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Kurt Elling's Passion World at Jazz at the Kimmel
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Perelman Theater
Philadelphia, PA
October 5, 2014
Kurt Elling has repeatedly proved his mettle as a vocalist, accumulating so many Downbeat awards and Grammy nominations that it seems superfluous to once again critique any of his performances. One can only say, "Ditto, he's done it again." But, because he keeps developing his scope, it's always worth taking a new look.
A telescopic perspective can help. The last time this reviewer saw Elling live was a decade ago at a classy but now defunct Philly jazz club, Zanzibar Blue. He had just released his album, Man in the Air (Blue Note, 2003). At that time, Elling's vocal persona was that of a beat generation Jack Kerouac character. Since then, he has added many new styles and inflections to his repertoire, and, in the current concert at the Kimmel Center, he incorporated many of them into a musical portrait of human nature and romance that he calls "Passion World," providing an interpretive feast that was appetizing from beginning to end.
Elling realizes that jazz singing has an element of theater, and he developed the performance into a series of character portrayals and life situations. He invoked a variety of jazz styles and idioms as he wended his way through a repertoire as diverse as van Heusen/Cahn's "Come Fly with Me," Duke/Harburg's "April in Paris,"
Sam Cooke
vocals1931 - 1964
Elling has a way of finding superb sidemen, each of whom offers something unique yet knows how to accompany a singer without intruding upon him.
Emmet Cohen
pianob.1990
John McLean
guitar
Clark Sommers
bassb.1977
Charlie Haden
bass, acoustic1937 - 2014
Kendrick Scott
drumsb.1980
Elling began by taking the
Frank Sinatra
vocals1915 - 1998
Bill Evans
piano1929 - 1980
Elling's version of "April in Paris" featured sharp scatting and organ backup that gave a frenzied feeling to a tune that has been done as everything from a sentimental ballad to Basie's swing approach. In keeping with the "passion" theme, one could imagine the side of love that is intense and burns itself out quickly, which might well happen in a Parisian springtime.
"Love's a Tangled Road" is a tune that Elling has previously performed with its composer, the French accordionist
Richard Galliano
accordionb.1950
Elling then explained his intention of exploring diverse languages. He sang in French a tune recorded by Dizzy Gillespie, "The Number of Love," and an additional "francais" twist was implicit in a very effective guitar solo by McLean. Elling's by now classic rendition of
John Lennon
guitar and vocals1940 - 1980
Next came a John McLean arrangement of a song by the Icelandic singer Bjork, introducing a poetic element into the mix. The song has an almost mystical melody and lyrics, such as the echoing mantra-like "Who is it who gave you back your crown?" An ancient god or mythical figure seemed to hover in the background, a feeling that was heightened by Cohen's subtle and sophisticated piano work.
Elling and the group then interposed two Latin numbers with a salsa twist and more than a touch of acid rock supplied by guitarist McLean. Pianist Cohen knocked off lively solos as the salsa effect intensified to the level of a block party in Spanish Harlem.
In sharp contrast to the celebratory salsa mood, Elling proceeded to the aforementioned setting of James Joyce's poem "Dear Heart" (Chamber Music, 1907), an early Joyce sonnet about a lover's plea to his woman: "Dear heart, why will you use me so?" Here the music was almost ethereal and highlighted by Clark Sommers' bass solo, which accentuated the Celtic feeling.
The set concluded with
Antonio Carlos Jobim
piano1927 - 1994
Edith Piaf
vocals1915 - 1963
It is good news that jazz appears to be making a revival at the Kimmel Center, the premiere music venue in Philadelphia, after several years when it almost fell off the map there. The Elling concert was the first of a new series entitled "Jazz at the Kimmel" featuring class acts like the newly minted Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia; Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; Maceo Parker; Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra; and Jason Moran and the Bandwagon. The series is one more indication that jazz is making a renaissance in Philly after several slow seasons brought on by the economic recession in 2008.
Tags
Kurt Elling
Live Reviews
Victor L. Schermer
United States
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
Sam Cooke
Emmet Cohen
John McLean
Clark Sommers,
Charlie Haden
Kendrick Scott
frank sinatra
Bill Evans
Richard Galliano
John Lennon
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Edith Piaf
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