Kurt Elling went to the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh in the late 1980s to see a young saxophonist people were talking about.
Little did he imagine that one day they would be onstage together.
Elling was studying divinity at Edinburgh University on a year’s secondment from the University of Chicago.
He had no inkling either that, within a few years, he would sign to one of the great jazz record labels, Blue Note.
Jazz was a new interest. A couple of university friends had introduced him to albums by saxophonists Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane and every Friday they would go to the Queen’s Hall.
Fridays at the former church on Edinburgh’s southside were then a guaranteed source of top jazz.
Elling remembers seeing trumpeter Don Cherry and two saxophonists.
One was Kansas-born Bobby Watson.
The other was a local player who had already toured the world with vibes virtuoso Gary Burton and was developing an international reputation, Tommy Smith.
Elling became a fan. Now they’re friends and regular collaborators and they appear with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra in Perth on Friday, November 19.
Back in Chicago, Elling failed his masters degree by one credit.
Instead of becoming a professor of divinity, as intended, he started frequenting Chicago’s jazz clubs.
Best jazz singer in the world
He had always sung and hearing two significant influences, singers Mark Murphy and Jon Hendricks, he thought, that’s what I want to do.
These days he’s widely considered to be the best jazz singer in the world.
He has won two Grammy awards and been nominated for a further 15. He has also topped the prestigious Downbeat magazine critics and readers polls for 14 consecutive years.
“For me, singing jazz is as much about listening as it is actually singing,” he says.
“I’ve tried to learn from every one of the great jazz singers, to understand what made them great and what their contribution to the development of jazz singing has been.”
Elling learned from some of Chicago’s top instrumentalists too.
By day he worked for a removal company and by night he sat in with musicians including the legendary saxophonist Von Freeman, who took the singer under his wing.
Then, one night, Elling blagged his way onstage with the pianist who would help to shape his career, Laurence Hobgood.
They made a demo tape and sent it to the then head of Blue Note Records, Bruce Lundvall.
Signed up straight away
Lundvall played the tape while driving and what he heard made him pull over to listen properly.
He immediately set out to sign Elling before any other label could, and singer and company went on to forge a successful partnership.
Elling’s song choices have often surprised jazz listeners who expect singers to concentrate on the Great American Songbook.
Unique song choices
His album The Gate, for instance, featured songs by singer-songwriter Joe Jackson and prog rockers King Crimson.
“I’m fortunate that I spend a lot of time on the road so I can indulge my intuition as far as repertoire goes,” he says.
“Some songs are worked out in my head and then road tested until we have arrangements we’re happy with.
“But I also like to leave the possibility open for some instant magic to happen in the studio.
“That’s what happened with the King Crimson song Matte Kudasai. It’s actually one of a whole lot of songs from that band and that era that could be worked into the jazz canon.”
European jazz on the playlist
For the tour that brings him to Perth with the SNJO, Elling has added lyrics to some of his favourite European jazz compositions.
The music of the late Swedish pianist Esbjorn Svensson, Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, French master Michel Legrand and Paris-based Ivorian Anne Paceo will be represented with specially commissioned arrangements.
Elling is delighted to be touring Scotland with Smith and the orchestra he directs for the fifth time.
The concert will span all the emotions and help to reconnect people after the Covid shutdown.
“Plus,” Elling says, “the combination of talents at work, including the searching eloquence of saxophone master Tommy Smith and the superb SNJO provides the makings of a powerful and unique musical regrouping.”
- Kurt Elling and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra play Perth Concert Hall on Friday November 19.
