Kurt Elling has always been a prolific and adventurous artist. A vocalist who’s prepared to put himself in to a variety of settings and situations to see where the music will take him and his distinctive voice. Recent years have seen him really pushing the boundaries and possibly testing his more traditional fans with a series of releases with his SuperBlue collective with guitarist Charlie Hunter and two stars of the hip-hop generation: drummer Corey Fonville and bassist-keyboardist DJ Harrison (both of the genre-hopping band Butcher Brown). And now comes another wholly fresh project from an artist who clearly has a desire to connect his creativity directly with his audience with the minimum of friction.
Hence Wildflowers Vol 1 and 2 are two albums each recorded in a single studio day and released digitally within weeks. The first featured duets with pianist Sullivan Fortner and a song with Cécile McLorin Salvant. Wildflowers, Vol. 2 is a five-track album featuring collaborations with pianist Joey Calderazzo, alongside the acclaimed trumpeter and composer Ingrid Jensen. The session was recorded in late September, released within days on Bandcamp and on wider digital services from this week.
The set reunites Kurt with Calderazzo who he played with extensively on tour ( and on a great album) with Branford Marsalis’ band. “It was a thrill to record with Joey for the first time as a duo,” says Elling. I knew from our work together on the road with Branford Marsalis that Joey was a melodic master. To collaborate with him and with Ingrid Jensen for an afternoon was an adventure in focus and dedication.”
The repertoire is typical of Elling who often combines originals with well-known standards and with more obscure choices – putting his own words to deeper cuts. His 2003 version of Grover Washington’s Winelight being a prime example. So there’s the songbook of Kurt Weill and Harold Arlen but also a Fred Hersch tune with lyrics by Norma Winstone and a Sting cut. The standout song is a version of Joe Zawinul’s Current Affairs from the 1982 album Weather Report. Kurt Elling can be divisive amongst jazz fans. He’s sometimes regraded as too showy and even parodic. But for me he’s a singer who brings the tradition bang up to date and who’s blessed with both a gorgeous voice and a superb technique. And as this project shows yet again he’s always looking to communicate in new ways.
In a world where the speed of digital can be overwhelming the immediacy of this music – from studio to our ears in a matter of weeks – is an idea that I hope becomes more popular.
This is our Album Of The Week on One Jazz w/c Monday 11th November