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Kurt Elling
Elling may be the greatest male Jazz singer of all time. ~ Jazz Review
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June 2012: Summer's Here & The Best Is Yet to Come
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Summer's here
and Kurt's flying 'round the world
Kurt Elling's summer plans feature fabulous jazz, fantastic musicians to play with, and flights of musical fancy on four continents.
Later this month, Kurt joins the Bob Mintzer Big Band, with special guest Chico Pinheiro, at the Blue Note Tokyo for eight shows over four nights. Kurt has performed and recorded with the Bob Minzter Big Band a number of times, and Bob played on Kurt's albums, The Gate and Nightmoves.
Bob's latest Big Band album, For the Moment, featuring Brazilian music, will be released June 19 on MCG Jazz.
Then in July it's something completely different when Kurt, guitarist Charlie Hunter, and drummer Derrek Phillips hit the road for 15 shows in Spain, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Croatia, and Scotland. Seven of those gigs are in Italy, and Kurt also presents a master class on July 21. Details in JUNE-JULY Gigs below.
Kurt says, "Charlie, Derrek and I are going to be tackling and re-grooving a grab bag of R&B classics (Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway), Scofield-oriented stuff, long-ago Leadbelly blues, some old pop catalog and stuff we vaguely remember from high school (Cheap Trick, Journey) Our plan is to sweat, groove and laugh a lot."
At the end of July, Kurt performs at the New Mexico Jazz Festival in a very special program with Jon Hendricks. Jon will be 91 years young in September, and he's still singin' and swingin'. Watch Jon, Kurt, and Al Jarreau perform a rollicking version of Roll 'Em Pete at the 2011 North Sea Jazz Festival.
In August the Kurt Elling Quintet will be at the Newport Jazz Festival where Kurt will also perform with John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet + 1. Then it's back to Europe for two festivals. The Quintet finishes the month with Kurt's first ever trip to South Africa, performing three shows in Johannesburg.
Kurt hopes to see you somewhere in the world this summer! For now, watch his invitation to Come Fly With Me.
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Kurt Elling, International Male Singer of the Year2012 ECHO Jazz Prize
Germany
 Kurt received the 2012 ECHO Jazz Prize as International Male Singer of the Year for The Gate at the ECHO Jazz 2012 Ceremony and Concert in Dresden, Germany on June 3. He also performed a smokin' version of Steppin' Out with the Tingvall Trio, winners of two ECHO Jazz awards as National Ensemble of the Year and Live Act of the Year.
Kurt remarked, "I am excited about winning an ECHO Award. It is very gratifying to know our music is being heard and having an impact around the world. I hope we can build on the visibility that comes with such a win and spend much more time performing in Germany for the great audiences there."
The ECHO Jazz Prize is the German equivalent of the Grammy.
Christian Elsässer, the ECHO Jazz National Instrumentalist of the Year - Piano/Keyboards, also performed at the ECHO Jazz 2012 Ceremony & Concert. Christian was also a participant in the Metropole Orkest's Arrangers Workshop. Watch Kurt perform Christian's magnificent arrangement of Paul Simon's "An American Tune" with the Metropole Orkest last March. Congratulations to all the winners!
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Kurt Elling
2012 Jazz Ambassador
7th Silesian Jazz Festival
Katowice, Poland The Silesian Jazz Festival award committee, composed of representatives of the artistic community, honored Kurt Elling as the Silesian Jazz Festival's 2012 Ambassador of Jazz:
for creative exploration and setting new standards in the world music scene.
His moving jazz interpretations enriched by his poetic lyrics, captivate the hearts of music lovers around the world.
This was the seventh year of the Silesian Jazz Festival, produced by the Institute of Jazz, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, and held in the Krystyna Bochenek Katowice Cultural Centre, Katowice, Poland. The purpose of the Festival is music education, with concerts and workshops by eminent jazz musicians.
The Kurt Elling Quintet performed at the Festival on May 20, 2012, and Kurt also presented a master class.
