- 158Recommend It!
- 4,219views
CD/LP/Track Review
Kurt Elling: Live In Chicago
Mark Corroto
Senior Contributor since 1999
Mark misses his large dog Louie, but endeavors daily to find and listen to new and interesting sounds.Recent articles (999 total)
Singer Kurt Elling’s first three recordings for Blue Note records were quite ambitious, but being studio albums, they lost much of Elling’s spirit in the production. The jazz singer, like the poet, is best heard live. Elling, captured during a three-night gig at Chicago’s Green Mill, finally has realized (on record) his full potential. He’s a scatting, rapping, swinging metaphysician of hip. The former philosophy and divinity student picks up on the vocal tradition of Mark Murphy, maybe becoming the Chicago cousin of Frank Sinatra. Packed with guest appearances, the seventy minutes of music hardly seems adequate to satisfy a listener. There’s a duet with hand drummer Kahil El’Zabar on Sting’s “Oh My God,” Jon Hendricks joins in on two tracks swapping vocals and smart scatting, and Chicago saxophonists Ed Petersen, Von Freeman, and Eddie Johnson crash the party for the spoken-word jam, “The Rent Party.” An early entry into my list of jazz records of the year, Elling is the everyman’s singer. Like Tony Bennett, and Springsteen for that matter, his voice isn’t pretty but real. You think, I could sing like that and then he scats “The Flight of The Bumblebee,” and you realize there’s a fuel-injected six-cylinder turbo under his hood. As long as he doesn’t catch Cassandra Wilson (overproduction) disease, he should be at the top of the vocal game for some time.
Track Listing: Downtown; My Foolish Heart; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes; Oh My God; Night Dream; (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons; Intro: (Esperanto); Esperanto; Don’t Get Scared; Into (Goin’ To Chicago); Goin’ To Chicago; Intro (The Rent Party); The Rent Party; Blues Chaser.
Personnel: Kurt Elling
Record Label: Blue Note Records
Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream
Shop for jazz:
Kurt Elling Related
| Date | Venue | Tickets |
|---|---|---|
| Jun08 |
Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center
Fort Lauderdale, FL |
buy |
| Jun29 |
Kilbourn Hall
Rochester, NY |
|
| Jun29 |
Kilbourn Hall
Rochester, NY |
|
| May10 |
Royal Conservatory Koerner Hall
Toronto, Canada |
buy |
CD/LP/Track Review
- 1619 Broadway: The Brill Building Project by Bruce Lindsay
Catching Up With
CD/LP/Track Review
- 1619 Broadway: The Brill Building Project by C. Michael Bailey
Extended Analysis
Live Reviews
Interviews
- Aaron Albert Thompson Alec J Smith
-
Alex Seubert
Andrew Oberg
Anthony Bibb
- Anthony Rimicci Arild Herstein Arthur Begly
-
Audrey Clark
Babatunde Gaddis
Bacon Nivison
- Barbara Leyser Ben Rosenblum Beverly Evans
- Bill Alvord Bradley Linn Brian Courage
- Brian D Whaley Brian Lindsay Brian Lovely
- Brian Prunka bridget r boyle Bruce G. Brownlee
-
Bruce Lindsay
Bruce Weiner
Burns Decker
- Carol Dziuba Cary Maister Charles Gutzwiller
-
Chaz Geary
ChuckAllAboutJazz
CJ Shearn
- CLARENCE J KEARSE Claude Paiva Claudia Cooper
-
Connor Helms
Dave
David Jackson
- David Kuntz dean cherry Deena Anderson
- Dennis Taylor Diem Perdidi Don Malone
- Douglas Gruber Drew Ridley-Siegert drummergirl rollins
-
Duane Peirick
E Toca
Eddy Streck
- Edward Keith Ellen Sarah Goodman EmerY
-
Eric White
Erik Caldarone
ernesto van tryo matosmatos
- fjb71 Florian Goldschmeding Frank Federico
- frank lippens Frank Polgar Gene Herritz
-
Gene Riddell
gerald porzio
Glen Sergent
- Harvey Schneider Heather E Blume Hesi Udjat
- Ian Garrett Ibanez-Pelouard Irene Brinkmann
- Irene Gelyk Irma Van Dam Irv Kantrowitz
- Irvin Walser J..L Jackie P
- James Zawatski Janan Cheskis Janice Neal
- Jason Linnell Jason Steinmetz Jay Parten
- Jeffrey Clark Jeffrey Davis jenny hebert
-
Jerome C. Wells
Jerry Maddock
JOE LOSARDO
- Joel Rhymer John Carroz John Perry
- John Sweeney Jose Sánchez Joseph Groff
-
Joshua Geoffey Owusu Ansah
Joshua Perrin
Joshua White
- JUDITH A MANUEL Judy Maxwell Karen Koziczkowski
-
Kathleen Gorman
keith d james
Kelly Pippin
-
Kelsey
Kermit H. Crissey, Jr.
Kirk Robert Sellman
- Lance Saltzman Larry Gee Leigh Kubiak
- Lenny Mazel Linda Bonawitt Lisa S Vance
- Luciano Morina Mac Rusling MADEJ
- Maged Ibrahim Marcu Sabin Mark C. Miller
- Mark Smith Marlene V Marvin Lynch
- Mary Ann Brady Matt Roach Matthew Clark
-
Maxx Myrick
Mel Vo
Micah Korb
-
Michael Anderson
Michael Hurley
Michael Ricci
-
michael t nix
Michael T Smidutz
Michaela Rabitsch
- Mike Crook Mitch Turbenson Mitchel vanderlaan
- Montgomery Lynn Nick Moore Ogungbemi Jonas White
- Pamai Chirdkiatisak Pamela White Patrick Brennick
- Pauline Milner Pentti Ronkanen pepotter1955
- Peter Anthony Beckford Peter Campbell Phil McCharen
- philip f brady R. W. Hepler R.delosReyes
- Ramona Baumann Randall Carlson Rezaul Hasan
-
Richard Brandt
Richard Tucker
Richard Wright
- Rick Teller Rick Toothman Robert J. Ferrara
-
Robert M. Cunningham
Robert McNeice
Robert Pawlik
- Robin J-O Rodger Matthews Ronald Manley
- Rudolph Lu Samantha Aluise Scott Hobson
- Scott Seewald Sharon L Payne Skai Shadow
-
Sonya Beale Stephanie Frieze Stephen Derenthal
- Stephen Rose Steve Horner Steve Purcell
- Steve Taufer Steven R. Holloway Steven Whaley
- Susan Decker T.M. Scruggs Teresa Gail Weimar
- Theodore Allchin Thomas Hine Thomas Inglis
- Tim Fearnside Timothy Nelson Tom Carvalho
-
Tommy Culpepper
Wade Luquet
Warren Allen
- Wayne Bognar Webersinke William Hoover

Satoko Fujii Ma-Do
Noah Preminger
The Allman Brothers Band
John Crawford
Odean Pope
Lars Andreas Haug Band
Lisa Young Quartet
Keith Jarrett / Gary Peacock...
Christian McBride & Inside...
Jonathan Kreisberg
Hedvig Mollestad Trio
Miguel Zenon & The Rhythm...




