Review: Kurt Elling Shows Up Strong for Shows at Birdland
He plays two shows a night through Saturday 1/11
I don’t know what kind of vitamins Kurt Elling is taking, but I want some. With “Steppin’ Out,” he stepped up to the stage to start his set at Birdland on a high with this number which is a favorite from his album The Gate. And right out of the gate, his muscular vocal prowess was on full display. He started at the level that some vocalists would only hope to build up to. And he kept going and going at this Olympic go-for-the-gold level, with lung power and love power galore, tackling complex powerhouse jazz structures, sometimes scat-singing. It was a night of big melodies, big energy and a big, bold, brassy band. Fiercely in command, his baritone blazing through robust, wide-ranging phrases, sustaining notes, he grabbed the audience’s attention. The Ulysses Owens, Jr. Big Band, bearing the name of its drummer/percussionist – a congregation 16 members strong — is a dynamic group with lots of blaring brass with one instrumentalist after another getting a chance to shine and be acknowledged by name. The singer seemed buoyed by the band, and vice-versa.
The man has a way with words—not just in singing them, but in writing them; some of the numbers in the program had melodies that were originally jazz instrumentals and the lyrics to a couple were inspired by poems. “A Secret in Three Views” began its life as a poem by the 13th century mystic Rumi. Rather more recent was the poem “The City Dark” by Robert Pinsky (American Poet Laureate, 1979) which inspired the Elling lyric “Speak to Evil,” set to a melody by a major jazzman who’s a favorite of the singer. That’s the late Wayne Shorter, the sax player whose career included years as a member of the jazz fusion group Weather Report.
Kurt Elling reported that he’ll march back into Birdland in March with a set of songs from the repertoire of that band founded by Joe Zawinul (the man who, by the way also wrote the song “Birdland,” the ode to this venue), and previewed the show with the Zawinul-penned selection “A Remark You Made.” The remarks Mr. E. made during the night referred to the times we live in, calling these early weeks of January we’re living in as, relatively speaking, “the good old days,” implying, I assume, that he doesn’t have high hopes for the administration coming into Washington DC. Other comments were about people fruitlessly “fighting ecstasy” and indirectly directing the willing listener to embrace happiness. I’m not sure what Elling is selling or telling, but he radiates thoughtfulness, a kind of fearlessness, and life-affirming vibes — serious, but joyful.
A current Grammy nominee (again) this year, Kurt Elling keeps exploring different styles and genres, with an enormously wide range of material handled. He’s admirably adventurous. In superb voice, as evidenced in this engagement which goes through Saturday night (January 11), the man holds notes long and strong, garnering appreciative applause. And the band gets much attention and showcasing, too, with invigorating instrumental sections. Jazz with a capital J was the agenda in the set I caught (7 pm on Thursday), as opposed to material from the American Songbook standards introduced in Broadway or film musicals or the mainstream pop charts. However, a classic of that ilk was chosen as an encore. It was “All the Way,” introduced on film by Frank Sinatra, and a hit for him. The Elling version was forceful but romantic. Lingering on and shaping the notes when singing the word “deeper” with his voice dropping especially low in the phrase “deeper than the deep blue sea” emphasized his control and range and was a personal touch. I also noticed that he changed the line “If you let me love you” to “If I’m gonna love you” — a subtle adjustment. It seemed that the attentive, packed attendees loved him. I'm glad I was among them.
Find more upcoming shows on Birdland's website.
Learn more about the artist on his website at www.kurtelling.com
Photo Credit: Cory Dewald
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