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Jazz Messenger
With Kurt Elling
Jazz Vocalist
Friday, Oct. 26, 2001; 12:30 p.m. EDT
Many consider Louis Armstrong one of the most influential jazz artists of the 20th century, an instrumentalist who used his voice the same way he used his trumpet -- as a means of conveying humor, passion and sensitivity. This season the Kennedy Center continues to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Armstrong's birth with a series of performances by the voices of jazz's present and future.
First up in the "Louis Armstrong Legacy Series" is jazz vocalist Kurt Elling. He has been called a groundbreaking jazz vocalist and bandleader and is also an established composer and lyricist who has written and directed literary and artistic events. Elling was online Friday, Oct. 26, at 12:30 p.m. EDT, to talk about his upcoming performance, his latest album, "Flirting With Twilight" and his take on jazz as an American art form.
A transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Kurt Elling: ok then. here i am. sorry about the no capital letters thing. let's get it on.
ke
N.Y., N.Y.:
Who is your greatest musical inspiration?
Kurt Elling: in jazz, I guess it wd have to be mark murphy, but it's hard to just say one person -- dexter gordon, jon hendricks, von freeman in chicago -- usually people you actually meet and get to hang with are more important that people you only hear on recordings
Washington, D.C.:
So why did you decide to do songs from the "American Songbook?"
Kurt Elling: on the first four of our records we made a lot of left turns -- you know, do a ballad, scat, tell a story, jump up and down . . . this time i just wanted to take one idea, in this case, an Idea of arranging for voice rhythm section and three horns put on "simmer" and allow the idea to develop more fully. I personally do not think of this record as a so-called "songbook" record.
Kalamazoo, Mich.:
I agree that Chet Baker is one of the best jazz vocalists ... would you ever do a full tribute album to him?
Kurt Elling: at this point, i don't really believe in "tribute" records. as far as i'm concerned, the best tribute living artists can give to those explorers and experimentalists who have come before is to go further. honor the tradition of the new thing by being new.
Washington D.C.:
What has most recently influenced your music? Have your influences changed over the years?
Kurt Elling: most recently, the events of sept 11 have made me focus more on the calling i have to lift people up with music. i have always felt that this aspect of my musicianship has been important. now, however, it seems especially important to focus the music in such a way that people are reminded of the grace which surrounds them and the beauty in which they take part.
also, the cats and i spent a week over in japan just now and got to catch wayne shorter and his killing band three times. it was hugely exciting and inspiring. i encourage everyone to hear this band. you will be moved and challenged in extraordinary ways.
Washington, D.C.:
How does performing in a theatrical venue differ from performing in a club setting? Have you played in Washington before?
Kurt Elling: things are always a little more formal and, i guess, subtle in a staged venue as opposed to a club. both are very rewarding, but in different ways. the freewheeling aspect of interaction with a club audience allows for a looser set, whereas in a performing arts setting, everyone is there specifically to listen and the overall focus of the room is sharper.
Washington, D.C.:
You came to this singing thing (professionally) kind of late. What happened?
Kurt Elling: it's funny. i think i came to it late, too, but then i think of it and i was really only 21 or 22 when i first started sitting in at the club level. before then i was sitting in with groups in college. of course, the archetypal jazz conversion story usually takes place when a kid it, maybe ten or thirteen -- or else the kid grows up in a jazz house and no conversion is needed. either way, it now seems to me that 21 is not that old at all. after all, i was singing all the time from the first day i can remember -- just not jazz. additionally, plenty of people in jazz tried something else for a bit before going full-throttle for jazz. jon hendricks was, if i remember correctly, in law school when bird frist asked him to come to NYC.
Washington, D.C.:
Can you explain exactly what "vocalese" is? And do you do that all the time?
Kurt Elling: vocalese was invented by eddie jefferson. he was on the road in a territory band playing sax & got bored. he started writing lyrics over the charlie parker solos he loved and had memorized. he did this just to pass the time, but it was cool and it stuck. then, king pleasure came along and wrote & recorded whole albums of material in this vein. he made the medium popular & paved the way for Jon hendricks, wh9o showed us all how intelligent and witty the artform could be.
basically, the vocalese writer uses horn solos on recordings as the template on which he or she writes a lyric.
Arlington, Va.:
Are you in the style of Harry Connick Jr?
Kurt Elling: well, harry connick, in his most popular form, is actually in the style of frank sinatra. inasmuch as i am also influenced by mighty mighty frank, connick and i share a linneage. however, i would say that connick is a singer of "traditional popular music" (as the grammy people wd have it. I am a Jazz singer.
Alexandria, Va.:
Was jazz ever dance music?
Do or can people dance at your performances?
Do you want them to?
