# Graceful, logical extensions of the divine Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter at our EU Jazz – Blues Festival 2023: Video, Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2023/08/17/graceful-logical-extensions-of-the-divine-kurt-elling-and-charlie-hunter-at-our-us-eu-jazz-blues-festival-2023-video-photos/
- Published: 2023-08-17T00:06:41+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**GRAMMY Award-winner, Jazz vocalist Kurt Elling and Jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter
live and big concert at our US/EU Jazz – Blues Festival 2023. Graceful, logical 
extensions of the divine … Kurt Elling’s four-octave vocal range and easy-swinging
style makes him a kind of Sinatra with superpowers.**

Kurt Elling is without question today’s preeminent male jazz vocalist, renowned 
worldwide for his unparalleled virtuosity and flair for trailblazing artistic exploration.
From his stunning reinvention of timeless standards to his own captivating original
songcraft, the Chicago-based musician has fused his dazzling talents across a panoply
of musical approaches, emblazoning each with signature imagination, insight, and
emotional intelligence.

![Jazz guitar plus tap equals 'astonishing' performance | News | Bates College](
https://i0.wp.com/www.bates.edu/news/files/2011/11/Hunter-WEB.jpg?resize=640%2C431&
ssl=1)

With multiple Grammy nominations, two Grammy Wins as well as three Prix du Jazz 
Vocal, two German Echo, and two Dutch Edison Awards, the storytelling and force 
of nature Jazz artist is flying high now with a sense of unpredictability.

Their Savannah debut features compositions from Elling and Hunter’s 2021 GRAMMY 
nominated collaboration, “SuperBlue” as well as works from the team’s soon-to-be-
released, “SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree.”

Kurt Elling started singing as a child in his father’s church choir. With a career
now spanning more than 30 years, Elling has performed across the country and around
the world with 16 album releases and guest credits on many more.

He’s garnered a long list of industry accolades, including 12 GRAMMY nominations
and two wins for Best Jazz Vocal Album (2009, 2021).

![International Jazz Day | Kurt Elling's Swinging Rendition of "Did You Call Her
Today" | Season 2020 | PBS](https://i0.wp.com/image.pbs.org/video-assets/HeRms1J-
asset-mezzanine-16x9-5SrLmGC.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

Elling brings his musical prowess to the Hostess City for the first time alongside
guitarist and collaborator, Charlie Hunter.

Originally from Chicago, Elling knew early on he had a penchant for music when he
sang in the Lutheran choir his father directed. He took to the piano, violin and
French horn but always returned to voice and choral performance “even when that 
was not at all cool.” He liked the music, camaraderie of choir. In college, jazz
found him and opened doors for new musical exploration.

He went on to study at University of Chicago Divinity School. As a graduate student,
he continued singing, playing gigs and weddings on the side. Ultimately, music won.
He left school to pursue jazz just one credit shy of a degree.

For Elling, singing and composing became graceful, logical extensions of the Divine.

As Elling tries to bring the jazz into the funk musically, he is challenged to attempt
a similar fusion of “street” argot and sophisticated manipulation of language. Lyrics
from “Can’t Make It With Your Brain” suggests his approach.

Kurt Elling: “I was studying this intellectual history map of western thought,” 
recalled Elling. “A lot of my questions went unanswered. The ghosts and spirits 
that surround us and how they interact, or don’t, with what we have in front of 
us became a series of questions that I ask again and again in deeper ways as I grow
older. As a jazz performer, the inquiry becomes a way of exploring what notes will
come each night, and as composer and writer, what words come through for the highest
good. My training in philosophy informs my music as this milieu is suited for exploring
these bigger, deeper questions. Jazz lends itself to a profound resonance of questioning
that never gets answered.”

In the mid-1990,s Elling met Hunter not long after they’d both been signed to Blue
Note Records. Hunter and Elling were in their mid-20s and at the start of careers
that would bring them in and out of each other’s orbits and on paths with music 
innovators Randy Bachman, Buddy Guy, Michael Franti, Branford Marsalis, Stanton 
Moore, John Pizzarelli and more.

The guitarist and jazz singer remained friends for decades before their first collaboration
in 2020.

“I’ve known Charlie for 100 years at this point,” chuckled Elling. “He’s a brilliant
player, and we’ve always kept in touch. During the pandemic, he was posting 30-second
video clips on InstaGram, and that’s when we got the idea to collaborate. He pulled
in these cats from Virginia, DJ and Corey from Butcher Brown. They recorded tracks
long distance in their studio — no lyrics, no melody — I came up with those, and
that’s how we made “SuperBlue.” We worked similarly for “SuperBlue: Iridescent Spree.”

Elling’s rich, chewy baritone – and his easy-swinging, ring-a-ding-ding delivery
on the Great American Songbook – often recalls Frank Sinatra. But his staggering
jazz chops turn him into a kind of Sinatra with superpowers. Just when you think
he’s at the top of his register, he’ll fly an octave higher; when you expect him
to pause and take a breath he’ll find another tank of air and sustain a low note
for another four bars; when you expect another instrument to take a solo, he’ll 
do it himself, taking us on an Ornette Coleman-esque sonic journey around all four
octaves of his vocal range.