The Jazz Ambassador statuette will be awarded in subsequent years of the Silesian Jazz Festival.
Many congratulations, Kurt!
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May's Memorable Morsels
Last month the Kurt Elling Quintet played dates all across Europe, and Kurt also performed with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.
Here are some delectable treats from two of those dates.
Scottish National Jazz Orchestra
Featuring Kurt Elling Directed by Tommy Smith
31st Festival Jazz sous les pommiers
Coutances, France
16 May 2012
Watch the SNJO and Kurt perform Resolution.
Music by John Coltrane, lyric by Kurt Elling Arrangement by Bob Mintzer
Solos by Alyn Cosker & Tommy Smith
Check out these photographs and video clips of April in Paris and I Can't Give You Anything But Love (01:16)
Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Maison des Cultures du Monde
Théâtre de l'Alliance Française
Paris, France
29 May 2012
Watch their extended and very swinging version of Golden Lady with the Kurt Elling Quintet, featuring John McLean on guitar and Quincy Davis on drums.
And from Kurt's forthcoming album featuring songs from the Brill Building, check out I Only Have Eyes For You.
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16th Annual Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards
June 20, 2012 at the Blue Note in New York City
The Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) presents its annual awards in forty categories in 2012, and once again Kurt has been nominated for Male Singer of the Year!
Kurt received the JJA top honor in 2011, his seventh win since 2000. Other 2012 nominees in this category are Freddy Cole, Giacomo Gates, and Gregory Porter.
All nominees and winners are selected by the Professional Journalist Members of the JJA.
The Jazz Awards party in New York City is a fundraiser for the JJA, the 24-year-old non-profit professional organization of writers, photographers, broadcasters, new media producers and journalistic supporters interested in jazz coverage in print, over-the-airways and/or online. JJA Industry Associate members are musicians and educators or work in the music, music promotion and publishing industries or allied fields.
This year there will be satellite parties in Atlanta, GA; Auckland, NZ; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Gainesville, FL; Los Angeles, CA; Ottawa, Canada; Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; Schenectady, NY; Tallahassee, FL; and Tucson, AZ.
At the Chicago satellite party, trumpeter Orbert Davis will be honored as Chicago's 2012 JJA Jazz Hero.
On November 4, 2011, Orbert interviewed his long-time friend Kurt Elling on his radio program, The Real Deal. Listen to their great conversation here.
Orbert also played on Kurt's 1997 album, The Messenger. Congratulations, Orbert!
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The Best Is Yet To Come!
The Breeder's Cup, one of the major thoroughbred horse races, celebrates its 29th year November 2-3 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA. It's considered the fourth major, after the Triple Crown.
The Breeders' Cup new ad campaign features a sixty-second TV spot with the voice of Kurt singing The Best Is Yet to Come!
The spot includes snippets of horses, riders, the race itself and the racetrack high life, with actors, celebrities, and notables who are ebullient about the event. Testimonials by the likes of actor Kurt Russell are thrown in for good measure.
Check it out here.
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Grammy nominated!
The Gate
Kurt Elling with Laurence Hobgood, and featuring John Patitucci, John McLean, Bob Mintzer, Terreon Gully, Kobie Watkins, and Lenny Castro. Produced by Don Was. A great gift for dads, grads, & jazz lovers everywhere!
Watch the behind-the-scenes
video and listen to Don Was
talk about The Gate, Kurt, and the band.
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 Short Takes
Who knew the US Postal Service was so cool? They're bringing us the Miles Davis Forever stamp on June 12, 2012!  In Kurt's lyric for Keith Jarrett's Late Night Willie, he sings, "Unless you're Miles Davis there's always some brother--some mother smoother than you!"Watch Kurt perform Late Night Willie with the Metropole Orkest. The arrangement is by Daniel Jamieson. The Édith Piaf Forever stamp goes on sale on June 12, too. And last year the USPS issued the Jazz Forever stamp. Now that's hip!
Did you catch a glimpse of Kurt's cool new patches in the Golden Lady video? 
