Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Kurt Elling: Nightmoves
Kurt Elling: Nightmoves
Nightmoves, his Concord Records debut, weaves literary elements with vocal dexterity and good jazz. Backed by a small ensemble that includes Laurence Hobgood on piano, Willie Jones III on drums and percussion, Christian McBride and Rob Amster on bass, and Mintzer playing tenor sax, Elling pays tribute to several musical icons: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Betty Carter, Duke Ellington, Dexter Gordon, Keith Jarrett, Frank Sinatra and even The Guess Who.
"Love is like two dreamers dreaming the same dream, Elling sings with passion on the title song, a remake of a Michael Franks track. Mintzer's tenor adds a little punch to this ballad. Jones and Hobgood help set the pace for the melodramatic "Undun. Elling and his sidemen bring some soul-jazz to this 1969 song by The Guess Who. Mintzer adds a blistering solo. Elling and Amster perform a duet on "The Waking, set to a 1953 poem by Theodore Roethke. Amster adds a bit of percussive sound to this elegant piece by slapping his bass, while Elling, classified as a baritone, gives a taste of falsetto.
On some of the tracks, such as the classic "Body and Soul —here titled "A New Body and Soul —Elling adds new lyrics or creates original lyrics for previously instrumental compositions, an art known as vocalese. Regardless of how the words came to be, the emphasis on Nightmoves is the voice. Up-tempo or laidback, Elling delivers an exceptional album.
Track Listing
Nightmoves; Tight; Change Partners/If You Never Come to Me; Undun; Where Are You, My Love; And We Will Fly; The Waking; The Sleepers; Leaving Again/In The Wee Small Hours; A New Body And Soul; I Like the Sunrise.
Personnel
Kurt Elling
vocalsKurt Elling: vocals; Laurence Hobgood: piano; Willie Jones, III: drums; Christian McBride: bass (1-4,6,10); Rob Amster: bass (5,7,8,11); Rob Mounsey: electric piano, keyboards (1, 4, 6); Guilherme Monteiro: guitar (3,6); Bob Mintzer: tenor sax (1); Howard Levy: harmonica (3); Gregoire Maret: harmonica (6); The Escher String Quartet (5,8).
Album information
Title: Nightmoves | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Concord Music Group
About Kurt Elling
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Kurt Elling Concerts
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
