{"id":12233,"date":"2007-09-21T13:25:30","date_gmt":"2007-09-21T11:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/?p=12233"},"modified":"2022-08-25T23:51:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T21:51:10","slug":"kurt-elling-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-jazz-man-by-arturo-mora-and-pablo-sanz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/kurt-elling-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-jazz-man-by-arturo-mora-and-pablo-sanz\/","title":{"rendered":"Kurt Elling: portrait of the artist as a jazz man, by Arturo Mora and Pablo Sanz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Singer and songwriter Kurt Elling has become a cultural icon in the U.S.A. The release of his latest record <em>Nightmoves<\/em> has taken him on a world tour which included a date in Madrid (July 13th 2007). Just a few hours before the concert Arturo Mora and Pablo Sanz had the chance to interview him in a relaxed environment. His album, jazz, artistry and other topics are presented here as discussed by Elling.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12226\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12226\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12226\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_1.jpg\" alt=\"Kurt Elling \u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_1-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_1-82x55.jpg 82w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_1-60x40.jpg 60w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_1-120x80.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12226\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><em>Kurt Elling<\/em><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><em>\u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">PABLO SANZ: After a successful career in Blue Note, why did you switch to the Concord label?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: Well, I hope it will continue to be successful. They signed me for six records at Blue Note, and I made six, and at the same time I\u2019m turning 40 this year, my wife and I had our first child, we changed apartments, so&#8230; many changes. And I wanted to see who else was interested and what other partnerships I could make. I felt that I could do more, and also just \u2018cause I\u2019m curious about life. And so far, so good [laughs]. Everything\u2019s gonna be OK, galactic! [laughs].<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: Is it because of all that that you called your new CD <em>Nightmoves<\/em>, because all of this change happening?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: Yeah, it does fit into that. I called the record <em>Nightmoves<\/em> because in my mind the record tells us a sort of cinema of the mind. You can put it on if you want to and follow the character through overnight. When the night comes it\u2019s a very special feeling, the sun is horizontal and it\u2019s that beautiful magic hour and it always feels to me that anything is possible. In the daytime is like: \u201cI gotta do these things\u201d, responsibilities, phone calls, whatever, but when the sun starts to go down, now life can happen. Many moves, many possibilities, love and betrayal and adventure and maybe the truth comes out.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: &#8230;and jazz.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: And, of course, jazz. Jazz is tough in the daytime [laughs].<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">PABLO SANZ: Cassandra Wilson told me once that instead of choosing songs, songs chose her. Which is your working method, how and why do you choose the songs?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: Every record comes after another period of time, of touring with the band, so let\u2019s say that there\u2019s two years between a record. Over two years you\u2019re playing the record you\u2019ve just put out and you say: \u201chey, I\u2019ve got these three other ideas for a record\u201d. Or you sit down and you have an idea for a song. So over two years there are too small intuitive decisions. You follow your ideas, you follow what\u2019s pressing you here, and over one year or two years you\u2019ve made many decisions: this doesn\u2019t work, or you need to change this, or this makes the audience really happy in this way. So any idea that I have, and as much as I can put it down on paper we can start to play it right away and find out if it fits or not. So a record, in its best way, is the culmination of many small decisions. It\u2019s one big decision that comes of many small, small decisions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: What do you look for in a solo to work on it in vocalese?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: First I just have to like it, fall in love with the piece of music, and sometimes I love a piece of music for many years before I even think of it to write a lyric, because I don\u2019t wanna only listen to music with more work in mind. I want to just be a fan too. But every once in a while I go: \u201cI like this, I wonder if it could work\u201d, and then I have to listen to see if it is possible, because, let\u2019s say, maybe the musician plays something that\u2019s very, very fast, or that isn\u2019t notes, that\u2019s just sound. Then I have to say: \u201cwell, can I sing this? If I sing it, will it just sound ridiculous? Is it impossible? Is the range too broad?\u201d, there are some technical decisions to figure out. If it works I sit down and try to learn the solo, and while I\u2019m learning it I try to make a scratch lyric, just to get ideas going. Or, sometimes, I\u2019ll be listening to a solo and there will just be a lyric. Sometimes the way the musician plays will be so lyrical, as if he were singing, not playing the trumpet or the saxophone. That\u2019s the best way, because then I feel that I\u2019m just translating from another language. I pretend it. And then it\u2019s very hard work, like any other writing.