Lyrics by Sting, Joe Jackson and Kent-based singer-songwriter-activist Nina Clark feature alongside those of Great American Songbook contributors Lorenz Hart and Sammy Kahn and the singer himself in Kurt Elling’s latest concerts with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.
Kurt Elling, who is almost as renowned for his adventurous song choices as he is for his sensational vocal talent and the richness of his voice, has opted for a blend of the familiar and not-so-familiar for the tour.
Among the words he’ll be singing are the ones he set to Carla Bley’s Lawns and Jaco Pastorius’s Three Views of a Secret. He’ll also revisit the energising vocalese with attitude that Nina Clark gave to John Scofield’s Jeep on 35, which was released on video by the SNJO during the pandemic.
Joe Jackson’s 1980s hit Steppin’ Out, which Elling recorded on his album The Gate, lends the tour a theme song that for SNJO artistic director Tommy Smith, is entirely appropriate.
“Kurt Elling is a phenomenon,” says Smith. “Since 2012 he has collaborated with us on a series of captivating and diverse programmes. From honouring the legendary Frank Sinatra to crafting the seasonal spiritual experience of Spirit of Light and delving into profound philosophical themes in works such as Apparition Bridge and Syntopicon, Elling’s artistic vision knows no bounds.”
Recognition for Elling’s talents has been plentiful. In the US he has won two Grammy Awards, having been nominated sixteen times, and he topped Downbeat’s Critics Poll on fourteen consecutive occasions from 2000 to 2013, subsequently adding to this success. He has also won three Prix du Jazz Vocal in France, two German Echo Awards, two Dutch Edison Awards and the International Jazz Artist of the Year title at the Jazz FM Awards.
“As well as putting his own stamp on established songs including, in these concerts, Come Fly with Me and You Are Too Beautiful, Elling has written definitive lyrics for tunes by jazz masters including saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist-composer Carla Bley and the revolutionary bassist Jaco Pastorius,” says Smith. “We’re looking forward to delivering these with him in vibrant orchestral arrangements.”
The tour begins in Elgin Town Hall on Thursday 26th September as part of Findhorn Bay Festival and continues in Perth Concert Hall on Friday 27th, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Saturday 28th and Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh on Sunday 29th.
“This is a really exciting way to open our 2024/25 season,” says Smith. “Working with Kurt Elling is always inspiring and his choice of material for these concerts is sure to stimulate our audiences and musicians alike. Steppin’ Out promises both the reassuringly familiar and, as jazz was once famously described, the sound of surprise.”
