Kurt Elling Quotes
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I really thought I was gonna have a straight gig. But these jazz musicians put their arms around me time and again and said, 'Hey, young fella, you're one of us. Come with us.' That's a big deal when you're young and looking for your way in the world.
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I travel all the time. And as I go around the world, I try to learn a little something and not just take up all the available air.
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'Man in the Air' was an experience in exercise.
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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.
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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.
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I'm a guy who has more slapstick than Joe Cool moments in his day, so I'm not taking myself so seriously.
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My intellect was quickened at divinity school, and my abilities to discern were strengthened, and that's always valuable.
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I'm a goof, man.
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People just want to dig; they want to dance. They don't want to work all through the night, and neither do I. I like getting 'out there,' but communication should be occurring on more levels than heavy-laden philosophical.
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I had everything to gain by giving it everything I could.
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I've got enough miles under my belt to know that whatever you envision in your mind, even if it comes true, will only keep a shape in the most general way.
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It helps me to learn things in different languages, even if it's just phonetically, and to make myself vulnerable to other audiences by trying to reflect back to them the genius of their own cultures, and to do that, oftentimes, in new jazz settings, new arrangements. It's a way to show respect.
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I'm one of the culprits who keeps turning stuff around, shaking up original tunes and trying to stand the canon on its ear. But sometimes, you just need to sing the song.
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I've got more low notes than I had when I started.
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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.
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People want to have access to jazz because it has a vibe that's very strong.
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The musicians in Chicago gave me my vocation, but New York calls to a jazz musician, for sure. You want to test your mettle.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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There are incredible musicians around the world.
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As improvisers, we're acting as composers in front of people.
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You don't want to make records so you can win a Grammy. You make records because you want to be a musician.