Kurt Elling

With seven Grammy nominations already to his credit, vocalist Kurt Elling has attained elite status in the jazz world before reaching the age of 40. Riding to international prominence on the strength of his critically acclaimed performances as well as a string of stellar recordings for the Blue Note label, the perennial poll-winner has become the voice of a new generation of jazz fans. He's been called "the most flamboyantly creative jazz singer to emerge in the last decade" by the San Francisco Chronicle and was recently named Down Beat's Male Vocalist of the Year in both Critics and Readers polls for 2006 (the third time he's won the top spot in both polls).

On Nightmoves, his brilliant debut for Concord Records and seventh outing overall, Elling artfully blends his rich baritone voice with signature scatting and virtuosic vocalese in a wide-ranging repertoire of tunes associated with such greats as Frank Sinatra, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Irving Berlin, Betty Carter, Duke Ellington, Dexter Gordon and Keith Jarrett. His most ambitious undertaking to date, it features his working trio of bassist Rob Amster, drummer Willie Jones III and longtime creative partner, pianist-arranger Laurence Hobgood, along with such special guests as The Escher String Quartet, bassist Christian McBride, Yellowjackets tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer, guitarist Guilherme Monterio, keyboardist Rob Mounsey and harmonica virtuosos Howard Levy and Gregoire Maret.

Kurt is extremely excited about joining Concord Records. He states, "I'm so very happy to be part of the Concord family. I have the utmost respect for the label. They produce some amazing music and I am looking forward to releasing my Concord debut."