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12231\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12231\" style=\"width: 267px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12231\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_2.jpg\" alt=\"Kurt Elling \u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2004\" width=\"267\" height=\"200\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_2.jpg 267w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_2-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_2-200x149.jpg 200w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_2-73x55.jpg 73w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12231\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><em>Kurt Elling<\/em><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><em>\u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2004<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">PABLO SANZ: Your jazz audiences notice the differences between younger singers like Jamie Cullum or Michael Bubl\u00e9 and you. Do you feel you\u2019re more a jazz singer than these guys?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: Well, I am different. I think Jamie\u2019s great, I think he\u2019s a lot of fun, and I think he\u2019s really hip and new. I don\u2019t know Michael Bubl\u00e9 as well, I only know some big band stuff, but I get the feeling that Michael Bubl\u00e9 doesn\u2019t really care as much about being a jazz person. No judgement but, I mean, I\u2019m an artist, I\u2019m a jazz artist, and in many ways it makes my relationship with a new audience much more difficult in any country, because what I do is not as straightforward, is not as clear the very first time, and the references I make sometimes are a little obscure, and the music that we make is more complicated. That means I have to be very conscious to try to make an audience happy early. Make them happy right away, and give them something that they will say: \u201coh, I\u2019m so glad we came\u201d, and then when I make the difficult thing they say: \u201che\u2019s heavy, what do you think about this?\u201d [laughs]. In may ways I wish I could be breezy: no cares, you\u2019re eighteen, &#8230; but I\u2019ve never really been eighteen [laughs], I\u2019ve always been an old man.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 4em; text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">So do I feel different? Yes, but I believe in what I do and I believe that enough of the people in the world want to have some challenge, and want to have good conversation after a concert, and then they have some creation as well.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: You sing, you write, you\u2019ve worked for the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, you\u2019ve also worked with your wife Jennifer, who\u2019s a dancer. Do you think all art forms are, in some way, related?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: Oh yeah, sure. I don\u2019t know all the ways, but my intuition tells me they come from the same kind of feelings among the people who end up really becoming artists. There\u2019s a incomplete feeling that you have when you can\u2019t do your work, and I know that there\u2019s a lot of awkward struggle and pain that is common to all people, but has a unique challenge to people who are artists. Yeah, I believe that what artists are really doing, they are reaching out for the future, they are holding up an example of something that\u2019s nouveau, something that\u2019s important to society. And I\u2019ll tell you why: because when I go to hear Keith Jarrett or Wayne Shorter, or when I go to the ballet \u2013 the ballet is so beautiful \u2013 it reminds you what\u2019s possible for human beings, and it\u2019s very moving, and it lets you forget terror and disappointment and pain, and it lets you focus only on something that is pure in intention and beautiful in execution, and in that way makes everyone who\u2019s in the audience paying attention more noble. It\u2019s the evolution of the species, it\u2019s the maintenance of humanity in many ways.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 4em; text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">And don\u2019t forget to put that I\u2019ve worked very hard against George Bush, even before he was elected the first time, which he wasn\u2019t. [laughs]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">PABLO SANZ: Talking about George Bush, do you know our former president Aznar, who appeared in the trio photo with Bush and Blair? [laughs]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: The one who went away because of that? I was very proud of you when this happened. That\u2019s not easy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 4em; text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">There\u2019s something in human beings that tries to destroy everything. Original Sin is a legitimate category of our experience, and it describes something real, it describes a will that we have to hurt each other, and to leave myself up by pushing you down. This gets back to your question: this is why art is important. That\u2019s why your intention\u2019s got to be so powerful every time you perform. I heard the story about Wayne [Shorter] in the back seat of a car going for a soundcheck or something and he says to his road manager: \u201chow\u2019s it going?\u201d and he goes: \u201cit\u2019s terrible, this thing didn\u2019t work out, luggage got lost, there\u2019s a long, long list of things\u201d, and Wayne says: \u201cwhat are you gonna do tonight?