push the envelope beyond their comfort zone in tackling new projects Grammy-nominated singer and perennial poll-winner Kurt Elling has done precisely that with The Big...
Feb 27, 2019
Kurt Elling presents “The Big Blind: A Jazz Radio Drama”
It is now post time The Big Blind is a highly ambitious project by the veteran, Grammy-winning jazz singer Kurt Elling and co-writer, Grammy-nom Phil Galdston It's a very unusual form, not staged like a conventional play or musical comedy, but...
Feb 25, 2019
Kurt Elling Readies The Big Blind for NYC Premiere
The inspiration for Kurt Elling's radio play The Big Blind – co-written with Phil Galdston and premiering at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York on Mar 1 and 2 – came from a very special place: the Green Mill, a longtime jazz club outside...