KURT ELLING - 1619 BROADWAY - THE BRILL BUILDING PROJECT

Concord Jazz has announced the release of 1619 Broadway ‒ The Brill Building Project, the new album from the foremost jazz male vocalist, Kurt Elling. With 1619 Broadway ‒ The Brill Building Project, Elling honors the legendary location that the London Telegraph called "the most important generator of popular songs in the Western world." Even for the ceaselessly inventive GRAMMY®-winning singer-lyricist, it’s a hugely unexpected step, and one guaranteed to further solidify his reputation for bold innovation and superb craftsmanship. The 11-track collection features renditions of classic songs that came out of the Brill Building and is available September 25, 2012.

“Having done so many projects about my love for Chicago,” Elling says, “I wanted to make something that spoke of my love for New York.” The two cities define his career. Elling developed his craft in Chicago, and recorded several of his early albums there – including his debut, Close Your Eyes, which catapulted him onto the national stage and earned the first of his many GRAMMY® nominations. (All told, every one of Elling’s nine albums has been nominated for at least one jazz GRAMMY® – a streak unequalled in GRAMMY history.)

But in fact, Elling and his family have lived in Manhattan since 2008, and 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project is his response to that experience.A honeycomb of offices and claustrophobic studios at 1619 Broadway, in the heart of midtown Manhattan, the fabled Brill Building at its peak served as the creative home for more than 160 tenants associated with the pop-music industry.

“I didn’t want to cover any of the New York songwriters jazz people usually go to: the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, all of whom I love; I wanted to reach out for something different. The vast collection of songs coming out of The Brill Building seemed like a gold mine.”

Some of the tunes on 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project were actually written years after their composers had left the Brill entirely. For example, Elling explains, “Carole King, like many other signatories to ‘The Brill Sound,’ never had an actual office at the Brill. So it doesn’t pay to be too didactic about any of this. The Brill is both a physical reality and a mental construct; and because of that, I felt comfortable casting a wide net.”

Track after track, Elling and longtime collaborator/arranger, Laurence Hobgood, illustrate the creative fireworks that have marked their work together from the start. Some tracks, such as “On Broadway” and “You Send Me,” glow with atmospheric reharmonizations (either audacious or subtle), unexpected rhythms, and jazz sensibility. Others, such as “I’m Satisfied” and “A House Is Not A Home,” artfully distill the essence of the original through a jazz filter. But all of them manage to strike a balance of tradition and modernity that will by now be familiar to Elling’s longstanding admirers, on a program of songs guaranteed to bring new fans to the party.

Tracklisting:
1.On Broadway (Jerry Leiber-Barry Mann-Mike Stoller-Cynthia Weil)
2.Come Fly With Me (Sammy Cahn-James Van Heusen)
3.You Send Me (Sam Cooke)
4.I Only Have Eyes For You (Al Dublin-Harry Warren)
5.I’m Satisfied (Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil-Ernie Freeman)
6.A House Is Not A Home (Burt Bacharach-Hal David)
7.Shoppin’ For Clothes (Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller-Kent Harris)
8.So Far Away (Carole King)
9.Pleasant Valley Sunday (Gerry Goffin-Carole King)
10.American Tune (Paul Simon)
11.Tutti For Cootie (Duke Ellington-Jimmy Hamilton)