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Kurt Elling
Elling may be the greatest male Jazz singer of all time. ~ Jazz Review
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December 2013: Celebrating the Light - Blessing Everything!
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 In the dark of winter, we celebrate the Light!
Kurt exclaims, Bless Everything! To both sides. To all sides. To all beings and things. After all, it is a commandment also to be joyful on the Earth.
In the Jewish tradition, Hanukkah, which celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, began this year at sunset on November 27th and ends at sunset on December 5th.
Bodhi Day, when Siddhartha Gautama vowed to sit under a tree until he was enlightened, is observed December 8th. Buddha means "Awakened One."
In the northern hemisphere, the Light returns at the Winter Solstice, December 21st at 5:17 PM UTC/GMT.
Christmas is December 25th, and the twelve days of Christmas end on Epiphany, January 6th.
So in this holy season, find the spark deep within, make a joyful noise, and celebrate the Light! Blessed Everything!
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Kurt's Concerts
December & January
Celebrate New Year's Eve with Kurt Elling
Northlight Theatre, Skokie, IL
This special New Year's Eve concert features two sets of celebratory music, including selections from Passion World, Kurt's program of songs of love and loss sung in their original languages. Pianist Gary Versace joins the Kurt Elling Quintet, also featuring bassist Clark Sommers, drummer Kendrick Scott, and guitarist John McLean.
The concert begins at 8:00 pm, with a pre-concert reception at 6:30 for those with VIP tickets.
Celebrate New Year's Eve in the company of friends enjoying an evening of great jazz, or come to the show first and go out later for more festivities! Get your tickets today !
 In early December Kurt joins singer, actor, and entertainer Vojtěch Dyk and the B-Side Band, led by Josef Buchta, as their special guest on their 2013 Christmas tour.They play four shows in the Czech Republic from December 3-6, two each in Brno and Prague, and then on December 7 they perform at Porgy and Bess in Vienna.
Expect fun and surprises! In addition to jazz, swing, and Christmas music, Vojtěch Dyk will also conduct a jazz version of Dvorak's New World Symphony, arranged by by pianist Boris Urbanek.
Vojtěch Dyk received the Academy of Popular Music 2012 Angel Award for Singer of the Year. Kurt says, "Vojta Dyk is a great young man with an amazing voice." Check out Vojta's blog here.
All new notes in the New Year!
Kurt starts the New Year right by bringing the Kurt Elling Quintet, featuring pianist Gary Versace, home to the Green Mill in Chicago for two shows on Friday and Saturday, January 3-4. From January 26 through February 2, they sail away on the 2014 Jazz Cruise. Joining Kurt at sea are Gary Versace on piano and Hammond B3 organ, John McLean on guitar, Clark Sommers on bass, and Kendrick Scott on drums. | |
Vote NOW in the JazzTimes Readers' Poll
Voting closes early this year - Monday, December 2, at 5:00 pm EST
Vote for the Best of 2013 in any or all of the 36 categories. There helpful lists of popular selections, and you can also write/type in your own choices if you like. Cast your jazz votes here.
Kurt has been voted Male Vocalist of the Year in the JazzTimes Readers' Poll eight times so far, including the last three years straight. Let's make it nine!
Please consider voting for Kurt as Artist of the Year (Q2), writing in the Kurt Elling Quintet as Best Acoustic Small Group/Artist (Q6), and voting for Kurt as Best Male Vocalist (Q33).
Whatever you decide, cast your jazz votes now, because voting closes Monday afternoon, December 2 at 5:00 pm EST.TIP: The survey is on 21 pages, with sometimes more than one category on a page. You can go back a page or more if you like, but you can't exit the survey and come back to where you were.
The winners will be announced shortly after voting closes and published in the January/February issue of JazzTimes.
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Do you hear what I hear?
Hip musical gifts from Kurt to delight you!
Listen: Cool Yule from Yule Be Boppin' (1997), the Steve Allen classic first recorded by Louis Amstrong
Listen: The New Year's Eve Song, a lovely song written by Patricia Barber, performed by Kurt, Patricia, and Jim Gailloreto on tenor saxophone
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Kurt remembers his great friend and fellow musician, Rob Amster, who played bass in the Kurt Elling Quartet for many years. Rob was a bassist of deep dedication and truly exceptional gifts. He had a sound on the bass that was his own; a sound at once clear, warm, vibrant and alive. Over the years he developed the perfect skill set for a jazz musician - he could accompany anyone with support and attention, thrill audiences in solos of ingenuity, fluidity, and a strong architectural sense. He could hold the time together in a band of errant players and liberate great players from having to police the time themselves. He could (and would) gently and clearly remind the singer of his or her entrance.
