Director Selects: Kurt Elling debuts new project at The Soraya on Feb. 15

Kurt Elling stands in a class of his own, the genuine article. The jazz vocalist has performed an endless catalog of repertoire, jazz and standards alike, and has partnered with a long list of other A-listers. His upcoming project will debut at The Soraya, and was inspired by Elling’s relationship with the iconic sax player Wayne Shorter. Elling will look back to the 1970s, when Shorter and his group Weather Report changed the course of jazz by bringing a rock ‘n’ roll sensibility and introducing the then nascent technology of electronic sounds. Nearly 50 years later, before his death, Shorter gave Elling permission to add vocals to the Weather Report material, in many cases, echoing Shorter’s own sax line. This concert will be groundbreaking and charts new territory for Elling, as he brings a jazz milestone forward a half-century into the present day.

The other thread that ties the concert together is drummer Peter Erskine, who performed in the original Weather Report ensemble and also with the Yellowjackets, LA’s own who will open the concert.

In this video, Elling explains the whole project in greater detail. After debuting here, Elling and Yellowjackets will be ready for summer-long European tour.  

Gratefully,

Buy Tickets