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Kurt Elling
The most influential jazz vocalist of our time ~ JazzTimes
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February 2013: For the Love of Jazz
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Back to land and on the road again!
After a fantastic time on the Jazz Cruise last week, Kurt and the band returned to port in Florida over the weekend. Meanwhile, drummer Kendrick Scott just returned from touring Japan with his own band.
Now the Kurt Elling Quintet hits the road (and the skies) again this week, playing 21 shows in the United States in February. In March, they perform 10 shows in Europe, Turkey and Russia, followed by 4 more again in the US.
See all their upcoming dates in February-March Gigs below and come out for great nights of cool jazz!
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The 55th Annual Grammy Awards
And the envelope, please . . .Once again, Kurt has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Vocal Jazz Album! Congratulations to all of this year's vocal jazz nominees:  Soul Shadows Denise Donatelli
Savant Records
1619 Broadway: The Brill Building Project Kurt Elling
Concord Jazz
Live Al Jarreau (and the Metropole Orkest)
Concord
The Book of Chet Luciana Souza
Sunnyside Records
Radio Music Society Esperanza Spalding
Heads Up International
Every one of Kurt's ten albums has been Grammy nominated, a streak unequalled in Grammy history. Kurt and Laurence also received two Grammy nominations earlier for arranging.
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings Coltrane and Hartman won the Grammy for Best Vocal Jazz Album in 2010.
The Jazz Awards will be announced during the Pre-Telecast on Sunday, February 10, from 1:00-3:30 pm PST. Kurt will not be present this year, as he is performing that night in Phoenix. The Pre-Telecast includes Grammy awards in all the categories not included in the CBS broadcast Sunday night. It will be live streamed internationally on the Grammy website at grammy.com/live.The Pre-Telecast will also be available as video on demand for 30 days following the awards. For more about this year's Jazz field Grammy nominees, click here. Later Sunday evening, Grammy-winner LL Cool J hosts the CBS broadcast of Music's Biggest Night from 8:00-11:30 PT/ET (7:00 CT). The broadcast features gala entertainment and the various pop music awards, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year. The Recording Academy also offers music fans 12 tips guaranteed to enhance your Grammy experience. Check 'em out here. And be sure to tune in to the Pre-Telecast live stream for all the Jazz Awards! | |
At the first-ever Jazz FM Awards ceremony in London on Thursday, January 31, Kurt Elling was named International Jazz Artist of the Year for 2013!
Other nominees for the international honor were Sonny Rollins and Brad Mehldau.
The Jazz FM Awards also honored fellow Chicagoan Ramsey Lewis, who received the Gold Award for Outstanding Contribution to Jazz, and Ahmad Jamal, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Richard Wheatly, chief executive of Jazz FM said, "We are delighted to announce the Jazz FM Awards, and are thrilled that Klipsch is sponsoring them. The awards celebrate everything that is great about jazz - past, present and future - something we are hugely positive about. This annual event will help bring the music to a new audience and will create a focal point for the jazz community."
Ahmad Jamal brought the inaugural Jazz FM Awards to an exultant close at the former church, One Marylebone, in central London with a brief set featuring "Blue Moon," on which he was joined by singer Jamie Cullum.
Hosted by singer Ian Shaw who also performed, the Awards evening included music by The London Youth Gospel Choir, Cerys Matthews, Ramsey Lewis, Carleen Anderson, Nathaniel Facey, Ahmad Jamal and Jamie Cullum. Presenters included Jazz FM's Helen Mayhew and David Freeman, Courtney Pine CBE, and Suggs of the band Madness. Kurt was performing on the Jazz Cruise and so couldn't attend the Awards gala in person, but he did record a short video acceptance speech which you can watch here. Jazz FM is the most listened to jazz station in the world. The new Jazz FM Awards have received widespread support from both inside the jazz community and from farther afield, since the BBC discontinued their annual awards.
The full list of winners is here. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees, and especially to Kurt! To see Kurt's impressive list of Awards & Recognitions, click here.
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 This was the second year for Kurt and the band on the Jazz Cruise, the annual week-long floating jazz festival that sails from Fort Lauderdale through the Caribbean and back.
They were joined by 43 other jazz acts performing multiple times on different stages for the 1800 or so jazz fans who sailed with them. Aboard Holland America's m/w Westerdam and its eleven decks, it's all jazz/all the time, with enthusiastic and knowledgeable audiences of fans and fellow jazz artists. Kurt says that one of the best parts is the hang with other players he doesn't get to see or hear when he's on tour. One of this year's passengers was kay_leen (or Kay Rogers Henderson in the real world) who has been a fan of Kurt's for over 15 years, seeing him on Wednesdays at the Green Mill many times. She has seen him perform with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, at Chicago's Symphony Center and even remembers catching him at a street fair where he preceded Louis Bellson in 2000. More recently Kay celebrated her 60th birthday by catching Kurt in a variety of new places including Newport, Lincoln Center and now the 2013 Jazz Cruise. She wrote a fabulous account of Kurt's shows on the cruise for the Forum on Kurt's website which you can read here. JazzTimes Editor-in-Chief Lee Mergner was also on board again this year, and we look forward to more articles and photos from the Jazz Cruise to bring to you in next month's newsletter.
And if you're interesting in taking the Jazz Cruise yourself, make your reservations now for 2014, as 60% of this year's passengers will probably rebook. Cabins go on sale February 5.
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1619 Broadway - The Brill Building Project
Kurt Elling with Laurence Hobgood, and featuring John McLean, Clark Sommers, Kendrick Scott, Christian McBride, Ernie Watts, Joel Frahm, Tom Luer, and Kye Palmer Watch Kurt's new video and share it with your friends!  | |
Kurt Elling | 1619 Broadway: The Brill Building Project
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 Short Takes
Laurence Hobgood is featured
in the February 2013 issue of DownBeat. Jon Ross's Players profile, Laurence Hobgood: Stepping Out, is here.
There are eleven now, some newly added, including
Daydream, Leaving Again/In the Wee Small Hours, And We Will Fly, Pull My Daisy, and A Prayer for Mr. Davis, almost all in Laurence's very own hand. They're $15 for a single chart, $25 for two, and if you're really a jazz gourmand, $100 for any nine charts.
Kurt recently posted this on Instagram and commented, "Cat showed up to the gig & showed me a card I used when I first started out." Cool!
You can follow kurtelling on Instagram or use one of these handy web viewers, Statigram or Webstagram.
The Recording Academy has gone all out with its hip #TheWorldIsListening social media blitz for the 2013 Grammys, including the new Grammy Amplifier. For more, see this recent article.
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| FEBRUARY-MARCH Gigs |
February 6-7, 2013TWO SHOWSKurt Elling Quintet Carpenter Performing Arts Center California State University 6200 Atherton Street Long Beach, CAFebruary 8-9, 2013FOUR SHOWSKurt Elling Quintet Cabaret Jazz The Smith Center for the Performing Arts 575 Symphony Park Avenue Las Vegas, NVFebruary 10, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet MIM Music Theatre 4725 E. Mayo Boulevard Phoenix, AZFebruary 12-13, 2013FOUR SHOWSKurt Elling Quintet Dazzle 930 Lincoln Street Denver, COFebruary 15, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet The Factory at Franklin 230 Franklin Road Franklin, TNFebruary 16, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Jammin' at the Gem Gem Theater 1601 E. 18th Street Kansas City, MOFebruary 27 - March 2, 2013EIGHT SHOWSKurt Elling Quintet Jazz at the Bistro 3536 Washington Avenue St. Louis, MOMarch 5, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet, with the Modern Art Orchestra Béla Bartók National Concert Hall Palace of Arts Komor Marcell u. 1 Budapest, HUNGARY
March 6-7, 2013March 8, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Salle Stéphane Grappelli Cedac de Cimiez Place Emile Begnis 49 Avenue de la Marne Nice, FRANCEMarch 10, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Muziekgebouw Frits Philips Eindhoven Jan van Lieshoutstraat 3 Eindhoven, THE NETHERLANDSMarch 11, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet De Oosterpoort Trompsingel 27 Groningen, THE NETHERLANDSMarch 14, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Is Sanat Kültür Merkezi Is Kuleleri 4.Levent Istanbul, TURKEYMarch 16, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Svetlanov Hall Moscow International Performing Arts Center Kosmodamianskaya Embankment 58 Moscow, RUSSIAMarch 20, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Memorial Hall University of North Carolina Cameron Avenue Chapel Hill, NCMarch 22, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Hammerson Hall Living Arts Centre 4141 Living Arts Centre Drive Mississauga, ONTARIOMarch 23, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Corning-Painted Post Civic Music Association Corning Museum of Glass Auditorium 1 Museum Way Corning, NYMarch 24, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Swyer Theatre The Egg Center for the Performing Arts Empire State Plaza Albany, NY
Coming up!
In April Kurt plays an All Cole Porter show with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. Then the Kurt Elling Quintet performs at the University of North Texas and the Berks Jazz Fest in Pennsylvania before heading to Vienna and Wroclaw. Poland. Then they're in residence at Ronnie Scott's in London for eight shows. Kurt closes April at New Jersey City University.
All of Kurt's upcoming gigs in 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 180 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 booking agency, IMN (International Music Network). Thank you! |
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Your Moment of Elling . . .
Fall in love with something,
find your place and follow up on that.
If you work harder and
are more demanding of yourself,
more in love with it,
more energetic than anybody,
chances are you'll get what you want.
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