Secrets Are
The Best Stories is the new album from acclaimed vocalist and GRAMMY®
Award-winning artist Kurt Elling featuring renowned pianist Danilo Pérez.
Edition Records is delighted to provide the support and artistic freedom for
Elling to pursue his goals while placing artistry and integrity at the
forefront. Secrets Are The Best Stories is set to be a career-defining album
for Elling, confirming his trajectory on a new and evolving path of artistic
excellence, and further exploring the passion and the messages, political,
personal, that inspire him.
Here, Elling
adds evocative new lyrics to compositions by greats like Pérez’s iconic
collaborator Wayne Shorter, late fusion bass genius Jaco Pastorius, and
visionary composer/arranger Vince Mendoza, and to pieces from Pérez’s own
catalogue. Along with his own compelling narratives, Elling adapts the works of
contemporary poets Franz Wright and Robert Bly, the 19th century abolitionist
poet Frances E.W. Harper and Nobel-winning author Toni Morrison.
His previous
album The Questions, released in 2018, explored important messages about social
and political issues. The Questions was undoubtedly a learning experience from
which Elling never expected to find definitive answers. And yet some things
have become clearer to him. Elling’s continued search for what is hidden and
what is unearthed is reflected in the title, Secrets Are The Best Stories – an
insight gleaned from one of his daughter’s childhood friends, whose naïve
wisdom recognized the deeper beauty in games of hide-and-seek. With Secrets Are
The Best Stories, Kurt has further developed his protest voice to communicate
his impassioned artistic reaction to the vital issues of our time: human
rights, immigration and climate change. On this album he demonstrates the
artist’s ability to respond, which he does with command and virtuosity, and
integrity.
“The
Questions asked, ‘How did we get in this mess? What are we going to do about
it?’” Elling reflects. “Sometimes we trip over the answers or live into them over
time. Sometimes we have to work very hard to see the possibility hidden right
in front of us; the shining diamond must be romanced over time and drawn out
from what looks like a plain block of molten frost. And then again, sometimes
the answer is perfectly obvious: “be kind”. But the news cycle has continued
apace, confronting us with an ever darker labyrinth. How shall we survive?
Danilo and I share many of the same concerns and anxieties about where the
world is today.” The album called Secrets Are The Best Stories, is our cri de
coeur.
To help them
amplify this musical outcry, Elling and Pérez gather together a remarkable
ensemble. The core of the band is formed by the singer’s longtime bassist Clark
Sommers, in-demand drummer Johnathan Blake and Brazilian percussion master
Rogerio Boccato. They’re joined by a retinue of stellar special guests,
including alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, guitarist Chico Pinheiro, and Román
Díaz, a revered elder statesman of Cuban percussion.
Perhaps the
greatest mystery revealed by this recording is the secret of beauty itself:
beauty with a purpose. With this gorgeous new album, Elling makes no secret of
the empathy that he feels for - and hopes to find in - his fellow citizens of
the world. “I start from the heart,” Elling says of his songwriting process.
“And my heart goes to compassion.”
Ever since
Kurt Elling burst on to the global scene 25 years ago, he has been developing
the sound and command of his vocal instrument into one of the most recognizable
in the music. A combination of - richness in intent, of soulfulness and of
signature expression- define him as an artist. Secrets Are The Best Stories-
the new recording from the world’s foremost jazz singer - translates an
artistic vision of history, mystery, and storytelling into a musical message
both singular and deep.
Upcoming
Kurt Elling U.S. Tour Dates
- April 7 / Greer Cabaret Theater / Pittsburgh, PA
- April 10 & 11 / Blue Llama / Ann Arbor, MI *
- April 25 / Tilles Center / Long Island, NY *
- April 29 / The Dakota / Minneapolis, MN **
- April 30 / The BackRoom at Colectivo / Milwaukee, WI **
- May 1 / Symphony Center / Chicago, IL **
- May 2 / Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center / Northridge, CA **
- May 4 / Kuumbwa Jazz Center / Santa Cruz, CA **
- May 6 / Freight and Salvage / Berkeley, CA **
- May 7 / The John G. Shedd Institute For The Arts / Eugene, OR **
- May 8-10 / The Triple Door / Seattle, WA **
- June 16-20 / Birdland Jazz Club / New York, NY **
** Kurt
Elling Quartet feat. Danilo Pérez
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