\u201d, and the manager says: \u201cI don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t know, I just feel so bad. What are you gonna do tonight?\u201d, and Wayne says: \u201cI\u2019m going to manifest my enlightenment through music\u201d. See? That\u2019s what I mean. Long day, airport, my wife and my little baby are thousands of miles away, but here are people and I have my work, and I\u2019m here to aspire to this experience that I have with other artists, that\u2019s what I\u2019m here to do. That\u2019s what makes me feel different from someone who\u2019s eighteen.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12227\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12227\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12227\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_2.jpg\" alt=\"Kurt Elling \u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_2.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_2-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_2-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_2-82x55.jpg 82w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_2-60x40.jpg 60w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_2-120x80.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12227\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><em>Kurt Elling<\/em><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><em>\u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">PABLO SANZ: You\u2019ve kept your collaborators for a long time (Laurence Hobgood, Rob Amster, Willie Jones III). What can you tell us about them?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: First of all I realize how fortunate I\u2019ve been, because of the level of musicians that I have in my band. They\u2019re excellent and superior. They could have played with anybody, even from the time when I only paid them forty dollars on a gig and I had no Blue Note contract. This is part of the gift that the city of Chicago gave to me, that there\u2019s a scene with those top calliber musicians who were accessible to me and who helped me begin, and we\u2019ve developed after the years tight working relationships, and I value it and I understand how much a gift it is, because we have a sound that belongs to us, and it\u2019s very rare these days in jazz to have something that holds on to itself, even when there\u2019s a lot of money involved the groups tend to be together for two or three years. For example Josh[ua] Redman and the San Francisco Jazz Collective, great incredible bunch of musicians, and already after a couple or three years: \u201cI\u2019m ready to move on\u201d and one guy goes like this, and then the other guy goes like this&#8230; Brad Mehldau Trio, those guys have the sound, there\u2019s a reason: Brad knows what he\u2019s going for and this makes sense. So to me it makes sense too, there\u2019s other people I\u2019d like to work with and have fun with and experiment with, but it\u2019s more important for me to be able to work with my musicians. And if I start to move musicians around I know it\u2019s &#8230; so much effort. [laughs]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: In your new record there\u2019s a song called \u201cThe Waking\u201d, a duo between you and bassist Robert Amster. The lyrics are a poem by Theodore Ruthke. How did the music come out?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: I\u2019ve done this many times, to take a piece of poetry and make it work with a piece of music. Over the chord changes I will freely make a new melody with this piece of poetry, and in some cases this is developed into kind of set pieces, because they work so well and it gives the audience something that\u2019s new from me, even on a piece of music of mine that they know very well. In the case of \u201cThe Waking\u201d that you\u2019re referring to I just asked Rob to make a motif and we just started the same way without any idea of how it would work out and we played it in many gigs. Then when we went into the studio, it was not in the list for the record, but in the very first day, when we were going to do the first cut, there was something so wrong with the piano that we couldn\u2019t make the record with that piano, so the five people got on the phones and while they\u2019re doing this, as I don\u2019t like to waste any time, I said Rob: \u201cLet\u2019s do this, and maybe something will come out of it, and at least we\u2019ll be busy\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12228\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12228\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12228\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_3.jpg\" alt=\"Kurt Elling \u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_3.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_3-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_3-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_3-82x55.jpg 82w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_3-60x40.jpg 60w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_3-120x80.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12228\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><em>Kurt Elling<\/em><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><em>\u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: The content of the lyrics in your music is very important. May this be a problem with non-English speaking audiences? Have you found foreign audiences less receptive because they didn\u2019t know the lyrics?