Grammy-winning vocalist Kurt Elling performs at UNT April 4

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - 21:32
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What: The Kurt Elling Quintet performs a concert of original compositions and modern interpretations of standards

When: 8 p.m. April 4 (Thursday)

Where: Winspear Hall at the Murchison Performing Arts Center, 2100 Interstate 35 Frontage Road, Denton

Cost: Free for UNT students with ID. Tickets are $30 for the public and $15 for UNT faculty, staff and Alumni Association members.

Contact: To purchase tickets, call the box office at 940-369-7802 or visit www.theMPAC.com/tickets.

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One of the world’s foremost jazz vocalists, Grammy winner Kurt Elling, and his band perform April 4 at the University of North Texas as part of the UNT Fine Arts Series.

The 8 p.m. concert in the Murchison Performing Arts Center features original compositions and modern interpretations of standards. Elling recently released a new album, 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project, which honors and celebrates the locale that the London Telegraph called “the most important generator of popular songs in the Western world.” The album includes Elling’s interpretations and signature arrangements of songs like “On Broadway,” “A House Is Not A Home” and “So Far Away.”

Every one of Elling’s 10 albums has been nominated for a Grammy. The vocalist has won every DownBeat Critics Poll for the last 13 years and has been named “Male Singer of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association eight times in that same span. Elling’s rich baritone spans four octaves and features both technical mastery and emotional depth.

UNT students can receive free tickets to the performance by showing their student IDs at the Murchison Performing Arts Center box office window. Tickets are $30. Tickets for UNT faculty, staff and Alumni Association members are $15 each. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Murchison at 940-369-7802 or on the center’s website, www.theMPAC.com/tickets.

About Kurt Elling

Elling is a renowned artist of vocalese—the writing and performing of words over recorded improvised jazz solos. The natural heir to jazz pioneers Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure and Jon Hendricks, Elling has set his own lyrics to the improvised solos of Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny. He often incorporates images and references from writers such as Rilke, Rumi, Neruda and Proust into his work. Elling was the artist-in-residence for the Singapore and Monterey Jazz festivals. He has also written multi-disciplinary works for The Steppenwolf Theatre and the City of Chicago. The Obama Administration’s first state dinner featured Elling in a command performance.

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