On July 22 Blue Note will release Kurt Elling’s Man In the Air, the singer’s sixth album, which finds him fitting lyrics to songs like John Coltrane’s “Resolution” and Herbie Hancock’s “A Secret I.”
Elling’s usual cohorts-pianist Laurence Hobgood, bassist Rob Amster, and drummer Frank Parker Jr.-are in tow for the duration of Man In the Air‘s dozen tracks, but are joined by vibist Stefon Harris and saxophonist Jim Gailloreto. The album’s release isn’t far away, but if you have a hankering for some idiosyncratic scat, sate yourself at www.kurtelling.com. The man’s Web site features audio previews of four album tracks, including Pat Metheny’s “Minuano” and Joe Zawinul’s “Time to Say Goodbye.” There are also a number of Real Audio streams of cuts from albums by Orbert Davis and Yellowjackets at the site which Elling lent his voice to, as well as a few live tracks. How about a Man In the Air track list?
Minuano
In The Winelight
Resolution
Time To Say Goodbye
The Uncertainty Of The Poet
The More I Have You
Man In The Air
A Secret I
Higher Vibe
Hidden Jewel
Never My Love
All Is Quiet
In other Elling news, the singer was recently elected to the position of Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., the people who run the Grammys. He has worked as one of the Recording Academy’s Chicago Chapter Trustees for a while and was partly responsible for expanding Grammy’s rap and world music award fields and establishing separate fields for both comedy recordings and classical production. The new position places him in the second-highest elected position within the Academy.
He’s also about to embark on a lengthy tour that will see him traveling in Europe before returning to the States in late August. Tour dates:
7/12/2003 Aarhus, Denmark Concert Hall Aarhus
7/13/2003 Amsterdam, NET PWA Hall
7/14/2003 Almunecar, Spain Parque Del Mojuelo
7/19/2003 Tenerife, SPA Canary Islands Jazz Fest
7/20/2003 Las Palmas, SPA Auditorio Alfredo Kraus
7/28/2003 Madrid, SPA Calle 54
7/29/2003 Madrid, SPA Calle 54
7/31/2003 Paris, FRA New Morning Paris
8/1/2003 Milan, ITA Blue Note
8/2/2003 Milan, ITA Blue Note
8/3/2003 Milan, ITA Blue Note
8/4/2003 Javier, SPA Javier Jazz Festival
8/6/2003 Crest, FRA Escape Soubeyran
8/8/2003 London, ENG Pizza Express
8/9/2003 London, ENG Pizza Express
8/10/2003 Brecon, WAL Brecon Jazz Festival
8/23/2003 Chicago, IL Orchestra Hall
9/12/2003 Washington, DC Kennedy Center
9/13/2003 Washington, DC Kennedy Center
9/20/2003 Monterey, CA Monterey Jazz Festival
9/26/2003 Los Angeles, CA Getty Museum
9/30/2003 Oakland, CA Yoshi’s
10/1/2003 Oakland, CA Yoshi’s
10/2/2003 Oakland, CA Yoshi’s
10/3/2003 Costa mesa, CA Orange County Performing Arts Center
10/4/2003 Costa mesa, CA Orange County Performing Arts Center
10/7/2003 Seattle, WA Jazz Alley
10/8/2003 Seattle, WA Jazz Alley
10/9/2003 Seattle, WA Jazz Alley
10/10/2003 Aachen, GER Jazz Alley
10/11/2003 Seattle, WA Jazz Alley
10/12/2003 Seattle, WA Jazz Alley
10/31/2003 Appleton, WI Lawrence University
11/21/2003 Detroit, MI Orchestra Hall
12/10/2003 Champaign, IL University of Illinois
12/11/2003 Champaign, IL University of Illinois
12/12/2003 Champaign, IL University of Illinois
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