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: Well, I\u2019m very conscious of this, as I said I need to make people happy, and I know that what I do is difficult even for people who speak English, and I don\u2019t have a better answer other than: I guess people just listen to it as just music. You know, when I listen to a beautiful fado singer I don\u2019t know what she\u2019s singing about, I just feel like: \u201clisten to that, that\u2019s incredible\u201d, and I feel the passion, I feel the music. You don\u2019t always have to know everything that\u2019s happening, you don\u2019t have to know all the layers because maybe what she\u2019s singing has all that history, and she\u2019s referring to other singers and&#8230; But I don\u2019t know any of that. So the lyric is not necessary for every single audience. It\u2019s necessary for me, because I\u2019m the writer. But, well, it\u2019s an imperfect world. [laughs] Or maybe it\u2019s better they don\u2019t know what I\u2019m singing about specifically, maybe I\u2019m not a good enough writer [laughs].<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: In your project <em>Spirituality, Poetry &amp; Jazz <\/em>you said: \u201cLyric writing is a form of poetry. It must rhyme and follow a coherent form. In the sub-category of Jazz and vocalese writing, that means the composition of words to fit the melodic contours and rhythms of a modern musical art form that is exhaustingly challenging.\u201d Do you think in some way lyric writing is underrated?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: I don\u2019t know, I mean: does anybody even care? Does anybody even care enough about poetry? You care, obviously, but I mean people. Do people even pay attention to poetry enough to say: \u201cthis is more important than the other\u201d? I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: But for you&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: For me, I don\u2019t have the training and the understanding enough for poetry as it stands alone to take part in that art form in a deep way. But over here I understand music, and I know what sounds right for a language most of the time, and I like it and it feels like it\u2019s something I should do, because there\u2019s almost nobody else interested, and the people who came before me made an important thing happen, they made a new form of art, and they didn\u2019t go to art school, Eddie Jefferson didn\u2019t go to poetry school, and Jon Hendricks didn\u2019t go to poetry school, and Annie Ross, and their stuff sounds killing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 4em; text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">I\u2019m very critical of my work and I try to improve all the time and when I look back at some pieces that I\u2019ve written sometimes I say: \u201cman, I wish I had written that section better\u201d. Like you do when you try to get better. But at the same time here I am, and some of the times it\u2019s pretty good, so I just keep trying.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12230\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12230\" style=\"width: 267px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12230\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_1.jpg\" alt=\"Kurt Elling \u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2004\" width=\"267\" height=\"200\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_1.jpg 267w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_1-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_1-200x149.jpg 200w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_johnny_1-73x55.jpg 73w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12230\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Kurt Elling<\/span><\/em><br \/><em><span style=\"color: #999999;\">\u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2004<\/span><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: Three years ago you performed live in Madrid the song \u201cThe Sleepers\u201d. In <em>Nightmoves<\/em> you\u2019ve recorded that song with a string quartet. How has the piece evolved through the years?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: We don\u2019t perform it every night. I get bored easily, so the set changes a lot over time, and there are certain specific things that have lasted much longer than others. \u201cThe Sleepers\u201d started from a Fred Hersch work, and then it became something we did in another key with strings. But I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t listen to the record very much, I don\u2019t like to go: \u201cYeah, I sound great!\u201d [laughs]. After we make the record, and I do my best to make sure it sounds as good as I can make it, I tend not to listen to it very much, so I\u2019ll have to play it for you tonight and you\u2019ll tell what does change.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: I\u2019ll tell you [laughs]. How did the collaboration with Christian McBride happen?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: Christian and I had met a bunch of times, but we\u2019d only got to play together twice or three times. We just called him to find that he was gonna be in town, and then we invited him to make an arrangement, and he\u2019s super beautiful, a really loving guy who\u2019s a complete top master of music. He was beautiful enough to bring his thing into our world. It was very easy, I just called him up, played a little bit and everything came together.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 4em; text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">With most jazz people it\u2019s not that big of a deal, if you meet them a couple of times and you respect each other\u2019s work and &#8230; The jazz world is not so big, it\u2019s not like calling a David Bowie or something. There\u2019s a couple of guys I couldn\u2019t call up: Wayne [Shorter], Keith [Jarrett]. I could sort of call Herbie [Hancock], but I\u2019d really had to have something to invite him on. There\u2019s sort of like ten guys, but everybody else is like you can just call them up and say: \u201cHi, it\u2019s Kurt\u201d.