Sep 30, 2011
Union League Club of Chicago honors Distinguished Musician Kurt Elling
On September 30, Kurt Elling and pianist and Ravinia Festival President/CEO Welz Kauffman were inducted as Distinguished Musicians by the Union League Club of Chicago, America's #1 City Club The Union League Club of Chicago established its...
Sep 28, 2011
Jazz singer Elling to serenade at Vassar
He was nominated for nine Grammys, won one, was featured on the cover of a handful of jazz magazines, and was recognized as Jazz Journalists Association's male singer of the year seven times For the Music Department's biggest concert of the...
Sep 27, 2011
Kurt Elling performs on Woody Guthrie celebration, “Note of Hope”
On September 27th, 429 Records released Note of Hope, a celebration of Woody Guthrie, based on the words and writings of the great American master The collection features Grammy-winning bassist Rob Wasserman's collaborations with Jackson...
Sep 24, 2011
Behind the Scenes With Kurt Elling
Fear No ART Chicago's Elysabeth Alfano sat down with Kurt Elling for an in-depth and intimate conversation when Kurt and the band performed at the Green Mill in Chicago in July 2011 Alfano writes for the Huffington Post: Who doesn't love...
Sep 13, 2011
Aretha Franklin steals the show at Monk Institute anniversary gala
There were rambling moments and unnecessary stage turns during Monday's gala celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater But every minute of the 31 / 2-hour program was...
Aug 30, 2011
Kurt Elling: Special Delivery
It's well known that many of the great black jazz vocalists—Ernestine Anderson, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughn, Al Jarreau—got their start singing in church Which makes perfect sense: Thanks to its rich gospel tradition, the...
Aug 18, 2011
Jazz review: ‘Joni’s Jazz’ at the Hollywood Bowl
Going into Wednesday's show at the Hollywood Bowl exploring the meeting point between jazz and Joni Mitchell's recordings between 1974 and 1979, it was hard to escape the idea that both sides of the evening could be considered acquired tastes,...
Aug 18, 2011
Live Jazz: Joni’s Jazz with Herbie Hancock and an All-Star Ensemble at the Hollywood Bowl
Jazz has always attached itself to the popular musical idioms of the day, from Tin Pan Alley to the Beatles and even (gasp) hip hop But Wednesday night's concert at the Hollywood Bowl highlighted a reverse aspect, Joni Mitchell's mid-seventies...
Aug 16, 2011
Hollywood Bowl concert focuses on Joni Mitchell’s jazz side
'She's got a special way,' Herbie Hancock says of the singer-songwriter He's on the 'Joni's Jazz' bill with Wayne Shorter, Kurt Elling and many others An eclectic group will assemble onstage Wednesday night at the Hollywood Bowl to riff on the...
Aug 02, 2011
The Gate and the Intersections of Jazz
Jazz musicians are music fans too—a seemingly simple statement, but one many of us, particularly genre purists, often forget or ignore Singer Kurt Elling and his frequent collaborator, musical director Laurence Hobgood, are refreshing...
Jul 13, 2011
Kurt Elling: The Gate
It's amazing how small age differences can impact on the music that resonates in our youth—experiencing it after the fact being so different than living in its time For 43 year-old vocalist Kurt Elling, the music that reached his young,...
Jul 01, 2011
Kurt Elling: DownBeat Critics Poll Male Vocalist of the Year
Once again, the critics have chosen Kurt as the top male vocalist in the 59th annual DownBeat Critics Poll! Kurt has been named the DownBeat Critics Poll Male Vocalist of the Year for twelve consecutive years, from 2000 through 2011, and was...