Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

singer and songwriter. Born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in choirs and played musical instruments. He encountered jazz while a student at

Gustavus Adolphus College Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavus gets its nam ...

in Minnesota. After college, he enrolled in the

University of Chicago Divinity School The University of Chicago Divinity School is a private graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today lacks any s ...

, but he left one credit short of a degree to pursue a career as a jazz vocalist. Elling began to perform around Chicago,

scat singing In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

and improvising his lyrics. He recorded a demo in the early 1990s and was signed by

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

. He has been nominated for ten Grammy Awards, winning Best Vocal Jazz Album for '' Dedicated to You'' (2009) and '' Secrets Are the Best Stories ''(2021). Elling often leads the ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine Critics' Poll. He had a longtime collaboration with pianist Laurence Hobgood, leading a quartet that toured throughout the world.

Early life

Kurt Elling was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 2, 1967, the son of Henry and Martha Elling. His interest in music started with his father, who was

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

at a Lutheran church. See also: 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 Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

and the

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

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 In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

from the

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

s of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

. At

Rockford Lutheran High School Rockford Lutheran High School is a private school in Rockford, Illinois. Established in 1964, Rockford Lutheran High School is associated with 25 area Lutheran Churches. The Lutheran churches have associations with both ELCA and LCMS. Student ...

, in Rockford, Illinois, Elling continued to sing in the choir: "When it was undeniably uncool and geeky and all that, to be the choir, I did it anyway, because it was reliably beautiful, and it was rewarding, and it gave me gifts of experience and friendships." One of these experiences was that of singing the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

with the high school madrigal choir, "Joyful Sounds" under the direction of Joyce Kortze in front of his first large crowd of over 40,000 people. Green Mill Cocktail Lounge

Elling attended

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 became interested in jazz at Gustavus Adolphus while listening to

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

, and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

. After graduating from Gustavus Adolphus in 1989, Elling enrolled in graduate school at the

where he studied for his master's degree in

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning ph ...

. He thought about continuing work in academia or working for the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

when he graduated. He 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). He 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." He remained a graduate student until January 1992, when he left school one credit short of graduation. In Chicago, Elling worked as a bartender and as a mover. He sang at weddings in addition to 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 Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

. The minimalism and emotion of

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

'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 Fred Simon (born Frederick Victor Simon) is an American pianist and composer. Simon first gained recognition with Simon & Bard, the jazz fusion group he founded in Chicago with composer and reed player Michael Bard, drummer Phil Gratteau, and b ...

, the cassette recording was sent to Bill Traut, a manager in Los Angeles, who eventually gave it to

Bruce Lundvall Bruce Lundvall (September 13, 1935 – May 19, 2015) was an American record company executive, best known for his period as the President and CEO of the Blue Note Label Group, reporting directly to Eric Nicoli, the Chief Executive Officer of EMI ...

. In 1995, Elling signed with 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 Freeman Earle Lavon "Von" Freeman Sr. (October 3, 1923 – August 11, 2012) was an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, Freeman as a young child was exposed to jazz. His father, George, a city policeman, was a c ...

on tenor saxophone, Dave Onderdonk on guitar, Laurence Hobgood on piano, Eric Hochberg and Rob Amster on double bass, and

Paul Wertico Paul Wertico (born January 5, 1953 in Chicago, Illinois) 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 int ...

on drums. ''Close Your Eyes'' was followed by '' The Messenger'' (1997). Kurt Elling2

In 2006, Elling performed on the television program '' Legends of Jazz'', in the episode "The Jazz Singers". Elling sang "She's Funny That Way" and performed a duet with

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

on "

Take Five "Take Five" is a jazz standard composed by saxophonist Paul Desmond and originally recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet for their album ''Time Out'' at Columbia Records' 30th Street Studios in New York City on July 1, 1959. Two years later it b ...

". The recording was released on CD and DVD. In August of the same year, Elling signed a contract with

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

, and his first album with the label, ''

Nightmoves ''Nightmoves'' is a 2007 in music, 2007 jazz album by vocalist Kurt Elling. It was the first Elling album to be released by Concord Records. Track listing # "Nightmoves" (Michael Franks (musician), Michael Franks, Michael Small) - 4:23 # "Tig ...

