Kurt Elling

Born in Chicago and raised in Rockford, Illinois, Kurt Elling first trained in choirs and church music before turning to jazz during his studies at Gustavus Adolphus College, and then in Chicago where he began singing in clubs in the early 1990s. His trajectory is built around vocal jazz nourished by swing, ballads, vocalese, and improvisation, with a strong emphasis on text, phrasing, and poetic rewrites over instrumental lines. Discovered on the Chicago scene, notably around the Green Mill, Kurt Elling signed with Blue Note and released Close Your Eyes in 1995, followed among others by The Messenger in 1997, This Time It’s Love in 1998, Live in Chicago in 2000, Flirting with Twilight in 2001, and Man in the Air in 2003. His long collaboration with pianist Laurence Hobgood has shaped a large part of his live and recorded work, before other projects with Branford Marsalis, Charlie Hunter, or Sullivan Fortner. After his stint with Concord, where Nightmoves appeared in 2007, Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman in 2009, The Gate in 2011, and 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project in 2012, Kurt Elling continued with The Questions in 2018, Secrets Are the Best Stories in 2020, and then the Wildflowers cycle in 2024. His recent work with SuperBlue broadens his spectrum further toward a more electric, soulful, and groove-oriented jazz, without leaving behind the vocal improvisation that remains at the heart of his style.