You work very hard on the lyrics. Getting them to fit the contours of improvised melodies. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
If you're going to be transparent, you're going to have to let the music come that wants to come. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
I'm a jazz musician, and I really wanted to not miss an opportunity to have the full connection to jazz. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
Man, I just feel so fortunate to be a jazz musician at all. I have a hard time thinking of it any… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
I couldn't do what I do without the encouragement and influence of the musicians I played with in Chicago. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
Of course we all know when music's too much in the head, and we define our greatest players by the way they… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
You don't want to make records so you can win a Grammy. You make records because you want to be a musician. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
Grammy nominations are certainly pleasant, but you can forget about them and lead a perfectly happy life - provided you have the… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
I think my intention was there, and my love for the music was apparent. And there are very few singers who get… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
I'd been studying philosophy at the University of Chicago. I hadn't been doing well, because I was sitting in with jazz musicians… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
It's a beautiful thing to have time in the world, as a singer and as a musician, to make friends with people… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
The musicians in Chicago gave me my vocation, but New York calls to a jazz musician, for sure. You want to test… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
[Jazz singing] is like pornography. You can't say what it is, but you know it when you see it. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
It must be a hellish thing to know what's possible in music, to be hearing things all the time and not have… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
The audience should feel they are hearing the future, that is arriving just on time. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
That's the thing: There are so many art songs in jazz. It's a much more rich experience for the singer than people… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
I'm thrilled when I hear the greatest jazz musicians. They continue to search in ways other musicians do not. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
I was very lucky that more experienced musicians allowed me to caterwaul until I figured out what it was really about. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
I really thought I was gonna have a straight gig. But these jazz musicians put their arms around me time and again… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
Music is a physical expression that has a physical impact upon the listener. Sound travels in waves through the air. This is… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
Man, I just feel so fortunate to be a jazz musician at all. I have a hard time thinking of it any other way.… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
You can start from any source material, and you can approach it with a jazz ear, and then it will become a jazz moment. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
I don't really have a more intellectualized approach. After the fact, I can sure talk about stuff a lot - but when I make… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
I think my intention was there, and my love for the music was apparent. And there are very few singers who get up and… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
I've worked with a number of big bands, but there's nothing in life like the Basie band. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
A lot of the commercial world wants to bank in on the cachet that jazz brings. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
The great jazz and jazz-influenced singers carry themselves with a certain panache and a certain elegance and, for lack of a better word, self-confidence. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
You work very hard on the lyrics. Getting them to fit the contours of improvised melodies. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
A lot of people are put off by the idea of scat singing. Either that or it's something to be made fun of. — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
You want to be doing your best work whatever field of the arts you're in because your life's going to be over all too… — Kurt Elling Copy Share Image
![“[Jazz singing] is like pornography. You can't say what it is, but you know it when you see it.” quote by Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b41/kurt-elling-6944_jazz_jazz-singing-is-like-pornography-you-can_1883577.jpg)
