Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz vocalist.
Elling graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota in 1989. He then enrolled in The University of Chicago Divinity School and remained a student there until January 1992, when he left school one credit short of graduation.
In the last decade, Elling has released seven albums for the Blue Note label. He has also performed and recorded with David Amram, Bob Belden, Joanne Brackeen, Oscar Brown, Jr., Billy Corgan, Orbert Davis, George Freeman, Buddy Guy, Jon Hendricks, Charlie Hunter, Randy Bachman, Bob Mintzer, Rex Richardson, and Bob Sheppard.
Elling has won the Down Beat and JazzTimes critics’ polls three years in a row in the Best Male Singer category. He is also Vice Chair of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the 17,000-member service organization that produces the annual Grammy Awards. Kurt Elling's 2007 album "Nightmoves," released by Concord Jazz, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
As of 2008, Elling's band included Laurence Hobgood on piano, Robert Amster on bass, and drummer Kobie Watkins. Elling has been regularly featured at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge at 4802 N. Broadway in Chicago, generally on Wednesday evenings when the band was not on tour.
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