Just as impressive were opening act the Swingles, the latest incarnation of the 
a cappella institution founded in Paris in 1963 by Ward Swingle. They’re now a London-
based septet who’ve been retooled for the 21st century, with nods to Glee (which
they’ve featured on) and Pitch Perfect. Tonight’s set features stunning reinventions
of songs by the likes of John Martyn, Elbow and Mumford & Sons, with subtle beatboxing
and audacious harmonies. More superhero singing to truly raise goosebumps.

![Sierra Meadows Concert Series – Charlie Hunter Trio | Sierra News Online](https://
i0.wp.com/sierranewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Sierra-Meadows-Charlie-
Hunter-Sept-2018-e1532979394770.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

“SuperBlue: Iridescent Spree,” comprises 10 tracks of jazz and funk fusion. It grooves
with grittiness reminiscent of New Orleans’s own funk daddies, “Galactic,” yet it’s
refined, cool and spiked with Big Apple, Sinatra-like swagger. The lyrics and melodies
are smart, at times conjuring the truth-telling quirk of Mike Doughty and “Soul 
Coughing.” The overall vibe is upbeat, playful, yet introspective.

The concert’s first single released last month, “Not Here/ Not Now,” is a funky 
romp about attraction between two people that’s best left alone. The melody moves
with precision, its lyrics revealing a deep mind steeped in clever thinking. At 
different points Elling references mathematical concepts parallel spheres, the fifth
dimension as well as 20th century physicist, Werner Heisenberg. It’s fun. And the
sass of the horn section adds to the revelry.

Elling also does a sultry cover of “Schoolhouse Rock!” classic, “Naught Number Nine.”
His vocal delivery is feisty, velvety, with the push-pull between horns and keys
honoring the sophistication of the original tune — writer Bob Dorough would be proud.

And, assisted by a smart band, he completely reinvents songs. Come Fly With Me is
transformed into an airborne jazz-waltz; U2’s Where the Streets Have No Name is 
a slow-burning folk-funk epic; Nature Boy a wordless scat. An old track, Tanya Jean,
is a half-improvised vocalese epic, reminding us that he’s a mean Kerouac-style 
beat poet.

Charlie Hunter: But it’s track four, “Little Fairy Carpenter,” that genuinely haunts
in arrangement and progression. Elling’s up-front vocals and sphinxlike lyrics coupled
with Hunter’s restrained guitar and overall spacious production, make this song 
seemingly buoyant. The tune is bright, in major major key with lyrics, “the moment
is yours you understand/ don’t second guess just go through with the plan/ just 
go through with the plan/you’ll either fold or expand,” makes a tempting case that
the song is about having gumption enough to risk it all on a goal or desired outcome.

Elling, though, insists it is of much darker ethos: “When writing compositions for
straight up jazz, there’s an obligation, expectation in terms of how I approach 
lyrics,” considered Elling. “But this piece is more influenced by free flow, letting
it roll, getting in the groove. This song was written as darkest possible gremlin
spirit whispering in someone’s ear. That it can be experienced in other ways is 
testament to the power of art, creative expression. Once I’ve made something, it
is released and free to be interpreted.”

![Kurt Elling: “The Jazz Singer” - Jazz Dergisi](https://i0.wp.com/www.jazzdergisi.
com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/HED3539.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

Though Elling has visited a handful of times, he’s never performed in Savannah. 
And he’s eager to share a danceable night of upbeat tunes, maintaining that his 
flavor of funk-jazz fusion isn’t too intellectual or all in the feels.

“It’s our first time playing in the city, and we’re going to have a good time, meet
new people, shake a hand or two,” said Elling. “People should definitely bring their
dancing shoes and prepare to leave their troubles behind. When it’s all over, we’re
all going to leave feeling great.”

Elling has a supple, pliant voice, so there is no question that he can be expressive
in this style. He has a distinct “sound” and one recognizes him immediately. When
he does funk, you can hear some Al Green and a little Otis Redding, though I felt
that some of the genre’s language and funk-isms were not native to him. Elling has
always been careful about articulation and grammar, neither of which funk really
cares much about, so it sometimes seemed a bit of an uncomfortable fit. That’s not
to say that someone who didn’t have a history of Elling’s music in his head would
not find him convincing. His commitment to the music alone would be enough to bring
most people along.

We hear singers all the time – perfectly serviceable ones who can carry a tune and
sometimes touch our hearts. But it comes as a shock to hear a proper singer like
Kurt Elling. The Chicago native is often described as a “singers’ singer”, which
suggests a bit of a Joe Satriani-style show-off. But, with Elling, his vocal dexterity,
range and agility is always in service of The Song.

Unfortunately, the video is not from our festival, but it was performed with the
same composition and the same composition.

![Monterey Jazz Fest 2022: Kurt Elling's new band ready for spotlight](https://i0.
wp.com/www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/SJM-L-MONTEREY-0922-01.jpg?
resize=600%2C400&ssl=1)

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