This is one of the most interesting jazz vocal sets to be released in 1997.
Kurt Elling covers a wide range of music, continually taking chances and coming up with fresh approaches.
He is assisted by his longtime pianist Laurence Hopgood, different bassists and drummers, and on various tracks trumpeter Orbert Davis and the tenors of Edward Petersen and Eddie Johnson.
Among the more memorable selections are Elling's vocalese version of Dexter Gordon's solo on the lengthy "Tanya Jean," and his spontaneous storytelling on "It's Just a Thing" (a classic of its kind), some wild scatting on "Gingerbread Boy," the fairly free improvising of "Endless," and his mostly straightforward renditions of "Nature Boy," "April In Paris" and "Prelude to a Kiss." Cassandra Wilson drops by for "Time of the Season," but does not make much of an impression.
This rewarding and continually intriguing set is particularly recommended to listeners who feel that jazz singing has not progressed much beyond bop.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nature BoyEden Ahbez | Kurt Elling | Play | 06:09 | 14 MB | 31 MB |
| 2 | April in ParisVernon Duke, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg | Kurt Elling | Play | 05:11 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | The DanceLaurence Hobgood | Kurt Elling | Play | 01:33 | 3 MB | 8 MB |
| 4 | Prayer for Mr. DavisKurt Elling, Laurence Hobgood | Kurt Elling | Play | 06:03 | 13 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | EndlessEdward Petersen | Kurt Elling | Play | 04:48 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | Tanya JeanDonald Byrd, Kurt Elling | Kurt Elling | Play | 10:16 | 23 MB | 60 MB |
| 7 | It's Just a ThingLaurence Hobgood, Eric Hochberg, Paul Wertico | Kurt Elling | Play | 04:31 | 10 MB | 22 MB |
| 8 | The beauty of all things | Kurt Elling | Play | 08:07 | 18 MB | 43 MB |
| 46 mins | 106 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 256 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eden Ahbez | Composer |
| 2 | Rob Amster | Bass, Bass (Acoustic), Bass (Electric) |
| 3 | Rod Argent | Composer |
| 4 | Paul Atkinson | Composer |
| 5 | Ed Blalach | Assistant Engineer |
| 6 | Colin Blunstone | Composer |
| 7 | Donald Byrd | Composer |
| 8 | Greg Calbi | Engineer |
| 9 | William Claxton | Photography |
| 10 | Orbert Davis | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 11 | Vernon Duke | Composer |
| 12 | Kurt Elling | Arranger, Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 13 | Duke Ellington | Composer |
| 14 | Irving Gordon | Composer |
| 15 | Hugh Grundy | Composer |
| 16 | E.Y. "Yip" Harburg | Composer |
| 17 | Jimmy Heath | Composer |
| 18 | Roger Heiss | Engineer, Mixing |
| 19 | Laurence Hobgood | Arranger, Composer, Piano, Producer, Synthesizer |
| 20 | Eric Hochberg | Bass (Acoustic), Composer |
| 21 | Eddie Johnson | Sax (Tenor) |
| 22 | Danny Kopelson | Engineer |
| 23 | Irving Mills | Composer |
| 24 | Edward Petersen | Composer, Sax (Tenor) |
| 25 | Patrick Roques | Design |
| 26 | Neil Tesser | Liner Notes |
| 27 | Paul Wertico | Composer, Drums, Guest Artist, Percussion, Producer |
| 28 | Chris White | Composer |
| 29 | Jim Widlowski | Drums, Percussion |
| 30 | Cassandra Wilson | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |