Kurt Elling
Encyclopedia
Kurt Elling is an American
jazz
vocalist, composer, lyricist and vocalese
performer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford
, Elling first became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. Growing up, Elling sang in choirs and played various musical instruments, but wasn't exposed to jazz until he attended Gustavus Adolphus College
. Elling enrolled in graduate school at the University of Chicago Divinity School
, but left school one credit short of a master's degree to pursue a career as a jazz vocalist.
Elling began to perform around Chicago, scat singing
and improvising his own lyrics. He recorded a demo in the early 1990s and was signed by Blue Note Records
, releasing a total of seven albums with the label. He has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning Best Vocal Jazz Album
for Dedicated to You
(2009) on the Concord Jazz
label. Elling often leads the Down Beat
critics poll, and he was awarded the Prix Billie Holiday from the Académie du Jazz. Since 1995, Elling has collaborated with pianist, composer, and arranger Laurence Hobgood, leading a quartet that regularly tours the world.
at a Lutheran church. Elling attended elementary school at St. Paul Lutheran School in Rockford
, and throughout his early years, he sang in choirs and played violin, French horn, piano, and drums. During his middle school years, Elling remembers watching Tony Bennett
and the Woody Herman band on television and imagining what it would be like to sing with a band. Growing up, Elling sang in the classical style, learning counterpoint
from the motet
s of Johann Sebastian Bach
. In high school, Elling continued to sing in the choir: "When it was undeniably uncool and geeky and all that, to be in the choir, I did it anyway, because it was reliably beautiful, and it was rewarding, and it gave me gifts of experience and friendships."
Elling attended Gustavus Adolphus College
in St. Peter, Minnesota
, where he majored in history and minored in religion. In college, Elling sang in the 70-voice Gustavus Choir, an a cappella
choir that performed works from a variety of different composers, allowing him to hone his technical skills. Elling also toured Europe with his college choir. He first became interested in jazz at Gustavus Adolphus, listening to Dave Brubeck
, Dexter Gordon
, Herbie Hancock
, and Ella Fitzgerald
, among others.
After graduating from Gustavus Adolphus in 1989, Elling enrolled in graduate school at the University of Chicago Divinity School
where he studied for his master's degree in philosophy of religion
. Elling thought about continuing work in academia or working for the World Council of Churches
when he graduated. Elling began playing Jazz gigs once a week during graduate school, with one of his first shows at Milt Trenier's, a basement club in Chicago (now defunct). Elling earned little money at these gigs, but Karl Johnson, the house pianist, was his mentor and teacher. Elling recalls: "By day I was reading Kant and Schleiermacher, trying to get a handle on that, and at night I was sitting-in in clubs, and, of course, you can't do both and be effective. Eventually Saturday night won out over Sunday morning." Elling remained a graduate student until January 1992, when he left school one credit short of graduation.
In Chicago, Elling held day jobs to survive, working as a bartender and even a mover. Elling made extra income singing at weddings in addition to playing at clubs. At this time, he began singing in a scat style and improvising his own lyrics. Elling began listening to the vocalese of jazz singer Mark Murphy
, who exposed him to the poetry of Jack Kerouac
. The minimalism and emotion of Chet Baker
's music was also influential.
of Blue Note Records
.
on tenor saxophone, Dave Onderdonk on guitar, Laurence Hobgood on piano, Eric Hochberg and Rob Amster on acoustic bass, and Paul Wertico
on drums.
Close Your Eyes was followed several years later by The Messenger (1997), with Elling releasing a total of seven albums for the Blue Note label.
In 1999, Elling became a National Trustee for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and in 2003, he was elected Vice Chair and served two terms.
, in the episode "The Jazz Singers". Elling sang "She's Funny That Way" and performed a duet with Al Jarreau
on "Take Five
". The recording was released on CD and DVD. In August of the same year, Elling signed a new record contract with Concord Jazz
, and his first album with the label, Nightmoves
, was released in 2007.
The follow-up, Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman
(2009), is a tribute to the 1963 recording John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
, widely recognized as one of the all-time finest jazz vocal albums. The album arose out of a 2005 concert commissioned by the Chicago Jazz Festival
, showcasing the Coltrane-Hartman material. Later, Elling and pianist Laurence Hobgood rearranged the music, culminating in a performance in the Allen Room at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
in New York
. The concert was recorded in January 2009 and the album was released in June.
