Kurt Elling brings Passion World
to 7 countries
with 14 shows in March
Jazz speaks all languages, especially the language of love.
Passion World is Kurt's tour-de-force program of songs of love and loss from around the world, some performed in their original tongues, learned over his twenty years of global touring. Even if you're not a native speaker, the meaning of the heart is clear.
On Valentine's Day, Kurt and the band performed Passion World at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In her review for DC Metro Theater Arts, Ramona Harper wrote: The soon-to-be released Passion World album is a panorama of love songs from around the world told in multicultural yet universal themes that celebrate the grandeur of romantic love. Leading off with the Sinatra classic, "Come Fly with Me," Elling took us on a magical ride that was a smooth lift-off, cool gliding and elegant touch-down of dreamy love songs that hit the spot....
Being onstage and singing for a crowd is obviously Kurt Elling's first home and he is an engaging, charming conversationalist as he draws an audience close through song and spoken word. A great storyteller as well as composer, Elling told about his time performing in Ireland when the Irish concert organizer wanted Kurt to "set some poetry to music to make the people cry." Elling's challenge, however, was to set music to the words of James Joyce!
In Passion World Kurt ignites the imagination, evoking love's transforming fire as he sings of realms of romance, love and loss, of hearts breaking and hearts mending.
Come and join Kurt and the band on this sweeping Passion World tour of exotic places, cultures, and times, celebrating the power of love and all that can mean.
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 Drummer Bryan Carter, a 2012 graduate of Julliard's Jazz Studies program, is just 24 years old.
Already he's played and recorded with many jazz greats, including Kurt Elling, Clark Terry, McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Mulgrew Miller, Jon Faddis, Ted Nash, Terell Stafford, Bobby Watson, Lew Tabackin, Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut, and Michael Feinstein.
After starting out on drums at age three, Bryan quickly developed a strong passion for music - especially jazz. By 11 he had already studied with legendary drummers Louie Bellson, Harold Jones, and Ed Thigpen.
His father, saxophonist and educator Ronald Carter, now coordinates the Jazz Studies Program at Northern Illinois University where he is also director of the acclaimed NIU Jazz Ensemble.
 "My father put the sticks in my hand figuratively and literally," Bryan said.
"I could read music before I could actually read."
In May 2011, while he was still at Julliard, Bryan released his first CD, Enchantment. That Bryan Carter Quintet album features all-original music that reflects his artistry as a writer and instrumentalist. JazzTimes called it an "auspcious debut" and said that Bryan "is definitely one to watch."
A life-long Kurt Elling fan, Bryan recalls, "I went to my first concert when I was about eight years old. At the end of the concert I told Jennifer, 'One day I'm going to play with Kurt!' I'm sure she thought it was cute at the time but we've now come full circle!"
Reflecting on what he's learned from playing with Kurt, Bryan remarked,
"At 24 years old I am still at the very beginning of my career. Kurt's band, like many great bandleaders like Betty Carter and Art Blakey, is often a training ground for younger musicians. The biggest lesson that I've learned from him is consistency. He's on EVERY night! It doesn't matter how many flights or trains we've taken that day or how little sleep we've had. When he walks on the bandstand he is a professional in the truest sense of the word.
"Also, I've studied the way he engages the audience. He is a captivating performer - a skill that I believe every musician should possess."
Bryan's ultimate goal is to be a bandleader, composer, arranger/orchestrator. As he notes, "It's very difficult to study and practice these individual skills at a high level. I want to present music that is accessible to audiences while maintaining the spirit and integrity of jazz. I'd like to be a representative for jazz across the various mediums of education and media and most importantly I want to develop an audience of young listeners and musicians."
Currently Bryan serves as a teaching artist for Jazz at Lincoln Center's "Jazz for Young People" program and conducts clinics, master classes, and workshops at schools, colleges, and universities around the world.
In January 2015 Bryan was featured in "Up & Coming: Kurt Elling's Bryan Carter," in Modern Drummer and in "New Blood" in DRUM! Magazine.
Watch him in action playing solos:
Check out his YouTube channel, too.
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Your Moment of Elling . . .
My advice to all aspiring jazz singers
and for everyone else alike is
to find something
that you love.
Give your all to its development.
Be smarter,
more dedicated,
more intrepid and tireless
than anyone you meet.
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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March Gigs
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March 3, 2015 - 8:00 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldKlub Palladiumul. Złota 9 00-019 Warszawa POLAND March 4, 2015 - 7:30 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldWiener KonzerthausLothringerstraße 20 1030 Vienna AUSTRIA March 5, 2015 - 8:00 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldSala Radiostrada General H.M. Berthelot nr. 60-64 Bucharest ROMANIA March 8, 2015 - 8:30 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldTeatro CittadellaCorso Elvezia 35 CH-6900 Lugano SWITZERLAND March 10, 2015 - 8:30 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldSalle Nougaro20 Chemin de Garric 31200 Toulouse FRANCE March 12, 2015 - 9:00 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldAll That Jazz - AgenCap Cinéma - Agen 9 rue de la Prune/Place du Pin 4700 Agen FRANCE March 13, 2015 - 8:30 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldGrand Théâtre de Provence380 Avenue Max Juvénal 13100 Aix-en-Provence FRANCE March 15, 2015 - 5:00 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldL'ArchipelRue des Îles 29170 Fouesnant FRANCE March 17, 2015 - 9:00 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldL'Onde Théâtre et Centre d'art8 Avenue Louis Breguet 78140 Vélizy-Villacoublay FRANCE March 19, 2015 - 8:30 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldLa Coopérative De MaiRue Serge Gainsbourg 63000 Clermont-Ferrand FRANCE March 20, 2015 - 9:00 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldAll That Jazz - RodezCap Cinéma - Multiplexe Rodez Esplanade de Rutènes 12000 Rodez FRANCE March 21, 2015 - 9:00 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldAll That Jazz - BloisLes Lobis 12 avenue du Maréchal Maunoury 41000 Blois FRANCE March 22, 2015 - 7:00 pmKurt Elling Quintet Passion WorldBürgerhaus BacknangBahnhofstraße 7 71522 Backnang GERMANY COMING UP: In April the KEQ plays a number of Elling Swings Sinatra dates in the Midwest. In May Kurt performs with Tommy Smith & the SNJO in the UK, and then he travels to Australia for two concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
All of Kurt's gigs into June 2015 are on the Touring page on his website. That's where you'll always find the most current information. Please check there often, as new dates are always being added.
Bringing Kurt to a stage near you Kurt is on the road about 180 nights a year. To hear Kurt and the band play in your city, region, or country, please ask your favorite venues or festivals to book them through Kurt's booking agency. Thank you! |
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 Short Takes
Kurt performs two songs on pianist Jeremy Siskind's newest recording, Housewarming.
Housewarming is available now at Amazon, iTunes, and from Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records.
Kurt duets with Norwegian songstress & songwriter Silje Nergaard on "The Dance Floor," one of the tracks on her 15th recording, Chain of Days.
The official release date is March 13, but you can download "The Dance Floor" now on Amazon and iTunes.
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