SNJO Steppin' Out with Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling is renowned almost as much for his adventurous song choices as he is for his sensational vocal talent and the richness of his voice. The Chicago-born vocalist’s audiences and the musicians who work with him have come to expect anything from a jazz standard to a Scottish folk song to a King Crimson number, as was the case when Elling first toured with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra in 2012.
The range is similar on this latest adventure. Lyrics by Sting, Joe Jackson and Kent-based singer-songwriter-activist Nina Clark will feature alongside those of Great American Songbook contributors Laurenz Hart and Sammy Kahn and some that Elling has written himself.
“Kurt Elling is a phenomenon,” says SNJO founder and musical director, Tommy Smith. “Since that first set of concerts in 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, Kurt’s artistic vision knows no bounds.”
Recognition for this artistic vision, as well as the sheer quality of Elling’s performances, has been abundant on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US he has won two Grammy Awards, having been nominated sixteen times, and he topped the prestigious Downbeat magazine's Critics Poll on fourteen consecutive occasions from 2000 to 2013, subsequently adding to this success. 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 have also been forthcoming.
These concerts take their name from English singer-songwriter Joe Jackson’s 1982 hit Steppin’ Out, which Elling recorded on his 2011 album, The Gate. From the same era you’ll also hear Tea in the Sahara from The Police’s copious catalogue. There are also numbers that have long been familiar to jazz listeners in Duke Ellington's Tutti for Cootie, Count Basie’s L'il Darlin’ and, arguably, Frank Sinatra’s signature swing song, Come Fly With Me.
Alongside these and the startling vocalese that Nina Clark added to guitarist John Scofield’s grooving Jeep on 35, there are the poetically astute lyrics that Elling has set to tunes by jazz masters, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist-composer Carla Bley and the revolutionary bassist Jaco Pastorius from his time with Weather Report.
“This is a really exciting way to open our 2024/25 season,” says Tommy Smith. “Working with Kurt Elling is always inspiring and his choice of material for these concerts, we feel sure, will stimulate our audiences and musicians alike. Steppin’ Out promises both the reassuringly familiar and, as jazz was once famously described, the sound of surprise.”