He knew all the changes, all the history, and all the back story. He loved jazz. He loved jazz musicians, believed in the music, loved the scene, and knew exactly what to do with a bass. Rob played with an intense commitment to quality whether he was playing Carnegie Hall or some anonymous casual date. For my money, Rob was the perfect bassist. He was also a great friend, a teacher, road partner, and ally "in the trenches."
Rob's gradual - and now, permanent - disappearance from the scene leaves a very deep hole for any of us lucky enough to have known Rob at his best. Rob passed away just before Thanksgiving. No further information is available at this time about memorials or other tributes. We'll have more about Rob in the January issue.
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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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Come visit us often!
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Newsletter archive
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 Short Takes
Laurence Hobgood's Christmas is a beautiful new recording of music for the season, with Laurence playing solo piano, and he even duets with himself, too.
Kurt sings on two tracks, Song of the Christmas Bells, a bittersweet Laurence Hobgood original (words & music), and Joni Mitchell's River. Order now for great holiday listening!
Christmas is featured in the 2013 New York Times Gift Guide, and Laurence is the Spotlight Artist on the 39th Edition of Mark Stevens' Piano and All That Jazz. Click here to listen to six selections from the album.
Kurt's travel is climate-friendly. He buys carbon offsets from Carbon Fund to reduce the carbon footprint from his air travel on tours. Carbon Fund says, "Reduce what you can, offset what you can't." Go carbon neutral now!
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| DECEMBER-JANUARY Gigs |
December 3, 2013
Special guest Kurt Elling with Vojtěch Dyk
& the B-Side Band
Led by Josef Buchta
Mahen Theatre
Malinovského náměstí 571/1
657 70 Brno
CZECH REPUBLIC
December 4, 2013
Special guest Kurt Elling with Vojtěch Dyk
& the B-Side Band
Led by Josef Buchta
Janáček Theatre
Rooseveltova 31/7
602 00 Brno
CZECH REPUBLIC
December 5-6, 2013
TWO SHOWS
Special guest Kurt Elling with Vojtěch Dyk
& the B-Side Band
Led by Josef Buchta
Congress Centre Prague
Nad Obcí I/24
140 00 Prague 4
CZECH REPUBLIC
December 7, 2013
Special guest Kurt Elling with Vojtěch Dyk
& the B-Side Band
Led by Josef Buchta
Porgy and Bess
Riemergasse 11
1010 Vienna
AUSTRIA December 31, 2013 New Year's Eve with Kurt Elling Kurt Elling Quintet Northlight Theatre 9501 Skokie Blvd Skokie, IL January 3-4, 2014TWO SHOWSKurt Elling Quintet Green Mill4802 N. Broadway Chicago, IL January 24, 2014 Kurt Elling Quintet Main Stage Theater South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center 10959 SW 211th St Cutler Bay, FL January 25, 2014 Kurt Elling Quintet Duncan Theatre Palm Beach State College 4200 Congress Ave Lake Worth, FL
January 26-February 2, 2014 Kurt Elling Quartet The Jazz Cruise Sails from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Turks & Caicos, San Juan, St. Maarten, & Half Moon Cay and back
Coming up!
In mid-February, Kurt and the band play four shows in the Midwest - in Minneapolis, MN. Brookfield, WI, and Glen Ellyn, IL. Then from February 21-23, Kurt tours with the Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Tommy Smith, playing dates in Perth, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, Scotland.
All of Kurt's upcoming gigs in 2014 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 is on the road about 180 nights a year. He only performs where he's been invited (by people who write checks!) and he doesn't get to set his 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 . . .
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Kurt Elling & Rob Amster, "The Waking"
Later with Jools Holland, November 9, 2007
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The Waking is a poem by Theodore Roethke
Music by Kurt Elling & Rob Amster
From Kurt's 2007 recording, Nightmoves
Requiescat in pace et in amore, Rob |
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