Ravinia 2025 Issue 1

MARTIN THEATRE 6:30 PM SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2025 KURT ELLING CELEBRATES WEATHER REPORT featuring PETER ERSKINE KURT ELLING, voice JOEY CALDERAZZO, piano, keyboards ESSIET OKON ESSIET, bass MIKE MORENO, guitar PETER ERSKINE, drums with special guests FELLOWS from the STEANS INSTITUTE JAZZ PROGRAM Steans Institute Jazz Fellows –Intermission– Kurt Elling Celebrates Weather Report † Ravinia debut KURT ELLING One of the foremost jazz vocalists of the past 25 years, Kurt Elling is continuing to gather hon- ors, in 2021 winning his second Grammy Award among 15 nominations stretching back to his de- but on the Blue Note label in 1995 with Close Your Eyes . The newest winning disc, Secrets are the Best Stories , joins his 2009 set Dedicated to You , a tribute to John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. Elling’s accolades also include a 14-year run atop DownBeat ’s Critics and Readers polls and 12 Male Vocalist of the Year prizes from the Jazz Journalists Award, as well as three Prix du Jazz Vocal (France), two Echo Awards (Germany), and two Edison Awards (the Netherlands). In addition to recording and performing with his own combos, Elling has played alongside such artists as Branford Marsalis, Danilo Pérez, Ste- fon Harris, Fred Hersch, James Morrison, and Charlie Hunter, as well as with larger ensembles like the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Bob Mintzer Big Band, BBC Concert Symphony, Holland’s Metropole Orchestra, Irish Radio and Television Orchestra, Scottish National Jazz Or- chestra, and the WDR Orchestra and Big Band in Germany. In the tradition of pioneers Eddie Jefferson and Jon Hendricks, Elling regular- ly adds to vocal jazz by writing and recording signature lyrics to the music of foundational composers like John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul, often incorporating references to classic poetry and prose. Additionally, he has co-created multidisciplinary works for the City of Chicago and the Steppenwolf Theatre, and is collaborating on a jazz musical titled The Big Blind , which has been previewed at Jazz at Lin- coln Center. Elling has been a trustee and vice chairman of the National Academy of Record- ing Arts and Sciences and a resident artist of the Monterey and Singapore Jazz Festivals. Ravinia’s Audrey L. Weaver Jazz Advisor, Kurt Elling first performed at the festival in 1995, and tonight marks his ninth appearance. In 2021 he returned with music from his Grammy-nominated album with Charlie Hunter, SuperBlue , and last sum- mer he led a battle of big bands featuring Adonis Rose & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and Or- rin Evans & the Captain Black Big Band. RAVINIAMAGAZINE • JUNE 6 – JUNE 15, 2025 76 CORYDEWALD