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Of course we all know when music's too much in the head, and we define our greatest players by the way they are able to communicate directly from their emotional selves.
Kurt Elling -
It's a beautiful thing to have time in the world, as a singer and as a musician, to make friends with people of the musical caliber of a Tommy Smith, an Arturo Sandoval, a Richard Galliano, a Till Broenner.
Kurt Elling
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In New York, the drummers rush for a reason - because there's so much energy crackling through everything in that city and so many collisions at a highly accelerated rate.
Kurt Elling -
The musicians in Chicago gave me my vocation, but New York calls to a jazz musician, for sure. You want to test your mettle.
Kurt Elling -
Out in L.A., things relax even further than they do in Chicago. There's such a looseness to it, and there's a potentially refreshing advantage to that.
Kurt Elling -
You don't want to make records so you can win a Grammy. You make records because you want to be a musician.
Kurt Elling -
If you're going to be transparent, you're going to have to let the music come that wants to come.
Kurt Elling -
I consider myself very fortunate. I have a beautiful wife who supports my work and is raising our daughter when I'm out on the road.
Kurt Elling
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I've tried to learn as much as I can about the great jazz singers to understand what makes them important, vital artists, but there is always something more to learn.
Kurt Elling -
Music is a physical expression that has a physical impact upon the listener. Sound travels in waves through the air. This is not abstract. This is scientific fact. And it makes physical contact with the eardrum... and with the heart... and with the rest of the body.
Kurt Elling -
When improvisation is properly applied, it is compositional thinking, sped way up.
Kurt Elling -
People want to have access to jazz because it has a vibe that's very strong.
Kurt Elling -
Grammy nominations are certainly pleasant, but you can forget about them and lead a perfectly happy life - provided you have the approval of the musicians you work with.
Kurt Elling -
The idea is to be unrestrained by categories.
Kurt Elling
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A lot of the commercial world wants to bank in on the cachet that jazz brings.
Kurt Elling -
There are incredible musicians around the world.
Kurt Elling -
Sometimes, with vocalese, I'm dealing with something, a great solo from the past, which is so iconic I can't presume to change it or mess with it.
Kurt Elling -
You don't just let a guy drop off the earth and not come together with everybody who knew him and loved him and respected him. You try to do it the right way.
Kurt Elling -
You work very hard on the lyrics. Getting them to fit the contours of improvised melodies.
Kurt Elling -
Listening to something without being present is different from being there in the flesh.
Kurt Elling
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A lot of people are put off by the idea of scat singing. Either that or it's something to be made fun of.
Kurt Elling -
I've worked with a number of big bands, but there's nothing in life like the Basie band.
Kurt Elling -
It's pretty rare in jazz to have a full-on steady band.
Kurt Elling -
I'm a goof, man.
Kurt Elling