Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling.
 
Elling may be the greatest male Jazz singer of all time.
~ Jazz Review  
 

Kurt's Upcoming Gigs & News
Sun
The Branford Marsalis Quaret with special guest Kurt Elling 
brings Upward Spiral to Europe in June and July,  
performing 17 shows in 16 cities in 12 countries! 

25 June  
27-28 June  
New Morning, Paris, FRANCE
29 June  
Schloss Hellenstein, Heidenheim, GERMANY
1 July  
National Forum of Music, Wrocław, POLAND
3 July  
A to JazZ Festival, Sofia, BULGARIA - FREE!
7 July  
Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Copenhagen, DENMARK
8 July  
Schloss Neuhardenberg, Neuhardenberg, GERMANY
9 July  
North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS
10 July  
Pescara Jazz Festival, Pescara, ITALY
12 July  
jazzopen Stuttgart, Stuttgart, GERMANY
13 July  
14 July  
Umbria Jazz 16 Perugia, Perugia, ITALY
18 July  
İstanbul Jazz Festival, İstanbul, TURKEY
20 July  
Molde Jazz Festival, Molde, NORWAY
22 July  
51 Heineken Jazzaldia, Donostia-San Sebasti�n, SPAIN
24 July  
Casa da M�sica, Porto, PORTUGAL

COMING UP:

In August, the Kurt Elling Quintet returns home to the Green Mill in Chicago on Friday & Saturday, August 19-20! They'll also play a benefit concert for Shaking With Laughter at the Ohio Theatre in Cleveland on August 27.

In September, the Upward Spiral tour with the Branford Marsalis Quartet & Kurt Elling begins again, with performances at the Cura�ao North Sea Jazz Festival & the Monterey Jazz Festival, among many others. Kurt also performs with the Metropole Orkest at Musikfest Bremen in Papenburg, GERMANY on September 8.

Please see Kurt's Touring page or Bandsintown for all of his confirmed gigs through mid-May 2017.

KE Touring button
KE Bandsintown button

Upward Spiral
The Branford Marsalis Quartet
& Special Guest Kurt Elling
Soar on Upward Spiral!

Upward Spiral, Branford Marsalis' new album with special guest Kurt Elling, reunites the pioneering saxophonist with his brilliant longtime Quartet, pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner.

Every track on Upward Spiral confirms the beyond-category strengths of both the Quartet and Elling. For Marsalis, Upward Spiral is consistent with all of his previous music. "My philosophy of jazz is that it should be about strong melodies and a great beat, and every song here has a melody that you can hold in your mind, that you can sing."
 
Kurt says, "I am very proud of this recording - and proud that Branford asked me to work with him. He and the band have been so gracious to me, and we've been having a great time together!

"I love singing with a hard-hitting band. To be welcomed into the Quartet's circle, which is all about new challenges and hard blowing, was very important to me. When I asked Branford what to bring about a week before the date, he said, 'Don't worry, you've got the thing.' So I brought 'the thing.'"

Branford explained that the goal from the outset of this project was to create a true feeling of partnership. "The goal here, even though he sings lyrics, is to highlight Kurt's voice as an instrument."

In a recent interview with Francetv's Culturebox, Branford notes, "I am delighted with the end result of this disc. This is one of the first albums I've enjoyed listening to again and again. This is mainly due to all the musicians have done. I'm very proud."

Recorded during a weeklong session in New Orleans, Upward Spiral is a collection that blends Great American Songbook staples, modern jazz standards and popular music mainstays from a diverse array of composers.

Preview all the tracks on Upward Spiral and get links for it on Amazon and iTunes and other music services.

And for all you vinyl lovers, great news! Upward Spiral will be released as a 2-LP set on
180 gram audiophile vinyl on July 18th!   
 
 
Santa in the studio
Kurt's newest recording coming this fall!

Kurt Elling & his outstanding band - Stu Mindeman, piano; Clark Sommers, bass; John McLean, guitar; and Kendrick Scott, drums - went into the studio in Chicago to record a new album!

Stay tuned for news about this exciting new project, the CD Release Celebration, and more!


Your Moment of Elling . . . 

Our fullness is mirrored in our art.
Develop yourself as you would your art.
Be HERE now.
Tragedies can make us stronger not weaker.
We try to understand by wedding our intuitive side to our intellect.
The chief task of the artist is
to create further mystery.
  

Facebook button   Instagram button   YouTube button   Bandsintown button   Amazon button   iTunes button 
Kurt's website is rich with music & lyrics, audios & videos, photos, projects, a fan Forum, and Kurt's Store. Come visit us often!