'', 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 ''John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman'' is a studio album by John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman which was released by Impulse! Records in July or August 1963. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013. Background Although it is often repor ...

'', 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 The Chicago Jazz Festival is an admission-free, four-day annual jazz festival in Chicago's Millennium Park. It is run by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and programmed with the assistance of Jazz Institute of Chicago during ...

, 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 (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

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 Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation. Definition Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...

, writing and performing words over improvised jazz solos. In 2007 and 2012,

Circumstantial Productions Circumstantial may refer to: *Circumstantial evidence, in law *Circumstantial thinking, in psychiatry and psychopathology *Circumstantial voice, in linguistics See also * Circumstance (disambiguation) Circumstance or circumstances may refer to ...

published two editions of ''Lyrics: Kurt Elling'', collections of Elling's vocalese lyrics edited by Richard Connolly. In 1999, Elling became a National Trustee for the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous f ...

, and in 2003 he was elected vice-chair and served two terms.

Collaborators

Elling has performed and recorded with

David Amram David Werner Amram III (born November 17, 1930) is an American composer, arranger, and conductor of orchestral, chamber, and choral works, many with jazz flavorings.

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman (; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a num ...

Bob Belden James Robert Belden (October 31, 1956 – May 20, 2015) was an American saxophonist, arranger, composer, bandleader, and producer. As a composer he may be best known for his Grammy Award winning orchestral jazz recording, ''Black Dahlia'' (2001) ...

Joanne Brackeen Joanne Brackeen (born Joanne Grogan; July 26, 1938) is an American jazz pianist and music educator. Music career Brackeen was born in Ventura, California, United States, and attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. She was a fan of pop p ...

Oscar Brown Jr. Oscar Brown Jr. (October 10, 1926May 29, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, civil rights activist, and actor. Aside from his career, Brown ran unsuccessfully for office in both the Illinois state legislature and the U. ...

Jodie Christian Jodie Christian (February 2, 1932 – February 13, 2012)
- accessed February 14, 2012 was an American jazz pianist, n ...

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...

Orbert Davis Orbert C. Davis (born 1960) 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 Danis ...

, George Freeman,

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...

Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, a ...

Bob Mintzer Robert Alan Mintzer (born January 27, 1953) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. Early life Mintzer was born and raised in a Jewish family in New Rochelle, New York, on January 27, 1953. He attended the Inter ...

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quar ...

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started play ...

John Pizzarelli John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. (born April 6, 1960, in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He has recorded over twenty solo albums and has appeared on more than forty albums by other recording artists, including Paul McCa ...

, and

Bob Sheppard Robert Leo Sheppard (October 20, 1910 – July 11, 2010) was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (1951–2007), a ...

. Until November 2013, Elling's band included musical director Laurence Hobgood on piano, John McLean on guitar, Clark Sommers on bass, and drummer

Kendrick Scott Kendrick Scott (born July 8, 1980 in Houston, Texas, United States) is an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. He is the founder of the record label World Culture Music. Biography Kendrick A.D. Scott was born and raised in Houston. ...

. Howard Reich's wrote in his November 6, 2013 column "My kind of Jazz" in the ''Chicago Tribune'', that Elling and Hobgood would be going separate ways. Hobgood linked to that article from his website. Elling's website announced the change on November 12, 2013. The band included a rotating series of pianists until October 2015 when

Gary Versace Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Uni ...

became Kurt Elling's first-call pianist and was added to the Band page on Elling's website. Then in August 2016, Stu Mindeman took over as piano chair and Versace's page was moved to Extended Family. In 2016 he was a member of

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...

's quartet. He toured with the band and performed on the album ''Upward Spiral'', which was nominated for a Grammy Award. Marsalis co-produced Elling's album ''

The Questions The Questions were a Scottish pop band, active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. History They formed in the summer of 1977 at St. Augustine's High School in Edinburgh, and performed their first gig in December of that year at St. Margar ...

'' and performed on three songs.

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 Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

Hyde Park, Chicago Hyde Park is the 41st of the 77 community areas of Chicago. It is located on the South Side, near the shore of Lake Michigan south of the Loop. Hyde Park's official boundaries are 51st Street/Hyde Park Boulevard on the north, the Midway Pla ...

. The Ellings moved to New York in 2008.

