Kurt Elling releases Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman. The first performance of the material in this album was commissioned at the Chicago Jazz Festival to celebrate John Coltrane’s 80th Birthday. While on the road with this material at the Monterey Jazz Festival last autumn, Elling was invited to record a live concert in Lincoln Center. This album captures the night at Lincoln Center where Kurt Elling was masterfully joined by saxophonist Ernie Watts, the Laurence Hobgood Trio and the ETHEL String Quartet. Listen and you can enjoy the evening for yourself.
The twelve track album features songs that are uniformly excellent with a band that fuses so well together that this superior vocal jazz album is equal to the task of recreating the legendary 1963 collaboration of John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman born after a Coltrane performance at Birdland.
From the superb opening track “All or Nothing At All,” you’re aware you’re feeling the presence of contemporary jazz royalty. Dedicated to You consistently colors the jazz palette with a broad sweeping brush from the opening notes through the closing track of “You Are Too Beautiful.” It’s a heartfelt rendition which brings forward some of the most poignant vocals of the album.
One of the most compelling tracks of this album is the 4:05 minute “It’s Easy to Remember,” a spoken word jazz story that’s perfectly placed as the second track to draw the listener in to the journey of the night of March 7, 1963. It recounts the footsteps of Coltrane and Hartman on their drive to the studio.
Tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts’ eloquent mastery sweeps through “What’s New” and throughout to echo the iconic strains of John Coltrane. Elling sets forward interpretations of “Autumn Serenade” and “Nancy with the Laughing Face” that he cites as definitive examples of capturing the true inner essence of these two brilliant pieces of music. In this effort he earns his place interpreting the vocal brilliance of Johnny Hartman. Elling’s rendition of “Lush Life” masterfully does justice to both the Hartman adaptation and the Nat King Cole original. Acknowledgements on track eleven are an understated tribute to the band and the players that were there to recreate a night so spectacular.
In this interpretation, Elling achieves his aspiration to have respect for the moment and sing the songs that have resonated over four decades. Elling's Nightmoves was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards. The 52nd Grammy Awards will be held on January 31, 2010 at the Los Angeles Staples Center. Dedicated to You is one to first enjoy and then follow as Ellings perhaps will be honored with his second Grammy nomination as Kurt Elling sings the music of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.
Terry Martinez - MuzikReviews.com Senior Reviewer/Assistant Editor
June 30, 2009
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