I just saw him in Seattle on January 31st at the Triple Door. He does NOT disappoint. Great voice and also with Charlie Hunter! Such a great night for me...

What a beautiful and thoughtful rendition of that song! Kurt Elling is masterful with his vocal interpretation of this song and everything else he sings. He has complete command of his “instrument” and this just blew me away. The band members are all virtuosos in their own right.... just WOW !!!

Sadly some people just don’t get it......it’s part of a jazz musician’s DNA to play around with the original melody...Miles Davis coined the phrase a long time ago.....”Straightening out a song”. This guy is one helluva talented musician....I loved how he pushes the boundaries.....constantly! That’s what contemporary music is all about.

This is one of my favorite tunes and I love what Kurt did with it here! He's unique and imaginative and my favorite jazz singer.❤️

have seen him several times at JALC and he never disappoints. Love his voice, his interpretations, the guy is magical.

never heard this done in 5/4 before... amazing !

I was a session musician for 35 years. Played for the best of them.....Bird, Miles, Shirley Horn, Sarah, Carmen MacRae, Chris Connor, Anita O’Day, June Christy etcetcetc. IMO ..THIS GUY CAN SING HIS PANTS OFF!,, His phrasing is second only to Mark Murphy, Mel Torme and of course ‘ol blue eyes. You cannot compare him to Luther Vandross.......they are performing in 2 different genres. As for signing off key ...what would you say about Mark Murphy one of the Legends of jazz singing?........it’s like comparing apples with oranges!!!

I love Kurt Elling's voice so much, could hear this song 24/7 !! I nearly play him every day....and I feel great !!! Hopefully he comes to Vienna/Austria 🇦🇹!!!!

saw him live. best concert ever.

Every single I mean every single time ut will be different. Amazing isn’t it. It’s creating. It can nit be the same. Love Jazz. And I thank my ancestors for creating it. We own this. Hallelujah!

Lawrence Hobgood keeps it all together for Kurt. Sure wish they would make records again. The new ones lack his gentle grace (IMHO)

Well, this is so heartfelt. I get it Kurt, simply beautiful, so playful with bending the notes. I love the 5/4 rhythm.

This guy has soooo much #Soul

I could listen to this song all day long.

going to see him live for the 1st time next week in Toronto, Soooo excited 😄

Saw him live several times. Impeccable phrasing and timing. Such a pity Norwegian wood live at Jools was taken offline.

How beautiful is this

Great Elling

Beautiful ❤️

Amazing voice

Exquisite.👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽❤️

Incomparable!

Savage Soft. Lovin' it.

Very nice version, Kurt. all the best Grace T

Beautiful.

When he improvises, it sounds a lot like an rnb singer. I love it.

Hi Jimbo, I love the name but truly, I would like you to broaden your aural horizons. Yes, a few notes are marginal but this is part of a singer's poetic licence! I'm a Sarah V. fan but also dig Kurt, an interesting and imaginative jazz vocalist, one of the best around!

una exquisitez...

< ¡ Oh F..k I LOVE yOu !

I love how he doesnt try to sound to like Luther Vandross a all

Philip Burge.... I agree. many thanks... 💯▶️🐒🍌💞🙄👻

Brandon Lee, beautiful

Mike Cortina.... I agree... 🤩👻▶️🤐🐒🍌🙄🤣😜👆

This follow is second only to Mark Murphy in my book. His be

Silly to judge a jazz artist by a singular performance. Musicians, especially jazz/improvisational are effected by moods, physical energy, audience energy, room acoustics, band, etc…If the vibe is good you can experience an elevation in group energy and individual creative risk taking. You may even hear some “magic” as risk taking starts to inspire both the group and audience. But…it’s never the same and that’s the beauty of jazz and improvisational music. If you want perfect or the same performance every time, play a recording at home. Live jazz is (or should be) about taking risk. But, also consider when you take

Lovely. I can sing mostly just like this and then some .. scanting with holding

When we start comparing Kurt Elling’s style with Luther Vandross (with due respect to Luther) ...it’s like comparing apples with oranges...at that point we stop talking about jazz and start talking about pop......and that’s where it ends for me!

I never care if someone doesn't like a performer, but when people question an artist's musical credibility because they don't understand his technical knowledge of his craft, that's where I draw the line! Dislike a musician because he doesn't speak to you, but NEVER disparage an artist's musical craft--especially someone like Kurt--unless you have the qualifications to do so! It just makes you look ignorant and identifies you as the jerk you are!

...

There is no way on God's earth that anyone can sing that anywhere near luther

Jimbo 71347 , Ok Sarah was over the top, but this KE is as much or more sophisticated , educate yourself , or go live in Alaska....please!!!!!

Kurt Elling is a serious and well prepared artist. Technically speaking he is always perfect, maybe too perfect. This is his artistic limit. He is never able to trascend himself.. I never feel his heart. Her sister, in this way , is Roberta Gambarini, the female edition of Kurt. If you compare, on this track, Kurt with Luther Vandross, he is 4.000 miles far from Luther's feeling and soul. Even when he sings some of the songs of his mentor Mark Murphy, he always remains behind. Too cold. He is a great singer, but not a "total" singer. Mark Murphy didn't like him as a man. I will never love him madly. He misses something, Even if I respect him and I know he is one of the best singer on the scene. Not in these kind of songs. It's boring, not emotional.

Good job, melody is rushed a little....

I don't have any idea what all the fuss is about wrt Kurt Elling. This guy can't sing on pitch for beans. Listen to Sarah Vaughan sing the same tune on KZfaq and you'll see what I mean.

Mr Elling can sing very well, sometimes heavenly, but he needs to chose the songs carefully. This is not a good one for him. This track was the track of Luther Vandross and Sarah Vaughan. After them nothing to do! this is a good and clear exercise, but nothing more. Flat, unemotional and boring. Roberta Gambarini and Kurt Elling are always perfect performers but often they cannot show their soul, so they become sadly academic. This is the reason they have been invited at Lincoln Center, where Wynton Marsalis is the king of a cold and pure formal jazz. No more jazz, no more heart. Nothing more to add.

Bogus! Why do people think that this man can sing? WHY is he popular? Plus the band is purely pretentious. Like a planned community. Fake singer, corny band with nothing to say. I don't care.