Discography

Kurt Elling at the North Sea Jazz Festival 2015 (cropped)

As leader

* ''Coming of Age'' (Self Adhesive Records, 1991) * '' Close Your Eyes'' (

, 1995) * '' The Messenger'' (Blue Note, 1997) * '' This Time It's Love'' (Blue Note, 1998) * ''

Live in Chicago Live in Chicago may refer to: Albums *Live! in Chicago (Kenny Wayne Shepherd album) * ''Live in Chicago'' (The Apples in Stereo album), a live album by The Apples in Stereo *''Live in Chicago, 1999'', an album by Joan of Arc *''Live in Chicago'', b ...

'' (Blue Note, 2000) * '' Flirting with Twilight'' (Blue Note, 2001) * ''

Man in the Air ''Man in the Air'' is the sixth album by jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, recorded and released in 2003 by Blue Note Records. Musicians and music As for all the previous albums Elling is accompanied by a piano trio led by his musical partner Laurence ...

'' (Blue Note, 2003) * ''

'' (

, 2007) * '' Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman'' (Concord, 2009) * '' The Gate'' (Concord, 2011) * '' 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project'' (Concord, 2012) * ''Passion World'' (Concord, 2015) * ''The Beautiful Day: Kurt Elling Sings Christmas'' (

Okeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

, 2016) * ''

'' (Okeh, 2018) * ''Secrets Are the Best Stories'' (

Edition Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Recor ...

, 2020) * ''SuperBlue'' (

, 2021)

As guest

With Laurence Hobgood * ''Left to My Own Devices'' (2000) * ''Crazy World'' (Naim, 2005) * ''When the Heart Dances'' (Naim, 2009) With

* ''Live at MCG'' (2004) * ''Old School, New Lessons'' (2006) * ''Swing Out'' (2008) With others *

– ''Shades of Blue'' (Blue Note, 1996) *

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...

– ''Swing'' (Atlantic, 1997) *

Yellowjackets A yellowjacket is a black-and-yellow vespid wasp. Yellowjacket(s) or Yellow Jacket(s) may also refer to: Places * Yellow Jacket, Colorado, an unincorporated town * Yellow Jacket, Florida, an unincorporated area in Dixie County, Florida Arts, e ...

– ''

Club Nocturne ''Club Nocturne'' (1998) is the 13th studio album (14th overall) from the jazz group Yellowjackets, and their sixth and final release for the Warner Bros. label. The album was nominated for "Best Contemporary Jazz Album" Grammy Award. The album ...

'' (1998) *

– ''

Pink Elephant Magic ''Pink Elephant Magic'' is an album by American pianist Joanne Brackeen recorded in 1998 and released on the Arkadia Jazz label.Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, a ...

– ''Songs from the Analog Playground'' (2001) * George Freeman – ''At Long Last George'' (2001) * Jackie Allen – ''The Men in My Life'' (2003) * Jon Weber – ''Simple Complex'' (2004) *

Fred Hersch Fred Hersch (born October 21, 1955) is an American jazz pianist, educator and HIV/AIDS activist. He was the first person to play weeklong engagements as a solo pianist at the Village Vanguard in New York City. He has recorded more than 70 of his ...

– ''Leaves of Grass'' (2005) *

Till Brönner Till Brönner (born 6 May 1971 in Viersen, West Germany) is a jazz musician, trumpeter, flügelhorn player, singer, composer, producer and photographer. History From 1989–1991, Brönner was a member of the Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combinati ...

– ''Rio'' (2008) *

– '' Rockin' in Rhythm: A Tribute to Duke Ellington'' (2010) * The Claudia Quintet – ''What Is the Beautiful?'' (Cuneiform, 2011) *

– ''Rhythm Sessions'' (Concord, 2012) *

Kate McGarry Katherine Genevieve McGarry, known professionally as Kate McGarry, is a jazz vocalist. Career McGarry grew up in an Irish-American family with nine siblings in Hyannis, Massachusetts. She attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, graduat ...

– ''Girl Talk'' (2012) *

Aki Yashiro , real name Akiyo Masuda (増田明代 ''Masuda Akiyo'') (born Akiyo Hashimoto (橋本明代 ''Hashimoto Akiyo'') on August 29, 1950), is a Japanese enka singer and painter. Her stage name "Yashiro" is adopted from her hometown, "Yatsushiro" (� ...

