Jazz vocalist Kurt Elling's visit to Penn Charter will include a school-day session with Upper School jazz vocalists and ensembles, and a meet-and-greet with students. His day at PC will be capped by a special concert performance in the Kurtz Center to celebrate the school’s commitment to the arts and the leadership of Head of School Darryl J. Ford, who is in his final year at PC.
Renowned for his combination of robust swing and poetic insight, Kurt Elling is among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists. The New York Times called him “the standout male vocalist of our time” and The Guardian (UK) has named him “one of jazz’s all-time great vocalists.”
Over a 25-year career of touring and recording, Elling has won three Prix du Jazz Vocal (France), two German Echo Awards, two Dutch Edison Awards, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award 15 times. He has had a 14-year run atop the DownBeat Critics and Readers polls, and has won 12 Jazz Journalists Awards for “Male Vocalist of the Year.”
Elling has recorded and toured with Branford Marsalis, Danilo Perez, Stefon Harris, Fred Hersch, James Morrison and Charlie Hunter, and has performed extensively with larger ensembles like the Clayton/Hamilton Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra, the BBC Concert Symphony and the Irish Radio and Television Orchestra.
Elling’s tours have included UNESCO-sponsored “International Jazz Day” performances in Havana, Cuba; St. Petersburg, Russia; Melbourne, Australia; and Washington, D.C. He has twice performed at the White House, including in collaboration with the late Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony Orchestra for President Obama’s first state dinner.