Elling is a baritone with a four-octave range, and a writer and performer of vocalese
, the art of writing and performing words over improvised jazz solos. In 2007, Elling's lyrics were published in a book by Circumstantial Productions.
, Bob Belden
, Joanne Brackeen
, Oscar Brown, Jr., Billy Corgan
, Orbert Davis
, George Freeman
, Buddy Guy
, Jon Hendricks
, Charlie Hunter
, Randy Bachman
, Bob Mintzer
, Rex Richardson, and Bob Sheppard
.
As of 2010, Elling's band included musical director Laurence Hobgood on piano, John McLean
on guitar, Harish Raghavan on bass, and drummer Ulysses Owens.
in Hyde Park, Chicago
. The Ellings moved to New York in 2008.
Concord Records
Guest appearances
Critics Poll twelve times, from 2000–2011, and the Down Beat
Readers Poll and the JazzTimes
Readers' Poll six times, all in the Male Vocalist of the Year category. He has also received the Jazz Journalists Association
Male Singer of the Year award seven times. In 2010 he received the Nightlife Award for Outstanding Jazz Vocalist in a Major Engagement.
s are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
of the United States. On January 31, 2010, Elling won his first Grammy Award in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Album for the album Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman
on the Concord Jazz label.
|-
|rowspan="1"|1995
|Close Your Eyes
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|1997
|The Messenger
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|1998
|This Time it's Love
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2000
|Live in Chicago
| Best Jazz Vocal Album
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2001
|Flirting with Twilight
| Best Jazz Vocal Album
|
|-
|"Easy Living"
|Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2003
|Man in the Air
| Best Jazz Vocal Album
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2007
|Nightmoves
| Best Jazz Vocal Album
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2009
|Dedicated to You
|Best Jazz Vocal Album
|
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
vocalist, composer, lyricist and vocalese
Vocalese
Vocalese is a style or genre of jazz singing wherein lyrics are written for melodies that were originally part of an all-instrumental composition or improvisation. Whereas scat singing uses improvised nonsense syllables, such as "bap ba dee dot bwee dee" in solos, vocalese uses lyrics, either...
performer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, Elling first became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. Growing up, Elling sang in choirs and played various musical instruments, but wasn't exposed to jazz until he attended Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. A coeducational, four-year, residential institution, it was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans. To this day the school is firmly...
. Elling enrolled in graduate school at the University of Chicago Divinity School
University of Chicago Divinity School
The University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries...
, but left school one credit short of a master's degree to pursue a career as a jazz vocalist.
Elling began to perform around Chicago, scat singing
Scat singing
In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
and improvising his own lyrics. He recorded a demo in the early 1990s and was signed by Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
, releasing a total of seven albums with the label. He has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning Best Vocal Jazz Album
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album has been presented since 1977. Until 2001 this award was titled the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance...
for Dedicated to You
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman is a 2009 live album by Kurt Elling, recorded at the Lincoln Centre's American Songbook series...
(2009) on the Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz is a subsidiary of Concord Records, owned by Concord Music Group.-Dozens of albums:*Charlie Byrd*Ruby Braff*Dave McKenna*Marian McPartland*Rosemary Clooney*Scott Hamilton*Tito Puente*George Shearing*Gene Harris*Mel Tormé*Monty Alexander...
label. Elling often leads the Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
critics poll, and he was awarded the Prix Billie Holiday from the Académie du Jazz. Since 1995, Elling has collaborated with pianist, composer, and arranger Laurence Hobgood, leading a quartet that regularly tours the world.
Early life
Kurt Elling was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 2, 1967 to Henry and Martha Elling. His interest in music started with his father, who was KapellmeisterKapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
at a Lutheran church. Elling attended elementary school at St. Paul Lutheran School in Rockford
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, and throughout his early years, he sang in choirs and played violin, French horn, piano, and drums. During his middle school years, Elling remembers watching Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
and the Woody Herman band on television and imagining what it would be like to sing with a band. Growing up, Elling sang in the classical style, learning counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
from the motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. In high school, Elling continued to sing in the choir: "When it was undeniably uncool and geeky and all that, to be in the choir, I did it anyway, because it was reliably beautiful, and it was rewarding, and it gave me gifts of experience and friendships."