– ''Live in New York'' (2013) * Renee Fleming – ''Christmas in New York'' (2014) *

Harold Mabern Harold Mabern Jr. (March 20, 1936 – September 17, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer, principally in the hard bop, post-bop, and soul jazz fields.Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. p. 42 ...

– ''

Afro Blue "Afro Blue" is a jazz standard composed by Mongo Santamaría. Santamaria version Mongo Santamaria recorded his composition "Afro Blue" in 1959 when playing with the Cal Tjader Sextet. The first recorded performance was on April 20, 1959, at th ...

'' (Smoke Sessions, 2015) *

– ''

Upward Spiral Upward Spiral is a term used by Paul Kennedy in his book ''The Rise and Fall of Great Powers'' to describe the continually rising cost of military equipment relative to civilian manufactured goods. According to Kennedy there is an upward spiral at ...

'' (Marsalis Music/Okeh, 2016) *

– ''

Finding Gabriel ''Finding Gabriel'' is an album by Brad Mehldau. It was recorded over an 18-month period in 2017–18 and was released by Nonesuch Records in 2019. It won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Background Mehldau wrote that "''Fi ...

'' (Nonesuch, 2019)

Awards and nominations

Elling has won the ''

'' Critics Poll thirteen times, from 2000–2012, and the

Readers Poll seven times and the ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

'' Readers' Poll eight times, all in the Male Vocalist of the Year category. He has also received the

Jazz Journalists Association The Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) is an international organization of all types of media professionals who document, promulgate, or appreciate jazz. As of 2016, it has approximately 250 members, including professional journalists, students, ind ...

Male Singer of the Year award eight times. In 2010 he was awarded the Edison/Jazz World award for '' The Gate''. The Edison is the Dutch equivalent of a Grammy. In 2012 he was honored as the first Jazz Ambassador at the Silesian Jazz Festival in Poland, and he also won the German

Echo Jazz The Echo Jazz (stylized as ECHO JAZZ) was a German music prize, an Echo Music Prize for personalities and production of jazz. It was awarded annually by the between 2010 and 2018. The awards had been given in 30 categories, including ensemble of t ...

award and the Scottish Jazz Award – International category. In 2013 he was named International Jazz Artist of the Year in the Jazz FM Awards (UK).

Grammy Awards

The

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s are awarded annually by the

of the United States. On January 31, 2010, Elling won his first Grammy Award in the category of

Best Jazz Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz ...

for the album '' Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman'' on the Concord Jazz label. , - , , 1995 , '' Close Your Eyes'' , Best Jazz Vocal Performance , , - , , 1997 , '' The Messenger'' , Best Jazz Vocal Performance , , - , , 1998 , '' This Time it's Love'' , Best Jazz Vocal Performance , , - , , 2000 , ''

'' , Best Jazz Vocal Album , , - , rowspan="2", 2001 , '' Flirting with Twilight'' , Best Jazz Vocal Album , , - , "Easy Living" , Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist , , - , , 2003 , ''

'' , Best Jazz Vocal Album , , - , , 2007 , ''

'' , Best Jazz Vocal Album , , - , , 2009 , '' Dedicated to You'' ,

, , - , , 2012 , '' The Gate'' , Best Jazz Vocal Album , , - , , 2013 , '' 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project'' , Best Jazz Vocal Album , , - , 2016 , ''Upward Spiral'' , Best Jazz Vocal Album , , - , 2021 , ''Secrets are the Best Stories'' (featuring

Danilo Pérez Danilo Pérez (born December 29, 1965) is a Panamanian pianist, composer, educator, and a social activist. His music is a blend of Panamanian roots with elements of Latin American folk music, jazz, European impressionism, African, and other music ...

) , Best Jazz Vocal Album , , - , 2022 , ''SuperBlue'' , Best Jazz Vocal Album ,

Publications

* *

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elling, Kurt 1967 births American jazz singers Gustavus Adolphus College alumni Living people Okeh Records artists Concord Records artists Blue Note Records artists Grammy Award winners Vocalese singers Singers from Chicago Musicians from Rockford, Illinois American baritones University of Chicago Divinity School alumni Jazz musicians from Illinois American male jazz musicians Edition Records artists

Early life

Career

Collaborators

Personal life

Discography

As leader

As guest

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

Publications

References

Further reading

External links