Kurt Elling

One of the few male jazz singers from around the baby boom generation, Kurt Elling is an anomaly simply by profession. Given the depth and broad vision of his recordings and performance style, Elling is in a league of his own. Planning a career in the academic world, he discovered jazz and took to it naturally. Deeply influenced by singer and poet Mark Murphy, Elling began to develop his idiosyncratic scat style in the smaller clubs of Chicago (primarily at The Green Mill, sharing the stage with legends Von Freeman and Ed Peterson) and then throughout the Midwest. An Elling show can contain ranting beat poetry, dramatic and poignant readings of Rilke, and hard-swinging scat.

After sending a demo to Blue Note, Elling signed to the label and issued Close Your Eyes in 1995. He began to get attention from the jazz press, not only for his talent and original style, but also for his choice in sidemen, who included Laurence Hobgood and Paul Wertico for a time. His ultra-hip persona prevailed on 1996’s Messenger, which was tougher and leaner than its predecessor, and along with hard touring and a taste for the theatrical and outrageous, Elling won over not only critics but jazz audiences from coast to coast. Elling was married that same year and chose, depending on your point of view, either to revise his hipster image or broaden his traditional base with a collection of standard ballads and love songs entitled This Time It’s Love. The album won numerous awards in magazines and was nominated for a Grammy.

Endless touring and guest appearances resulted in Blue Note issuing Live in Chicago from three sets at The Green Mill, and 2001 resulted in Flirting with Twilight, his most ambitious and satisfying recording — he opened the disc by singing a Charlie Haden bass solo. Man in the Air and Nightmoves followed in 2003 and 2007, respectively. In 2009, as part of Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Series of concerts, Elling released the live album Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman. Elling guested on Hobgood’s 2010 and 2011 offerings When the Heart Dances and Left to My Own Devices, respectively.

He also re-emerged with his own album, The Gate, in 2011. The set was produced by Grammy-winner Don Was. Easily his most provocative offering, it featured a few modern jazz standards juxtaposed against a slew of pop, rock, and soul tunes that were radically rearranged and performed by an all-star band that included Hobgood, John Pattitucci, and Bob Mintzer, to mention a few. ~ Thom Jurek