Kurt explains for the curious, "These are designs I copped in New Zealand that are directly inspired by tattoo art, and I had my tailor apply them in NY. Suits can be so boring." Jazz writer Will Friedwald tweeted: "I haven't seen MEN IN BLACK 3 yet, but has anybody else noticed that Josh Brolin is a total dead ringer for KURT ELLING? True, true!" 
What say you? Yay or nay?
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| JUNE-JULY Gigs |
June 20-23, 2012EIGHT SHOWS - 2 each night!Bob Mintzer Big Band with special guest Kurt Elling Blue Note Tokyo6-3-16 Minami-aoyama Raika Bldg Minamiaoyama, Minato-ku July 6, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter 32º Festival Internacional de la Guitarra de CórdobaGran Teatro de Córdoba Avenida del Gran Capitán, nº 3 Córdoba, SPAIN July 7, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Ahoy - Hudson Stage North Sea Jazz FestivalRotterdam, THE NETHERLANDS July 9, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Prague PromsZofin Garden Palac Zofin Slovanský ostrov Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC July 10, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Christian's Kirke KirkehaveStrandgade 1 Copenhagen, DENMARK July 11, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Tones on the Stones FestivalAntica Rocca di Arona Arona, ITALY July 13, 2012Dr. John Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Jazzopen StuttgartOpen Air Bühne am Mercedes-Benz Museum Stuttgart, GERMANY July 14, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Avantgarde Jazz FestivalRovinj, CROATIA July 15, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Musicamdo Jazz Chiostro San DomenicoCamerino, ITALY July 17, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Villa Celimontana Jazz Festival Villa Celimontana Celio Hill Rome, ITALY July 18, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Arena dello Stretto Lungomare di Calabria, ITALY July 19, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Taormina Jazz Festival - FREE!Public Gardens (Villa Comunale) Via Bagnoli Croce Taormina, ITALY July 20, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Castellammare Jazz FestivalPiazza Castello Castellammare del Golfo, ITALY July 21, 2012Kurt Elling Master Class Castellammare Jazz Festival & WorkshopsPiazza Castello Castellammare del Golfo, ITALY July 22, 2012Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Montalcino Jazz & Wine Festival cortile del Castello Banfi Montalcino, ITALY July 23-24, 2012TWO SHOWSKurt Elling & Charlie Hunter Trio Salon Elegance Edinburgh Jazz & Blues FestivalGeorge Square Edinburgh, SCOTLAND July 28, 2012Kurt Elling and Jon Hendricks New Mexico Jazz FestivalLensic Performing Arts Center 211 W. San Francisco Street Santa Fe, NM July 29, 2012Kurt Elling Quintet New Mexico Jazz FestivalOutpost Performance Space 210 Yale SE Albuquerque, NM
Coming up!
In August Kurt and the Quintet are at Mt. Gretna, PA and then at the Newport Jazz Festival. Kurt also performs at Newport with John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet + 1. Next he does dates at Jazz in Marciac with the Barcelona Jazz Orchestra and at the Olso Jazz Festival with the Kaba Orchestra. Finally, Kurt's off to South Africa for three shows on his first visit there, where he'll be joined by his band.
In September, Kurt's new album for Concord will be released in the United States, with Europe coming a bit later. Stay tuned for much more news!
Kurt's upcoming gigs in 2012 and 2013 are on the Touring page on his website. That's where you'll always find the most current information. Check there often, as new dates are always being added.
To bring the KEQ to a stage near you Kurt and Laurence are on the road about 200 nights a year. They only perform where they've been invited (by people who write checks!) and they don't get to set their own itinerary. To hear Kurt and the band play in your city, region, or country, please ask your favorite jazz clubs or festivals to book them through Kurt's new booking agency, IMN (International Music Network). Thank you! |
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Your Moment of Elling . . .
Jazz singers have traditionally been
ambassadors
of a sort for the music.
It's one thing for Charlie Parker
to play a difficult passage of music.
But it's another thing entirely for someone with a voice
to sing exactly that same passage.
I think it's part of the pleasure of being a singer.
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