Kurt Elling

Kurt Elling is an American jazz singer lauded for a soaring style and technical dynamism singing standards and his own lyrics with artists performing improvised versions of solos by classic jazz stars such as John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny. He has won and been nominated for many jazz awards and in 2017 he toured the world with the Branford Marsalis Quartet. The Chicago-born vocalist sang in church choirs as a boy and turned to jazz in the early 1990s. He has collaborated with many other top artists such as David Amram, Oscar Brown Jr., Buddy Guy and Jon Hendricks.

He has had eleven songs on Billboard's Jazz Albums Chart including six top ten hits: 'Upward Spiral' which went to number eight in 2016, 'The Beautiful Day: Kurt Elling Sings Christmas' (2016), 'Nightmoves' (2007) and 'The Gate' (2011), all of which reached number seven, and 'Passion World' (2015) which peaked at number five. He has had eleven Grammy Award nominations for Best Jazz Album, eventually winning for his 2009 tribute album to John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, 'Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman' .

He has been artist in residence at the Singapore and Monterey Jazz Festivals, composed pieces for Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre and performed at the White House in Washington DC. He has led his own ensemble and collaborated with many of the world's most renowned orchestras. In 2017 he toured America and Europe with the Branford Marsalis Quartet and his 2018 dates included concerts in England, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and several cities across America. He released an album of brand new material in March 2018 titled 'The Questions'.