Kurt Elling

Item: Man In The Air
Author: Jeff Cebulski

Man In The Air

(2003)

Reviewed by Jeff Cebulski

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Label Blue Note RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth2004

jazz swing

Speaking of singing, while everyone else is gaga over Diana Krall (and even her new husband, Mr. Costello) and Cassandra Wilson...and that poser Norah Jones...three albums by people who actually seem to sing jazz were released within the past year.

Chicago's Kurt Elling has fed on and extended the traditions of Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine, Jon Hendricks, and Mark Murphy for over a decade and has released several varied albums for Blue Note. His latest displays him at his best, practicing vocalise, the art of putting words and scats into instrumental classics. On Man, Elling sings along with the music of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, Joe Zawinul, John Coltrane (a powerful and universal 'prayer' to the tune of Part 2 of A Love Supreme), and even The Association ("Never My Love"). Elling clearly has a romantic side, but isn't afraid to swing and take chances with arcane poetry. This guy should be a star.

One guy who will probably be a star in the near future is young Peter Cincotti, whose debut on Concord was touted by no less than CBS television as a return to Young Sinatra. Indeed, Cincotti sounds more naturally like Frank than his predecessor, Harry Connick, Jr., under whose wing Cincotti learned to sound like Frank. Unlike Connick, though, Cincotti seems to relish a small club ambiance and the intimacy of lyrics. He's not afraid to play around with arrangements and pace; on this CD, he creates a fully masculine reading of "Miss Brown" and meshes "Fool On the Hill" with "Nature Boy" in a way that makes it seem like the most natural thing. Only 19 when he recorded this album (produced by Phil Ramone), Cincotti shows his already matured piano chops on all the songs--like Connick, but with more nuances that place his work within the scope of jazz while still lending support to his singing.

Lizz Wright was introduced to me by one of this rag's editors, who thoughtfully sent me a CD-R of a radio broadcast of her singing at the New Orleans Jazz Festival last year. While no studio CD can really capture the thrill of live performance, Salt at least provides an accurate transcription of the breadth of this singer's range and material. Like Wilson, Wright can hit low notes with appropriate timbre; like Anita Baker, Wright can weave notes around and through even the most mundane and pedestrian lyrics to create a personal statement. Wright's gospel influences are clearly evident in style and word, occasionally crossing over into romance but without cloying nuances. After hearing her version of Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" (sung like Coltrane played it), I figured I was hearing the real deal.