Fine & Performing Arts

By Ann Piccininni, Daily Herald

Grammy Award-nominated jazz singer Kurt Elling returns from a jaunt across Europe and a one-night gig in New York’s Allen Room for a single evening performance Friday in North Central College’s Wentz Hall.

“I’m doing a special thing for the gig in Naperville,” Elling said. “It’s sort of a special project.”

The concert, he said, will center around an innovative homage to a collaboration between saxophonist John Coltrane and singer Johnny Hartman, a classic studio album recorded in 1963.

Titled “Dedicated to You,” the show will feature Elling’s vocals paired with Ernie Watts on saxophone. They will be joined by the Ethel String Quartet, Elling’s touring rhythm section featuring Juilliard-trained drummer Ulysses Owens and bassist Clark Sommers, and the Laurence Hobgood Trio

“Laurence and I wrote this together,” Elling said. “I do like to do jazz standards when I can, re-create them in a new way.”

A baritone with a four-octave range, Elling is well-known to patrons of Chicago’s Green Mill tavern in the city’s Uptown neighborhood. Elling is a Wednesday night mainstay there when he’s in town.

“I haven’t had a chance to do that for a while,” he said. “We’ve been in New York – for about six months now.”

Elling said in between tour dates that take him to destinations as disparate as Iowa and France, he’s been enjoying a “kind of creative sabbatical.”

While a sabbatical for most people means being “less busy,” he said, he’s inclined toward the opposite, “working on writing things with different writing partners.”

Elling, whose long list of awards and accolades was augmented recently with his being voted the top male vocalist in the JazzTimes Readers Poll, has a history as a Chicago divinity school student and a penchant for deep, contemplative lyrics.

A revised edition of his book, “Lyrics,” a compendium of the words to a sampling of work, is due out this fall.

North Central College’s expanded fine and performing arts program presents two outstanding opportunities to experience Chicago jazz dance at its best. Take your pick or treat yourself to both performances: River North Chicago Dance Company on Jan. 24 and Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago on Jan. 31.

The River North Chicago Dance Company offers a varied collection of bold, entertaining and innovative works combining athleticism and artistry. The award-winning Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago brilliantly infuses its foundation of Broadway movement with modern styles.

River North’s performance begins at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24. Giordano Jazz Dance’s show starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday Jan. 31. Both performances will be staged in Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave. Tickets for each show are $35/person; call the North Central College Box Office at 630-637-SHOW (7469) or visit www.northcentralcollege.edu/show.

River North Chicago Dance Company has been captivating audiences since its founding in 1989 by four visionary dancers/choreographers. Since then, the company has grown into a professional, jazz-based contemporary ensemble performing at home in Chicago and around the world. The troupe just returned from a tour of Europe and performed last summer at Ravinia. The dynamic core works developed by artistic director Frank Chaves, along with an array of pieces by nationally and internationally renowned choreographers construct a varied, diverse and powerful repertoire.

Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago is the original jazz dance company, founded in 1963 by legendary dancer and choreographer Gus Giordano. Now under the direction of Nan Giordano, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago has brought the excitement of American jazz dancing to audiences worldwide. Continually expanding the boundaries of jazz dance while diversifying the repertoire, the group has received critical acclaim for its new works. It serves as host performing company at each summer’s Jazz Dance World Congress, which has been held at the Kennedy Center and other noted venues. In 2004 the company received a Chicago Dance Award for its production and performance of Ron De Jesus’ “Prey,” proving it is one of Chicago’s cultural gems.

Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, proclaimed a “musical phenomenon” by a new generation of jazz fans, will bring his remarkable vocal styling to North Central College’s Wentz Concert Hall on Jan. 23. Lauded by the UK’s Jazz Review as a contender for “the best male jazz singer of all time,” Elling has traveled the globe with his quartet, performing in Europe, the Middle East, South America, Asia, Australia and North America’s preeminent jazz festivals.

Elling will perform at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23, in Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave. Tickets are $60/person; call the North Central College Box Office at 630-637-SHOW or visit www.northcentralcollege.edu/show. The performance is sponsored by Sara Lee Foundation.

Joined on stage by Ernie Watts and the Ethel String Quartet with the Laurence Hobgood Trio, Elling will perform music from Coltrane/Hartman, a “re-imagining” of the 1960′s collaboration of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, as well as selections from his 2007 release “Nightmoves.” His original compositions will be complimented by jazz standards, free-form improvisation, scatting and poetry.

Elling’s ability to manipulate his rich baritone between four octaves, along with his deft handling of rhythm, texture, phrasing and dynamic, have earned him the title of “jazz virtuoso.” His status among contemporary jazz musicians is cemented by his collaborations with respected acts, including Terrence Blanchard, Dave Brubeck, Benny Golson, Charlie Hunter, Al Jarreau and Joe Lovano. He has also penned numerous works for Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater and was commissioned by the City of Chicago to write, direct and perform a piece for the city’s millennial celebration. That work, titled “This Is Our Music, These Are Our People,” was lauded by the Chicago Tribune as “stirring” and “magical.” Elling has also served as a national trustee and national vice chair of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

This performance is one of many ongoing programs at North Central College to enrich and broaden the cultural and academic outlook for the College and community. For a comprehensive schedule of musical performances, theatrical productions, art exhibits and lectures, visit www.northcentralcollege.edu/show or call North Central’s Office of Marketing and Communications at 630-637-4300.