KURT ELLING
Nightmoves

Concord

Read the Jazzitude reivew of Kurt Elling/Man In the Air

Kurt Elling’s newest release, Nightmoves, is his first for the Concord label. His three record deal with the label is part of a recent shakeup (including management) that Elling has instituted in hopes, one would think, of pushing his career to the next level. During his years with Blue Note, Elling became the de facto top male jazz singer around, assuming the hipster mantel from Mark Murphy (who’s not to be counted out on the evidence of his last release, Once to Every Heart). Elling’s live performances have become very popular, as the vocalist entertains with everything from jazz standards to poetry to scatting lyrics to well-known jazz standards and solos. His last release for Blue Note, Man in the Air, was a tour de force, offering deft ballad and standard readings, lyrics set to Pat Metheny’s soaring “Minuano” and the “Resolution” section of Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. Nightmoves moves away from the manic energy with an album that is much more controlled than almost anything Elling has done.

At first it may sound a little too controlled, but this is a subtle album. In concept, it covers the time period between the arrival of dusk and the approach of dawn—the night. Such a concept could be addressed in any number of ways, but Elling approaches it in fashion that is typical for him, exploring the depth of the theme, more concerned with creating an atmosphere than in adhering to the theme in a narrow way. So you get tracks like Randy Bachman’s “Undun,’ originally about a drug burnout, transformed into a song about being destroyed by your passions, perhaps. But the tune’s feel and lyrics and Rob Mounsey’s arrangement make it the perfect track for this disc.

Honestly, the only things here that really are different are some changes in the cast of characters and the sense of restraint that I mentioned before. But perhaps restraint is the wrong word, because it implies a holding back, and Elling doesn’t seem to be holding back here. Instead, he presents his program with a clarity that hasn’t usually been present for an entire disc before. As for the cast of characters, pianist Laurence Hobgood and Willie Jones are here from Elling’s longstanding trio. Bassist Rob Amster is replaced by Christian McBride, and while longtime fans will notice differences in style, there is no difference in the quality of bass work here. Bob Mounsey adds texture with electric piano and keyboards, but does not step on Hobgood’s toes. As always, Hobgood provides wonderful arrangements, here he writes parts for the Escher String Quartet. Also offering assistance is Bob Mintzer, who provides some gorgeous tenor solos that perfectly complement Elling’s voice. Elling has provided vocal work on a couple of Bob Mintzer Big Band discs, so it’s fitting that Mintzer return the favor. He adds gobs of atmosphere to the opening title track and to “Undun.” Harmonica player Gregoire Mamet puts his stamp on Alan Pasqua’s “And We Will Fly.”

The disc closes with three tour de force performances. The first, a duet between Elling and Hobgood, juxtaposes Elling’s lyrics to a Keith Jarrett improvisation with “In the Wee Small Hours.” Elling’s rendition of “Wee Small Hours” is completely without pretense or drama, the statement of a solitary man in the dead of night. Next up is a set of Elling lyrics to “Body and Soul,” recast as “A New Body and Soul.” The first two and half minutes are again just Elling and Hobgood, providing a good transition from the previous track. “Hearing voices / calling out of every corner of the city/Glittering pretty / but it seemed like empty pity here/Chasing them…” Elling sings, showing again how much more than an interpretive singer he really is. The final track finds Rob Amster back in the bass chair. Duke Ellington’s “I Like the Sunrise” is a straight performance by Elling and his trio. It ends this program on a hopeful note, with many of the previous days disappointments and indiscretions wiped from the mind, at least for the moment.

Nightmoves is a successful introduction to the next phase of Kurt Ellings’ evolution as a vocalist. Here’s hoping that he gets his due and simultaneously sells a lot of CDs. This is an ultra-cool CD that should find its way into many CD changers well into the summer.