Elling attended Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. A coeducational, four-year, residential institution, it was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans. To this day the school is firmly...
in St. Peter, Minnesota
St. Peter, Minnesota
St. Peter is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,196 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nicollet County.St...
, where he majored in history and minored in religion. In college, Elling sang in the 70-voice Gustavus Choir, an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
choir that performed works from a variety of different composers, allowing him to hone his technical skills. Elling also toured Europe with his college choir. He first became interested in jazz at Gustavus Adolphus, listening to Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, and Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, among others.
After graduating from Gustavus Adolphus in 1989, Elling enrolled in graduate school at the University of Chicago Divinity School
University of Chicago Divinity School
The University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries...
where he studied for his master's degree in philosophy of religion
Philosophy of religion
Philosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy concerned with questions regarding religion, including the nature and existence of God, the examination of religious experience, analysis of religious language and texts, and the relationship of religion and science...
. Elling thought about continuing work in academia or working for the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
when he graduated. Elling began playing Jazz gigs once a week during graduate school, with one of his first shows at Milt Trenier's, a basement club in Chicago (now defunct). Elling earned little money at these gigs, but Karl Johnson, the house pianist, was his mentor and teacher. Elling recalls: "By day I was reading Kant and Schleiermacher, trying to get a handle on that, and at night I was sitting-in in clubs, and, of course, you can't do both and be effective. Eventually Saturday night won out over Sunday morning." Elling remained a graduate student until January 1992, when he left school one credit short of graduation.
In Chicago, Elling held day jobs to survive, working as a bartender and even a mover. Elling made extra income singing at weddings in addition to playing at clubs. At this time, he began singing in a scat style and improvising his own lyrics. Elling began listening to the vocalese of jazz singer Mark Murphy
Mark Murphy (singer)
Mark Murphy is an American jazz singer based in New York. He is most noted for his definitive and unique vocalese and vocal improvisations with both melody and lyrics...
, who exposed him to the poetry of Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
. The minimalism and emotion of Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
's music was also influential.
Career
While living in Chicago in 1995, Elling decided he was ready to record. He had met pianist Laurence Hobgood through Ed Petersen, who played the Green Mill on Monday nights. Elling convinced Hobgood that he was ready to go into the studio, and they came out with nine solid songs. Following the advice of pianist Fred Simon, the cassette recording was sent to Bill Traut, a manager in Los Angeles, who eventually gave it to Bruce LundvallBruce Lundvall
Bruce Lundvall, is an American record company executive, most known as being the President/CEO of the Blue Note Label Group, reporting directly to Eric Nicoli, the Chief Executive Officer of EMI Group.- Career :...
of Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
.
Blue Note (1995–2005)
Two months later, Elling was signed to Blue Note, and the songs on the demo became the Grammy nominated label debut, Close your Eyes (1995). The album features Edward Petersen and Von FreemanVon Freeman
Earle Lavon Freeman Sr. is an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist. He is the father of jazz saxophonist Chico Freeman.-Biography:...
on tenor saxophone, Dave Onderdonk on guitar, Laurence Hobgood on piano, Eric Hochberg and Rob Amster on acoustic bass, and Paul Wertico
Paul Wertico
Paul Wertico is an American drummer. He gained recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 until 2001, leaving the group to spend more time with his family and to pursue other musical interests. Metheny heard the Simon Bard Group with Wertico and bassist Steve Rodby, and invited...
on drums.
Close Your Eyes was followed several years later by The Messenger (1997), with Elling releasing a total of seven albums for the Blue Note label.
In 1999, Elling became a National Trustee for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and in 2003, he was elected Vice Chair and served two terms.
Concord (2006–present)
In 2006, Elling performed on the television program Legends of JazzLegends of Jazz
Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis was a 13-week, public television show, produced by the Chicago-based independent music entertainment company, LRSmedia and distributed by WTTW. It was first broadcast on public television stations in April 2006...
