aaamusic | On 17, Feb 2011

Kurt Elling will be launching The Gate at the Barbican in London on March 14th 2011

Grammy-winning vocalist Kurt Elling releases new album produced by the legendary Don Was, and featuring songs by artists including King Crimson, Herbie Hancock, The Beatles, Wayne Shorter and Stevie Wonder

The New York Times is one of numerous publications to declare that Kurt Elling is the “standout male vocalist of our time,” and The Gate, Elling’s follow-up to his Grammy-winning Dedicated to You, is perhaps the finest album of his career.

Produced by Don Was (Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan), The Gate is a musical collection in which boundaries cease to exist, a sensibility enhanced by Was, who had expressed the desire to work with Elling – an opportunity which Elling found irresistible.

“I first heard Kurt on the local jazz station and was knocked out by his exotic blend of soul, technique, intelligence and charismatic hipness,” Was recalls. “He made this diverse collection of songs his own and we had a blast.” “What Don brought to this project,” says Elling, “was his love of music and musicians, and a confidence that liberated us from all concern. He is the consummate producer and this was an extraordinary experience, my favorite in a studio.”

Elling developed his four-octave baritone in church choirs and later emerged on the national jazz scene in 1995 when Blue Note released Close Your Eyes. He made his Concord Records debut in 2007 with Nightmoves and all nine of his albums have been nominated for Grammys.

The Gate points Elling in a new and satisfyingly emotional direction. He has somehow found a way to make a deeply personal statement out of the music of King Crimson, Joe Jackson, Stevie Wonder and the Beatles, in addition to providing a new and vibrant understanding of Miles Davis, Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock. The album features longtime associate Laurence Hobgood on piano, Bob Mintzer on sax, John McLean on guitar, John Patitucci on bass, two drummers, Terreon Gulley and Kobie Watkins, and percussionist Lenny Castro. “The musicians on this recording inspired me to be…better” Elling noted.

The Gate closes with a song that represents Elling’s continued dedication to exploring jazz’s past and blazing a trail for its future. Composed by the late Don Grolnick, “Nighttown, Lady Bright,” featuring spoken words written by Duke Ellington and additional lyrics by Elling, who wished to close the album with a cinematic depiction of a jazz musician’s life.

Said The Washington Post, “Since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling. With his soaring vocal flights, his edgy lyrics and sense of being on a musical mission, he has come to embody the creative spirit in jazz.” That spirit is in rich evidence on The Gate – and a musical feast awaits those who pass through.