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Kurt Elling
The most influential jazz vocalist of our time ~ JazzTimes
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March 2013: Come Fly With Me!
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Kurt plays 14 shows in 8 countries
over 20 nights in March!
The Kurt Elling Quintet takes flight for Europe, Turkey, and Russia from March 5 through March 16, with shows in Budapest, Hungary; Milan, Italy; Nice, France; Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Groningen, the Netherlands; Istanbul, Turkey; and Moscow, Russia.Then they return to North America with shows from March 20 through March 24 in Chapel Hill, NC; Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; Corning, NY; and Albany, NY. |
Come Fly With Me
Festival Jazz ŕ Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris, May 29, 2012
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Come on out for a terrific night of world-class jazz! Details are in March-April Gigs below.
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Kurt Elling Honored
with the 2013 Blue Note Milano Award
March 19, 2013 is the tenth anniversary of the Blue Note Milano Jazz Club & Restaurant in Milano Italy, one of the most important and famous European jazz showcases. The Blue Note Milano is part of The Blue Note family of jazz clubs, along with the historic Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village, New York City, and the Blue Note in Tokyo and in Nagoya, Japan.
Each year in March, the Blue Note Milano gives its Award to an artist in its performance calendar to honor the importance of his work and his efforts in spreading jazz music.
This year's award goes to Kurt Elling!The artistic director and president of the Blue Note Milano will present the Award on stage just before Kurt's first show on Wednesday, March 6. The Kurt Elling Quintet performs four shows at the Blue Note Milano on Wednesday and Thursday at 9:00 and 11:00 pm. Previous Blue Note Milano Award winners include Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Paolo Fresu, Brad Mehldau, McCoy Tyner, Billy Cobham, and Dee Dee Bridgewater - excellent company indeed!
Many congratulations, Kurt!
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Kurt Elling on Jamie Cullum's BBC Radio 2 Programme
 On Tuesday, 19 March, Jamie Cullum interviews one of his favourite artists, Kurt Elling. Jamie talks to Kurt about his life and career in jazz, from his early days performing and developing his style in Chicago jazz clubs to his debut on Blue Note Records, and his subsequent rise to fame. Kurt's collaborator and pianist Laurence Hobgood also joins the pair to perform a special track at the Radio 2 piano.
After this programme was taped last November, Jamie tweeted: "I had the chance to interview and sing with the master that is Kurt Elling today. I sound like a mouse singing by his side."
Kurt responds, "Jamie is a total pro - moreover he is very smart and (therefore) very funny. I am happy to call him my friend and always look forward to hearing whatever music he is ready to put out there."
This programme will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 19 March from 7:00 - 8:00 pm (London/GMT) and as a podcast for a week afterward. Don't miss it!
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The Kurt Elling Quintet in Istanbul
 On March 14, the KEQ performs at İs Sanat with the Istanbul Superband and Aycan Tezel. Kurt says, "Istanbul is one of our more exotic stops, and I am proud to say we actually have fans there who come out to hear us on purpose. The wild adventure continues."
There's a special connection between Turkey and jazz that was forged decades ago when the Turkish ambassador to the United States opened his residence to white and black musicians at a time when segregation held sway in the U.S. capital.
The world-famous Istanbul International Jazz Festival began in 1986 and is held each year in July.
This year Herbie Hancock, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, is hosting the second annual International Jazz Day on April 30 in the host city of Istanbul, with a gala concert with jazz stars from around the world at the famed Hagia Irene in the outer courtyard of Topkapi Palace. #JazzDay
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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
Kurt is one of Aki Yashiro's special guests at Birdland on March 27. Continuing with this month's international theme, famed Japanese enka singer Aki Yashiro makes her New York jazz debut at Birdland with shows at 7:00 and 9:00 pm. Aki-san's dream has been to sing jazz with Helen Merrill, who joins her (for the 7:00 pm show only), along with Kurt and violinist Regina Carter. Yashiro's first jazz album, Songs Around Midnight, was released last fall on the Emarcy label.
Kurt is also serving as Yashiro's musical director for this very lovely and poignant evening of music.
Greg Thomas, jazz columnist for the New York Daily News, recently posted Kurt's 2004 essay, "Spirituality, Poetry and Jazz" on the Integral Life website. In his introduction, Thomas, a writer and producer, and a passionate lover of jazz, aesthetics and spirituality, puts Kurt's essay in an Integral perspective. Check it out, along with Greg's other posts about jazz from an Integral point of view.
Kurt's travel is climate-friendly. He buys carbon offsets from Carbon Fund to reduce the carbon footprint from his air travel on tours. As CarbonFund.org says, "reduce what you can, offset what you can't." Go carbon neutral now!
For Kurt's latest from the road and snaps of the quirky, intriguing stuff that catches his eye, follow kurtelling on Instagram!
Although Kurt didn't win the Grammy this year for 1619 Broadway - The Brill Building Project, two special Grammy awards are related to his album.
Carole King received this year's Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Two of King's songs are on Kurt's 1619 Broadway - "So Far Away," from her 1971 album Tapestry, and "Pleasant Valley Sunday," written with Gerry Goffin and recorded by the Monkees in 1967.
"On Broadway," written by Cynthia Weil & Barry Mann with Jerry Lieber & Mike Stoller and recorded by The Drifters in 1963, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame this year.
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| MARCH-APRIL Gigs |
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 İs Sanat Kültür Merkezi İs Kuleleri 34330 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 March 27, 2013 TWO SHOWS Aki Yashiro with special guests Kurt Elling, Regina Carter, and Helen Merrill (first show only) Birdland 315 West 44th Street New York, NY April 3, 2013 Kurt Elling with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra Celebrating Cole Porter Pick-Staiger Concert Hall Northwestern University Evanston, ILApril 4, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Winspear Performance Hall Murchison Performing Arts Center University of North Texas 2100 North I-35 Denton, TX April 5, 2013Kurt Elling Master Class Voertman Hall College of Music Building University of North Texas 2100 North I-35 Denton, TX April 6, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Berks Jazz Fest Miller Center for the Arts 2nd & Penn Streets Reading, PAApril 10, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet Wiener Konzerthaus Großer Saal Lot H Ringerstrasse 20 Vienna, AUSTRIAApril 12, 2013Kurt Elling Quintet
49. Jazz nad Odrą Festival Impart Arts Center ul. Mazowiecka 17 Wroclaw, POLANDApril 15-20, 2013EIGHT SHOWSThe Kurt Elling Quintet Ronnie Scott's 47 Frith Street London, ENGLAND April 29, 2013 Kurt Elling with the NJCU Jazz Ensemble Margaret Williams Theater New Jersey City University Jersey City, NJ
Coming up!
In May, Kurt and the band head to Scandinavia for shows in Norway and Denmark before returning to the Netherlands, and then they're off to Ireland, Luxembourg, and Slovenia.
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 . . .
What we really need --
what we really seek as people --
is a revolution of consciousness.
It is what great music fosters best.
It is the only music worth striving for.
Jazz mirrors and reminds us
of the fact that
we are ALIVE!
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