, in the episode "The Jazz Singers". Elling sang "She's Funny That Way" and performed a duet with Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau
Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
on "Take Five
Take Five
"Take Five" is a jazz piece written by Paul Desmond and performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on their 1959 album Time Out. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studios in New York City on June 25, July 1, and August 18, 1959, this piece became one of the group's best-known records, famous for its...
". The recording was released on CD and DVD. In August of the same year, Elling signed a new record contract with Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz is a subsidiary of Concord Records, owned by Concord Music Group.-Dozens of albums:*Charlie Byrd*Ruby Braff*Dave McKenna*Marian McPartland*Rosemary Clooney*Scott Hamilton*Tito Puente*George Shearing*Gene Harris*Mel Tormé*Monty Alexander...
, and his first album with the label, Nightmoves
Nightmoves (album)
Nightmoves is a 2007 jazz album by vocalist Kurt Elling. It was the first Elling album to be released by Concord Records. - Track listing :# "Nightmoves" - 4:23# "Tight" - 2:55...
, was released in 2007.
The follow-up, Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman is a 2009 live album by Kurt Elling, recorded at the Lincoln Centre's American Songbook series...
(2009), is a tribute to the 1963 recording John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is a 1963 studio album featuring John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.Though Coltrane and Hartman had known each other since their days playing with Dizzy Gillespie's band in the late 1940s , Hartman is the only vocalist with whom the...
, widely recognized as one of the all-time finest jazz vocal albums. The album arose out of a 2005 concert commissioned by the Chicago Jazz Festival
Chicago Jazz Festival
The Chicago Jazz Festival is a popular and well-known four day free celebration of jazz at Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park in downtown Chicago. It is run by the Jazz Institute of Chicago during Labor Day weekend, integrating both world-famous and local artists...
, showcasing the Coltrane-Hartman material. Later, Elling and pianist Laurence Hobgood rearranged the music, culminating in a performance in the Allen Room at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The concert was recorded in January 2009 and the album was released in June.
Elling is a baritone with a four-octave range, and a writer and performer of vocalese
Vocalese
Vocalese is a style or genre of jazz singing wherein lyrics are written for melodies that were originally part of an all-instrumental composition or improvisation. Whereas scat singing uses improvised nonsense syllables, such as "bap ba dee dot bwee dee" in solos, vocalese uses lyrics, either...
, the art of writing and performing words over improvised jazz solos. In 2007, Elling's lyrics were published in a book by Circumstantial Productions.
Collaborators
Elling has performed and recorded with David AmramDavid Amram
David Amram is an American composer, musician, conductor, and writer. As a classical composer and performer, his integration of jazz , ethnic and folk music has led him to work with the likes of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Willie Nelson, Langston...
, Bob Belden
Bob Belden
James Robert Belden is an American saxophonist, arranger, composer, bandleader and producer. He is noted for his Grammy Award winning jazz orchestral recording titled The Black Dahlia. He is also a past head of A & R for Blue Note Records.Belden was born in Evanston, Illinois, and raised in...
, Joanne Brackeen
Joanne Brackeen
Joanne Brackeen is an American jazz pianist and music educator.-Biography:She was born Joanne Grogan in Ventura, California. She attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, but devoted herself to jazz by imitating Frankie Carle albums...
, Oscar Brown, Jr., Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
, Orbert Davis
Orbert Davis
Orbert Davis is an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.- Biography :Davis was born in Chicago and raised in Momence, Illinois. He began playing trumpet around the age of ten, but was not formally instructed until Charles Danish, an elementary school teacher, found him a trumpet teacher and drove...
, George Freeman
George Freeman (guitarist)
George Freeman is an American jazz guitarist. He was born on Apr 10, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois.By mid-1947, Freeman was a member of a sextet led by Johnny Griffin and Joe Morris and supporting touring musicians such as Lester Young and Charlie Parker...
, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
, Charlie Hunter
Charlie Hunter
for the New Zealand racehorse trainer and driver see: Charlie HunterCharlie Hunter is an American guitarist, composer and bandleader....
, Randy Bachman
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles "Randy" Bachman, OC, OM is a Canadian musician best known as lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member for both the 1960s–70s rock band The Guess Who, and the 1970s rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive...
, Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer is a jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader based in Los Angeles, California. Mintzer is a member of the jazz rock band the Yellowjackets.-With The Yellowjackets:*Greenhouse, 1991;*Live Wires, 1992;...
, Rex Richardson, and Bob Sheppard
Bob Sheppard (musician)
Bob Sheppard is an American jazz saxophone player.Sheppard has been a studio musician on a wide range of studio, film and television projects, and has also recorded his own albums...
.
As of 2010, Elling's band included musical director Laurence Hobgood on piano, John McLean
John McLean
John McLean was an American jurist and politician who served in the United States Congress, as U.S. Postmaster General, and as a justice on the Ohio and U.S...
on guitar, Harish Raghavan on bass, and drummer Ulysses Owens.
Personal life
In 1996, Elling married dancer Jennifer Carney. Their daughter Luiza was born in 2005. In the same year, the Ellings purchased a condominium from Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...
. The Ellings moved to New York in 2008.
Discography
Blue Note Records- Close Your EyesClose Your Eyes (album)The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album four stars, and said "Chicago vocalist Elling pushes the envelope, challenging listeners and his musicians with beat poetry, ranting, and his Mark Murphy-ish singing...
(1995) - The MessengerThe Messenger (Kurt Elling album)The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album four stars, and described it as "one of the most interesting jazz vocal sets to be released in 1997...Elling covers a wide range of music, continually taking chances and coming up with fresh approaches...This rewarding and continually intriguing...
(1997) - This Time it's LoveThis Time it's LoveThe Allmusic review by Tim Sheridan awarded the album four stars, and said Elling "finds a happy medium between romantic rumination and vocal experimentation...
(1998) - Live in ChicagoLive in Chicago (Kurt Elling album)Live in Chicago is a 2000 live album by jazz vocalist Kurt Elling. It was Elling's first live album, recorded over two nights in 1999 at Chicago's Green Mill jazz club. Jazz singer Jon Hendricks appears on several tracks...
(2000) - Flirting with TwilightFlirting with TwilightThe Allmusic review by David R. Adler awarded the album four stars, and described it as "a worthy statement from Elling, who shows yet again that vocal jazz can be more than just easy listening"-Track listing:...
(2001) - Man in the AirMan in the AirMan in the Air is a jazz album by vocalist Kurt Elling, released by Blue Note Records in 2003.-Track listing:#"Minuano " – 7:53#"In the Winelight" – 6:38#"Resolution" – 6:51...
(2003)
Concord Records
- Nightmoves (2007)
- Dedicated to YouDedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and HartmanDedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman is a 2009 live album by Kurt Elling, recorded at the Lincoln Centre's American Songbook series...
(2009) - The GateThe Gate (album)The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album four stars, and described Elling as a "modern jazz visionary". Jurek said "The Gate presents Elling at the top of his game; it is a song cycle that is mesmerizing and mysterious as it is provocative and compelling."-Track listing:# "Matte Kudasai"...
(2011)
Guest appearances
- "Tanganyika Dance" from Bob BeldenBob BeldenJames Robert Belden is an American saxophonist, arranger, composer, bandleader and producer. He is noted for his Grammy Award winning jazz orchestral recording titled The Black Dahlia. He is also a past head of A & R for Blue Note Records.Belden was born in Evanston, Illinois, and raised in...
's album Shades of Blue (1996) - "Desert Way", "Close Your Eyes" from Charlie HunterCharlie Hunterfor the New Zealand racehorse trainer and driver see: Charlie HunterCharlie Hunter is an American guitarist, composer and bandleader....
's album "Songs from the Analog Playground" (2001) - "Sim Ou Nao" from Till BrönnerTill BrönnerTill Brönner is a German jazz musician, trumpet player, singer, composer, arranger and producer. He has a unique jazz approach influenced by bebop and fusion jazz, but also modern pop music, movie soundtracks , country music and even German pop songs...
's album Rio (2008) - "Perdido" from John PizzarelliJohn PizzarelliJohn Paul Pizzarelli, Jr. is an American jazz guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader. He has had a lengthy career as a recording artist, performing for a variety of labels that include Telarc Records, RCA Records and Chesky Records, among others...
