StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A Kurt Elling sampler

This week, our video lens is trained on singer Kurt Elling, who will be in town starting Wednesday, December 2 through Saturday, December 5 to perform at Jazz at the Bistro.

Elling's sets during this trip to St. Louis will focus on material from Dedicated to You, his recent CD revisiting the songs from the famed 1960s collaboration between singer Johnny Hartman and saxophonist John Coltrane.

The first video seen up above features a live performance of the title song from the CD, while the second clip shows Elling performing "All or Nothing At All," with saxophonist Ernie Watts joining in as he does on the recording. (St. Louis' own Willie Akins will provide the sax parts for Elling next week at the Bistro.) The third clip is the electronic press kit for Dedicated to You, featuring some brief audio samples and comments from Elling about the project.

Down below the EPK are two more clips that help demonstrate some of Elling's conceptual range as a singer. The first is a so-far-unreleased piece called "Life of the Mind" that shows off Elling's cerebral, poetic side, while the second clip, a terrific version of the late Betty Carter's signature song "Tight," provides convincing evidence of his ability to swing.

(Edited 11/30/09 to fix typos.)