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: How do you work with Laurence Hobgood? When you\u2019re writing a song or an arrangement, who does what?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: All the time it\u2019s different. He\u2019ll bring to me something that\u2019s a big sketch, and I\u2019ll come to his house, and we\u2019ll play and he\u2019ll say: \u201cwhat do you think?\u201d, and I\u2019ll say: \u201cwell, I don\u2019t understand that section\u201d or \u201cthis is really cool\u201d or \u201cI would like to hear this section like this\u201d, and we\u2019ll work on it together until we find something out, and we\u2019ll probably do one session, and then after we have it all up he\u2019ll go to work and I\u2019ll go to work on my thing and sometimes I\u2019ll bring to him something that\u2019s for me almost ready to go, but I\u2019ll know his, you know, brain, so: \u201chow can we fix this up?\u201d And he\u2019ll go: \u201cwow, that is good, what about if we did this?\u201d. So it\u2019s like a conversation that either one of us can start. We can go from many places.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12229\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12229\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12229\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_4.jpg\" alt=\"Kurt Elling \u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_4.jpg 200w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_4-100x150.jpg 100w, https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_4-36x55.jpg 36w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12229\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Kurt Elling<\/span><\/em><br \/><em><span style=\"color: #999999;\">\u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007<\/span><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">ARTURO MORA: Upcoming projects, musical or whatever?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" align=\"left\">KURT ELLING: The biggest thing I have is that I have a lot of touring, and I\u2019m kind of in the middle of what\u2019s happening, I\u2019ve got a lot of business to take care of. The touring, I\u2019ve got a lot of special projects, I\u2019ve got a Nancy Wilson special concert to make, we\u2019re doing big orchestra things in Australia in 2008 and I need to commission big charge for it and figure out which tunes, &#8230; I\u2019m always writing, so that\u2019s always happening. Overtime I\u2019m working on a screenplay, but it\u2019s taking a long time, \u2018cause I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing, so I\u2019m learning while I go. The baby\u2019s a big deal, I really wanna make sure I do that right. I used to have like ten things, but now I want to be a good father, and it\u2019s very, very difficult to be on the road this much and to do that at the same time. So when I\u2019m home I\u2019m not going to be kicking around and say: \u201cI\u2019m going to work on my screenplay today\u201d, I\u2019m definitely going to be in with my baby and make sure that she\u2019s cool and give my wife a break and try to be a man. It\u2019s a big deal. It\u2019s the number one project right now.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">Text \u00a9 2007 <a class=\"copy\" title=\"arturomora@gmail.com\" href=\"mailto:arturomora@gmail.com\">Arturo Mora Rioja<\/a> and Pablo Sanz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Singer and songwriter Kurt Elling has become a cultural icon in the U.S.A. The release of his latest record Nightmoves has taken him on a world tour which included a date in Madrid (July 13th 2007). Just a few hours before the concert Arturo Mora and Pablo Sanz had the<span class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/kurt-elling-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-jazz-man-by-arturo-mora-and-pablo-sanz\/\">Contin\u00faa leyendo<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001022,"featured_media":12228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17861,17863,17865,17850,78,15537,9,15517,1038],"tags":[9432,260,1487,43,9428,5017,1566,1590,9431,12790,465,1263,12791,9423,13,732,1887,982,271,9425,9424,9433,7196,9426,9429,9427,187,9430,77,2337,7818],"class_list":["entry","author-cabanijazz","post-12233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arturo-mora-rioja","category-fernando-ortiz-de-urbina","category-pablo-sanz","category-sergio-cabanillas","category-afondo","category-entrevistas","category-perfiles","category-textos","category-contenidos","tag-annie-ross","tag-arturo-mora-rioja","tag-blue-note","tag-brad-mehldau","tag-brad-mehldau-trio","tag-cassandra-wilson","tag-christian-mcbride","tag-concord","tag-eddie-jefferson","tag-entrevista","tag-fernando-ortiz-de-urbina","tag-fred-hersch","tag-interview","tag-jamie-cullum","tag-jazz","tag-jon-hendricks","tag-joshua-redman","tag-keith-jarrett","tag-kurt-elling","tag-laurence-hobgood","tag-michael-buble","tag-nancy-wilson","tag-pablo-sanz","tag-rob-amster","tag-robert-amster","tag-san-francisco-jazz-collective","tag-sergio-cabanillas","tag-theodore-ruthke","tag-tomajazz","tag-wayne-shorter","tag-willie-jones-iii"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_3.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12464,"url":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/tomajazz-recupera-kurt-elling-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-jazz-man-by-arturo-mora-and-pablo-sanz\/","url_meta":{"origin":12233,"position":0},"title":"Tomajazz recupera&#8230; Kurt Elling: portrait of the artist as a jazz man, by Arturo Mora and Pablo Sanz","author":"Tomajazz","date":"2 junio, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"PABLO SANZ: Cassandra Wilson told me once that instead of choosing songs, songs chose her. Which is your working method, how and why do you choose the songs? KURT ELLING: Every record comes after another period of time, of touring with the band, so let\u2019s say that there\u2019s two years\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00ab*_Arturo Mora Rioja\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"*_Arturo Mora Rioja","link":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/category\/arturo-mora-rioja\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kurt Elling \u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_3-200x133.