Welcome to the Artistic Director's Guide

The Artistic Director's Guide is our way of taking you "beyond the bio". Here you'll find audio and video clips, and I'll describe what I like about each artist and suggest why he or she is important to the scene. So dive in—use the menu options above to find an artist, and let's seek to answer "What's so good about...?"

Josh Grossman, Artistic Director
Toronto Downtown Jazz

What's so good about Kurt Elling?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Thu May 19 3:55pm
Artist: 
Kurt Elling

I'm trying to remember when I first heard Kurt Elling. I'm pretty sure it was while driving, on my way to teach a trumpet lesson many years ago, on CJRT, on Ted O'Reilly's show. I think Ted played Kurt's version of "My Foolish Heart" from Live in Chicago. After singing through the melody, and after Laurence Hobgood has played a gorgeous piano solo, the band suddenly drops into a very quiet vamp as Kurt works his magic, singing original lyrics and building the tension.

COPYRIGHT © 2013 TORONTO DOWNTOWN JAZZ
Site by writeup.org & plousia