's album Rockin' in Rhythm: A Tribute to Duke EllingtonRockin' In Rhythm: A Tribute to Duke EllingtonRockin' In Rhythm: A Tribute to Duke Ellington is a 2010 album by jazz singer and swing jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli, celebrating the music of Duke Ellington.- Track listing :#"In a Mellow Tone" - 4:10#"East St...
(2010) - Elling also contributed vocals to his longtime collaborator Laurence Hobgood's three albums, Left to My Own Devices (2000), Crazy World (2005) and When the Heart Dances (2009)
Awards and nominations
Elling has won the Down BeatDown Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
Critics Poll twelve times, from 2000–2011, and the Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
Readers Poll and the JazzTimes
JazzTimes
JazzTimes is a magazine that dates back to Radio Free Jazz, a publication founded in 1970 by Ira Sabin when he was operating a record store in Washington, DC. It was originally a newsletter designed to update shoppers on the latest jazz releases and provide jazz radio programmers with a means of...
Readers' Poll six times, all in the Male Vocalist of the Year category. He has also received the Jazz Journalists Association
Jazz Journalists Association
The Jazz Journalists Association is an international organization of all types of media professionals who document, promulgate, or appreciate jazz. As of 2011, it has approximately 500 members, primarily in North America but also on other continents...
Male Singer of the Year award seven times. In 2010 he received the Nightlife Award for Outstanding Jazz Vocalist in a Major Engagement.
Grammy Awards
The Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS, is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its...
of the United States. On January 31, 2010, Elling won his first Grammy Award in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Album for the album Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman is a 2009 live album by Kurt Elling, recorded at the Lincoln Centre's American Songbook series...
on the Concord Jazz label.
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|rowspan="1"|1995
|Close Your Eyes
Close Your Eyes (album)
The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album four stars, and said "Chicago vocalist Elling pushes the envelope, challenging listeners and his musicians with beat poetry, ranting, and his Mark Murphy-ish singing...
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance
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|rowspan="1"|1997
|The Messenger
The Messenger (Kurt Elling album)
The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album four stars, and described it as "one of the most interesting jazz vocal sets to be released in 1997...Elling covers a wide range of music, continually taking chances and coming up with fresh approaches...This rewarding and continually intriguing...
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance
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|rowspan="1"|1998
|This Time it's Love
This Time it's Love
The Allmusic review by Tim Sheridan awarded the album four stars, and said Elling "finds a happy medium between romantic rumination and vocal experimentation...
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance
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|rowspan="1"|2000
|Live in Chicago
Live in Chicago (Kurt Elling album)
Live in Chicago is a 2000 live album by jazz vocalist Kurt Elling. It was Elling's first live album, recorded over two nights in 1999 at Chicago's Green Mill jazz club. Jazz singer Jon Hendricks appears on several tracks...
| Best Jazz Vocal Album
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|-
|rowspan="2"|2001
|Flirting with Twilight
Flirting with Twilight
The Allmusic review by David R. Adler awarded the album four stars, and described it as "a worthy statement from Elling, who shows yet again that vocal jazz can be more than just easy listening"-Track listing:...
| Best Jazz Vocal Album
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|-
|"Easy Living"
|Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)
The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
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|rowspan="1"|2003
|Man in the Air
Man in the Air
Man in the Air is a jazz album by vocalist Kurt Elling, released by Blue Note Records in 2003.-Track listing:#"Minuano " – 7:53#"In the Winelight" – 6:38#"Resolution" – 6:51...
| Best Jazz Vocal Album
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|-
|rowspan="1"|2007
|Nightmoves
Nightmoves (album)
Nightmoves is a 2007 jazz album by vocalist Kurt Elling. It was the first Elling album to be released by Concord Records. - Track listing :# "Nightmoves" - 4:23# "Tight" - 2:55...
| Best Jazz Vocal Album
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|-
|rowspan="1"|2009
|Dedicated to You
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman is a 2009 live album by Kurt Elling, recorded at the Lincoln Centre's American Songbook series...
|Best Jazz Vocal Album
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album has been presented since 1977. Until 2001 this award was titled the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance...
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External links
- KurtElling.com - Elling's official website.
- Kurt Elling at Concord Music Group.com
- Kurt Elling at Blue Note Records.com