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Kurt Elling
Elling may be the greatest male Jazz singer of all time. ~ Jazz Review
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June 2014: Summertime ~ and the living' is easy!
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Dear Friends,
We're full-on Spring here in The Apple & heading into summer. You may be wondering where all my touring dates have gone for the season . . .
Well, after almost 20 years of touring every summer, I've elected to stay home with my family and enjoy their company. We'll be in Chicago for July and traveling together in August. You will still be able to follow me on Facebook and Instagram, but I'll be on a real hiatus from the usual airport grind.
Come September I'll be in the studio to record, mix and master PASSION WORLD, and by that point I should be refreshed and ready to hit the tour again.
Stay well and take care of each other until then.
Kurt
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The Kurt Elling Quintet
A very special evening at The Sheldon
St. Louis, Missouri
Friday night, June 6th, at 8:00 pm, the Kurt Elling Quintet, with Gary Versace on piano and Bryan Carter on drums, performs at the historic Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd, St. Louis, MO in a benefit concert for the adjoining Sheldon Art Galleries.
Patron tickets include preferred seating, a post-concert dessert reception, complimentary parking and a tax deduction. For patron tickets, please call 314.533.9900.
Regular tickets are still available!
The Sheldon Concert Hall was designed by the 1904 World's Fair architect Louis C. Spiering and opened its doors in 1912 as the home of the Ethical Society of St. Louis. After music was first performed at The Sheldon, the local St. Louis newspaper declared "Acoustics found perfect." The Sheldon is known as "The Carnegie Hall of the Midwest."Founded in 1998, the Sheldon Art Galleries feature over 7,000 square of space devoted to changing exhibitions of painting, printmaking, photography, architecture, sculpture, installation work, jazz history and children's art. The Sheldon's newest exhibition, The City at 250: A Citywide Celebration in Photography, also opens on Friday, June 6th, with complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, just before Kurt's concert. The City at 250 is a culmination of a citywide photo contest, marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of St. Louis.
The Sheldon Concert Hall and the Sheldon Arts Galleries are located in the heart of Grand Center, St. Louis' arts, cultural, and entertainment district, home to 12 museums and galleries, 12,000 theater seats, public television and radio stations. Grand Center hosts more than 1500 cultural events each year.
For more on The Sheldon's rich history, click here.
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Memorable Musical
Moments in May
In May Kurt performed 13 shows in 5 countries in various configurations, from a rare duo concert with pianist Fred Hersch at the Jazz Standard in New York, to playing with his regular band at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival in the UK, in Montreal and Toronto, and then in Chicago with the Chicago Children's Choir, featuring over 100 young singers.
For BBC Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night concert, Hoods, Horns and Hooch, celebrating the music of the Prohibition era, Kurt performed with the Guy Barker Big Band & the BBC Concert Orchestra, along with vocalists Liane Carroll and Curtis Stigers, at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival.
Kurt also toured Denmark with the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, and he closed out May with a performance with the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band in Sofia.
Here are a few tidbits from Kurt's May adventures.
Video clip: Watch Curtis Stigers & Guy Barker talk about Friday Night is Music Night's prohibition-era concert (clip also includes Kurt performing), with scenes from the rehearsal.
Video clip: Watch Kurt Elling & Liane Carroll chat about performing with Guy Barker at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival in Hoods, Horns and Hooch, also with rehearsal footage.
 | Kurt Elling moves jazz history into the future
Kurt Elling is interviewed by Tanya Ivanova
for Jazz FM in Sofia, Bulgaria
Aired on 28 May 2014 |
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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 video about 1619 Broadway & share it with your friends!  | |
Kurt Elling | 1619 Broadway: The Brill Building Project
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 Short Takes
Kurt Elling is featured in the Brighton Jazz School's new audio book, Six of the Best: Improvisation Tips from the Masters. Other musicians included are Gary Burton, Ahmad Jamal, Joe Locke, Joey Calderazzo, and Geoffrey Keezer. Download your free copy here.
Summertime ~
and the livin' is easy . . .
 | Kurt Elling - Easy Living
KEQ & the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
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| JUNE-DECEMBER Gigs |
June 6, 2014
Kurt Elling Quintet
Sheldon Concert Hall
3648 Washington Blvd
St. Louis, MO
September 5, 2014Kurt Elling Quintet Elling Swings Sinatra DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts 100 Performing Arts Center University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, INOctober 5, 2014Kurt Elling Quintet Passion World Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts 300 S Broad St Philadelphia, PANovember 1, 2014Kurt Elling with the WDR Big Band Conducted by Richard DeRosa Jazzfest Berlin Appellhofplatz 1 Berlin GERMANYNovember 6-7, 2014 TWO SHOWS Kurt Elling with the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa Conducted by Nabil Shehata Euskalduna Palace Calle Euskalduna, 4 48008 Bilbao SPAINNovember 20, 2014Kurt Elling Quintet Passion World Lied Center for Performing Arts University of Nebraska-Lincoln 301 N 12th St Lincoln, NE December 10, 2014Kurt Elling with the Royal Concertgebouw Orkest Conducted by Mariss Jansons Koninklijk Concertgebouw Concertgebouwplein 10 1071 LN Amsterdam NETHERLANDSDecember 12, 2014 Kurt Elling with the Royal Concertgebouw Orkest Conducted by Mariss Jansons Muziekgebouw Frits Philips Jan van Lieshoutstraat 3 5600 AX Eindhoven NETHERLANDSDecember 13, 2014Kurt Elling with the Royal Concertgebouw Orkest Conducted by Mariss Jansons De Doelen Schouwburgplein 50 3012 CL Rotterdam NETHERLANDS
All of Kurt's upcoming gigs in 2014 and into 2015 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 . . .
The improv habits of a good jazz singer
are the same habits
as a good instrumentalist.
You try to think compositionally
when you're improvising.
It isn't haphazard.
You are trying to create a melody
that has emotional direction,
its own architecture.
You want to make a coherent
musical statement.
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