Kurt Elling
Renowned for his singular combination of robust swing and poetic insight, two-time GRAMMY winner Kurt Elling has secured his place among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists. The New York Times proclaimed Elling, “the standout male vocalist of our time”. Over a twenty-five year career of touring and recording, Elling has won three Prix du Jazz Vocal (France), two German Echo Awards, two Dutch Edison Awards, and has been nominated for a GRAMMY award fifteentimes. He has had a 14-year run atop the DownBeat Critics and Readers polls, and has won twelve Jazz Journalists Awards for “Male Vocalist of the Year”.
Kurt Elling’s voice is instantly recognizable, embracing listeners with his warm, rich baritone and navigating the full span of his four-octave range as a virtuoso improvisor and a compelling storyteller. The Guardian (UK) has named Kurt Elling, “a kind of Sinatra with superpowers,” and, “one of jazz’s all-time great vocalists.”
Elling has recorded and toured with Branford Marsalis, Danilo Perez, Stefon Harris, Fred Hersch, James Morrison, and Charlie Hunter. He has performed extensively with larger ensembles like The Clayton/Hamilton Orchestra, The National Youth Orchestra (led by SeanJones), The Bob Mintzer Big Band, The BBC Concert Symphony (led by Guy Barker) TheMetropole Orchestra (Holland), The Irish Radio and Television Orchestra (led by Brian Byrne),The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, and The WDR Orchestra and Big Band (Germany).
The Wall Street Journal said, “Elling combines authenticity with stunning originality.” The Washington Post declared that, “since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling.”
Elling’s dynamism is enhanced exponentially by the fact that he consistently generates new vocal material by writing and recording signature and definitive lyrics to the compositions of foundational jazz composers like of John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius,Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul. Additionally, Kurt Elling has co-created multi-disciplinary performances for Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater and The City of Chicago. Jazz At LincolnCenter saw the world premier of The Big Blind, an entirely new jazz musical-in-progress Elling isco-writing with collaborator Phil Galdston (“Save The Best For Last”). National Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky declared that, “In Kurt Elling’s art, the voice of jazz gives new spiritual presence to the ancient, sweet and powerful bond between poetry and music.”
Elling has toured the world in a variety of contexts, including UNESCO-sponsored “International Jazz Day” performances in Havana, Cuba, in St. Petersburg, Russia, in Melbourne, Australia and in Washington DC. He has twice performed at the White House, including a performance in collaboration with the late Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony Orchestra for President Obama’s first State Dinner. He has served as Artist-In-Residence at the Monterey and Singapore Jazz Festivals. As a music industry leader, Elling spent six years serving as a Trustee and two years as Vice Chairman of The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
After scoring his second GRAMMY Award (and 14th nomination) in March 2021, the protean vocalist Kurt Elling hangs an unexpected left turn with SuperBlue for Edition Records. It’s a torrent of roisterous funk, indelible beats and all-too-current lyrics that boasts the talents of producer-guitarist Charlie Hunter and two stars of the hip-hop generation: drummer Corey Fonville and bassist-keyboardist DJ Harrison (both of the genre-hopping band Butcher Brown). Elling has always been a master of grooves, ranging from bebop to pure pop and progressive jazz to neo-soul, but he’s never filled an album with grooves quite like these.
Kurt Elling is finalizing a new SuperBlue album to be released in the Summer of 2023.
After scoring his second GRAMMY Award (and 14th nomination) in March 2021, the protean vocalist Kurt Elling hangs an unexpected left turn with SuperBlue for Edition Records. It’s a torrent of roisterous funk, indelible beats and all-too-current lyrics that boasts the talents of producer-guitarist Charlie Hunter and two stars of the hip-hop generation: drummer Corey Fonville and bassist-keyboardist DJ Harrison (both of the genre-hopping band Butcher Brown). Elling has always been a master of grooves, ranging from bebop to pure pop and progressive jazz to neo-soul, but he’s never filled an album with grooves quite like these.
Kurt Elling is finalizing a new SuperBlue album to be released in the Summer of 2023.
SuperBlue - 2021
Secrets Are the Best Stories - 2020
The Questions - 2018
The Beautiful Day: Kurt Elling Sings Christmas - 2016
Passion World - 2015
1619 Broadway: The Brill Building Project - 2012
The Gate - 2011
Dedicated to You - 2009
Nightmoves - 2007
Man in the Air - 2003
Flirting with Twilight - 2001
Live in Chicago – Out Takes - 2000
Live in Chicago - 2000
This Time It’s Love - 1998
The Messenger - 1997
Close Your Eyes - 1995
"Fourteen albums later, he is conjuring new dreams [and] reaching new audiences." - DOWNBEAT
"When you put on this album - from note one - you are enraptured all throughout your body." - WBGO
"Thrilling" - THE FINANCIAL TIMES
"This is Elling as you've never heard him before." - JAZZTIMES
"An ebullient and creative production that further underlines Elling's dynamic and endlessly adaptable vocal skills, regardless of genre." - ALL MUSIC
"Elling sounds inspired throughout, both by the material and by the opportunity to defy expectations." - NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
"One of the greatest male jazz vocalists of his time... the music pulsates with an energetic fusion of jazz, funk and R&B rhythms." - TIDAL
2024:
Kurt Elling & Danilo Pérez Duo:
Kurt Elling - voc
Danilo Pérez - piano
2023:
KURT ELLING " SUPERBLUE" featuring Charlie Hunter
Kurt Elling - vocals
Charlie Hunter - guitar
Bass & drums TBC