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12466,"url":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/tomajazz-recupera-kurt-elling-retrato-del-artista-de-jazz-por-arturo-mora-y-pablo-sanz\/","url_meta":{"origin":12233,"position":1},"title":"Tomajazz recupera&#8230; Kurt Elling: retrato del artista de jazz, por Arturo Mora y Pablo Sanz","author":"Tomajazz","date":"2 junio, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"PABLO SANZ: Cassandra Wilson me dijo una vez que en vez de escoger canciones, las canciones la escog\u00edan a ella. \u00bfCu\u00e1l es tu m\u00e9todo de trabajo, c\u00f3mo y por qu\u00e9 escoges las canciones? KURT ELLING: Cada disco sale tras un per\u00edodo de tiempo, estando de gira con el grupo, as\u00ed\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00ab*_Arturo Mora Rioja\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"*_Arturo Mora Rioja","link":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/category\/arturo-mora-rioja\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kurt Elling \u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_1-200x133.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12225,"url":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/kurt-elling-retrato-del-artista-de-jazz-por-arturo-mora-y-pablo-sanz\/","url_meta":{"origin":12233,"position":2},"title":"Kurt Elling: retrato del artista de jazz, por Arturo Mora y Pablo Sanz","author":"Sergio Cabanillas","date":"21 septiembre, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"El cantante y compositor Kurt Elling se ha convertido en un icono cultural en Estados Unidos. La aparici\u00f3n de su \u00faltimo disco Nightmoves le ha embarcado en una gira mundial que inclu\u00eda una fecha en Madrid (13 de julio de 2007). Tan s\u00f3lo unas horas antes del concierto Arturo Mora\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00ab*_Arturo Mora Rioja\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"*_Arturo Mora Rioja","link":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/category\/arturo-mora-rioja\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kurt Elling \u00a9 Sergio Cabanillas, 2007","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/elling_1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":73891,"url":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/jazz-para-ti-jpt101-t05p18\/","url_meta":{"origin":12233,"position":3},"title":"Jazz Para Ti: #JPT101 T05P18 Por Pachi Tapiz [Podcast de jazz]","author":"Tomajazz","date":"17 mayo, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"En la edici\u00f3n del 16 de mayo de 2023 de Jazz Para Ti suena m\u00fasica de Lobo & Dirty Martini, Stephane Wrembel, Rez Abbasi and Josh Feinberg\u2019s Naya Baaz, Pata Polaris, Astrocolor, Nacho Botonero 5tet, Symbiosis 5, Brad Mehldau y Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter. Jazz Para Ti es un\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abJazz Para Ti\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Jazz Para Ti","link":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/category\/contenidos\/sonidos\/podcast\/jazz_para_ti\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jazz Para Ti: #JPT101 T05P18 Por Pachi Tapiz [Podcast de jazz] - Tomajazz 9.0 - \nEn la edici\u00f3n del 16 de mayo de 2023 de Jazz Para Ti suena m\u00fasica de Lobo & Dirty Martiny, Stephane Wrembel, Rez Abbasi and Josh Feinberg\u2019s Naya Baaz, Pata Polaris, Astrocolor, Nacho Botonero 5tet, Symbiosis 5, Brad Mehldau y Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter. Jazz Para Ti es un programa de radio de Pachi Tapiz que se emite en la RCB.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/JazzParaTi-101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/JazzParaTi-101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/JazzParaTi-101.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/JazzParaTi-101.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":717,"url":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/john-pizzarelli-rockin-in-rhythm-a-tribute-to-duke-ellington-nola-recording-publicado-en-2010\/","url_meta":{"origin":12233,"position":4},"title":"John Pizzarelli: Rockin\u2019 In Rhythm. A Tribute To Duke Ellington  (NOLA Recording. Publicado en 2010) [Grabaci\u00f3n de jazz]","author":"Autor1","date":"6 mayo, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Arturo Mora Rioja repasa Rockin' In Rhythm. A tribute to Duke Ellington.","rel":"","context":"En \u00abGrabaciones...\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Grabaciones...","link":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/category\/contenidos\/textos\/grabaciones\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomajazz.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/John-Pizzarelli_Rockin-In-Rhythm.-A-tribute-to-Duke-Ellington.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39883,"url":"https:\/\/tomajazz.com\/web\/dinah-washington-y-iii-dizzy-gillespie-i-la-odisea-de-la-musica-afroamericana-169-podcast\/","url_meta":{"origin":12233,"position":5},"title":"Dinah Washington (y III) &#8211; Dizzy Gillespie (I). La Odisea de la M\u00fasica Afroamericana (169) [Podcast]","author":"Tomajazz","date":"19 noviembre, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Por Luis Escalante Ozalla. 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