I have recently gotten into Kurt Elling. I thought he was interesting before but somehow I just never clicked with him. In the meantime I really got into Betty Carter and digested her innovations and I think that when revisiting Elling this really helped me to see his own vision and his own decidedly heavy skill at both singing and interpreting.
Listened to this one today, a recent arrival. It has blown me away, I love the concept of love and loss that permeates the song selection and that is so effectively conveyed through the singing. The centerpice, "You Don't Know What Love Is," is a powerful performance. It made me think of the years of separation due to her mental Illness my late wife and I went through, and also the parting I was forced to make over seven years ago from "the one that got away." I'll just say I was snapped to attention listeneing, and very moved. An excellent recording as well. The horns are nice, but I think I would have liked this one trio only.
Kurt Elling "Flirting with Twilight" Blue Note cd
Then I thought of another male vocalist that I think has mad skills, Andy Bey, and I put on "Black Maybe" from the Gary Bartz LP I listened to yesterday. This is a very different type of performance, but a great one for me. I love Syreeta's version of this tune as well.
Then on to another extremely talented singer, Rhianon Giddens. What an amazing human being, what a consummate musician. This one is full of atmosphere and recorded to deliver.
Rhiannon Giddens, "There is No Other" (with Francesco Turrisi)