Kurt Elling: jazz was most certainly dance music when it was at its popular peak. bands like the basie band and benny goodman's band were the most popular dance bands in their day. but when bird and dizzy and the beboppers came along they wee more interested in what the challenges of virtuosity had to offer them -- essentially, the music and the artist became more important than the dancing couple (or individual). it is a tradition that has continues to this day.
that having been said, if somebody feels like getting up and dancing at one of my shows, i say get up and dance
Nani/Texas:
I have one of the 15,000 Jazz Scene albums issued in 1952 (a gift from my father to my mother) with great black and white photos of Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Neal Hefti, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Stan Kenton and more. It is one of my greatest treasures. Who of the older jazz greats influenced you? My 12-year-old grandaughter just started playing trumpet in her school band. She loves her instrument so much, she sleeps with it!
Kurt Elling: i have tried to listen to the best of the past and to learn from it. dexter gordon, lester young, the basie band, ellington, of course louis armstrong, frank sinatra, bird -- i have listened and taken what i could. i love the tradition, and i congratulate you for feeding your daughter the best in musical history.
Washington, D.C.:
What would you recommend for a young singer (say high school age) to do about becoming a professional jazz singer?
Kurt Elling: listen to all the jazz records you can. ask your teachers and musician friends to recommend the best. listen to all teh great singers -- joe williams, betty carter, mark murphy, jon hendricks, chet baker, sarah vaughan -- and try to understand the peculiar genius of each one. try to phrase along with them and teach yourself to sound like them. later on, you will naturally develop your own sound that is based on the best of the past. (just don't get trapped in a game of sound-alike. it's bad form to go through your whole life trying to sound like ella fitzgerald. it's bad for the music, too)
when it's time for business, be prepared to work harder and longer than anyone you know. even BEFORE you start on business, you will have to work harder than anyone you know. an gwendolyn brooks said -- "art is a requiring courtesan". and be prepared to go broke if you have to. being a jazz singer is not light work.
Bethesda, Md.:
What are your other interests besides music?
Kurt Elling: my wife and i have a modest collection of contemporary visual art, and we go to a lot of gallery events. i also collect photos of graveyards i take while on the road, and find rituals surrounding death pretty interesting -- though not in a macabre way. i read quite a bit.
Georgetown:
Where do you fall in the Euro vs. U.S. jazz debate?
Kurt Elling: U.S. jazz musicians often have a muich keener sense of the history of the music and of how the music, in its original apprehension and intention, sounds. European Jazz musicians on the local level, love the idea of improvisation, but often neglect to come to terms on a dep level with what has come before to make the current situation possible. however, there are, of course, excellent european players. ultimately, good music of any kind justifies itself.
Dupont Circle:
What have you been listening to outside of jazz?
Kurt Elling: i dig macey gray. also allison krause. i must admit that eminem is a guilty pleasure, though i do not recommend him for young people. i continue to listen to king crimson and other art rock. mostly, i listen jazz.
Chicago, Ill.:
In reference to the difference in settings, club or a "legit" venue, which do you prefer to play in?
Kurt Elling: they each have their charm and i would be loathe to give up either one.
NW D.C.:
Outside of N.Y.C. what are the best jazz cities, where does D.C. stand?
Kurt Elling: obviously, i am partial to the scene in Chicago. New Orleans continues to have a strong and vibrant scene of its own. Copenhagen, Denmark has a very strong scene, and is populated with players who are serious and seriously talented. there are also a lot of players in australia.
Chicago, Ill.:
Your releases have been very successful and popular, do you have any thoughts on your next recording or project? Anything you've always wanted to pursue or record that you haven't had the chance to do yet?
Kurt Elling: well, i'm not sure if any of my releases could be honestly called "popular" in terms of big sales.
i have thoughts about the next thing, but we're working the road right now. understand that my records happen organically, over time. things percolate. i don't sit down to write a blueprint for the house until i already know most of the rooms i want to make.
Adams Morgan:
What do you think Satch would think of Wynton and that crowd?
Kurt Elling: well, i don't want to make the mistake of putting words in the master's mouth. my humble and distant opinion is as i have stated elsewhere: Jazz is a fwd looking tradition. it is a tradition of explorers and asks that those who wish to play risk playing the new thing. we fall in love with players because they are unique and speak to our time. trying to sound like someone else or recreate what has gone before is something like asking people to fall in love with you because you remind them of their old girlfriend.
that having been said, wynton has performed a valuable service to the music by promoting its history.
that having been said, the Jazz history should mnot be confused with Jazz in the present day.
Alexandria, Va.:
Kurt,
Great to have you back in town.
I know you've been involved in Chicago's
New Year's celebration in the past. Are
you involved again this year, and if so,
what do you have planned?
Kurt Elling: i think i might be laying low -- as i think most of us might be. we'll see whit time brings.
Kurt Elling: got to go for now, but dig: you are all free to address further questions to the forum page of my own web site. it's embarrassingly called www.kurtelling.com all are welcome.
we're at the Kennedy Center tonight at 7:30 -- almost sold out, but there may be cancellations & there's a line for that, too.
thanks to washingtonpost.com for hosting me today. hope to see you all soon.
ke
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