Live from Los Angeles, California
YouTube Playlist: Lucid Listening
LUCID LISTENING: SOLO SINGERS KURT ELLING PDF DOWNLOAD
The LUCID LISTENING: SOLO SINGERS KURT ELLING PDF DOWNLOAD is designed to be used in conjunction with the video. Please download and feel free to use it yourself, in your class, your ensemble or share it! (Most versions of the Lucid Listening downloads are a little different to accommodate each different video.)
KURT ELLING
The New York Times has named Kurt Elling, “the standout male jazz vocalist of our time.”
A GRAMMY winner and 12-time GRAMMY nominee, Kurt Elling has been awarded two German Echo Awards, two Prix Billie Holiday from the Academie du Jazz in Paris, the Dutch Edison and the Edison Oeuvreprijs. He has been named Jazz Ambassador by the nation of Poland. Within the United States, Kurt Elling was named “Male Singer of the Year” by the DownBeat Critics Poll for fourteen consecutive years and by The Jazz Journalists Association on eight occasions. The Washington Post confirmed the acclaim declaring, ”Since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling. With his soaring vocal flights, his edgy lyrics and sense of being on a musical mission, he has come to embody the creative spirit in jazz.”
Kurt Elling’s rich baritone spans four octaves and features both technical mastery and emotional depth. A close protege of the late master-singers Jon Hendricks and Mark Murphy, Elling has collaborated with many of the finest instrumentalists in the jazz world, including the pianists Kenny Barron, Joey Calderazzo, Bill Charlap, Fred Hersch, Harold Mabern and Brad Mehldau. Elling has also worked in deep creative partnership with saxophonists Branford Marsalis, Bob Mintzer, Tommy Smith, Ernie Watts and the late Von Freeman. He performed twice at The White House for President Barack Obama, and is a former Vice-Chairman of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ Board of Trustees.
Kurt Elling’s repertoire includes original compositions and modern interpretations of standards, all of which are springboards for inspired improvisation, scatting, spoken word, and poetry. As a lyricist, Elling incorporates images and references from writers such as Rilke, Rumi, Neruda and Proust into his work. The late poet Robert Creeley wrote, “Kurt Elling takes us into a world of sacred particulars. His words are informed by a powerful poetic spirit.” U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, concurred, writing that, ”In Kurt Elling’s art, the voice of jazz gives a new spiritual presence to the ancient, sweet and powerful bond between poetry and music.” Jon Hendricks, the greatest of all jazz lyricists, said simply, “He is my son.”
A new recording from Kurt Elling entitled THE QUESTIONS (Okeh / Sony Masterworks) was released in March of 2018. NYTimes Critic Nate Chinen noted the appropriate nature of the title, writing, “For as long as we’ve known Kurt Elling, he has been among our most inquisitive jazz vocalists. He’s bringing that impulse front and center on his probing new album… THE QUESTIONS is Elling’s response to the conflict and uncertainty of our present age.” Co- produced by Branford Marsalis, the recording features performances from special guests Marsalis, Joey Calderazzo, Marquis Hill and Jeff ‘Tain” Watts.
_______________________________________________
LINKS
KURT ELLING
KURT ELLING CD: FLIRTING WITH TWILIGHT
(Features Moonlight Serenade)
