In The Brass Palace Kurt Elling And The WDR Big Band

• 1 Steppin' Out 07:19
• 2 Desire 06:09
• 3 My Very Own Ride 08:51
• 4 I Like the Sunrise 07:20
• 5 They Speak No Evil 08:11
• 6 Current Affairs 07:16
• Total Runtime 45:06

Info for In The Brass Palace

For years, Kurt Elling has imagined what might happen if the full force of a modern big band could be shaped around the human voice—not as ornament, but as its emotional and narrative center. In The Brass Palace is the realization of that vision.

Recorded with Germany’s legendary WDR Big Band and conducted by Bob Mintzer, the album pairs Elling’s unmistakable voice—by turns muscular, lyrical, playful, and searching—with widescreen orchestration that feels both classic and unmistakably contemporary. The result is a collection that swings hard, moves deeply, and treats the big band not as a museum piece, but as a living, breathing, expressive partner.

Elling has long been celebrated for pushing the boundaries of vocal jazz through storytelling, vocalese, and fearless reinterpretation. Here, that adventurous spirit is magnified. Each track unfolds like a scene—rich with color, momentum, and emotional weight—inviting the listener into a world where language, rhythm, and harmony move as one.

In The Brass Palace stands as one of the most ambitious projects of Elling’s career: a bold meeting of voice and orchestra, tradition and innovation, craft and imagination. It is big, expressive jazz—made for listening closely and feeling deeply.

Listening through the album, “They Speak No Evil” offers a clear sound point into the project’s broader aesthetic. Elling adapts text drawn from Robert Pinsky’s poem The City Dark to Wayne Shorter’s composition “Speak No Evil,” while Tim Hagans’ arrangement emphasizes contrast, harmonic tension, and open space. The ensemble’s dark tonal colors and angular figures create a setting in which the vocal line functions with the orchestration, with Andy Hunter’s trombone solo emerging naturally from the surrounding texture. The track reflects the album’s larger approach: repertoire reframed through thoughtful arranging, passionate singing, literary perspective, and close attention to ensemble balance.

Kurt Elling, vocals
Bob Mintzer, saxophone, conductor
WDR Big Band Cologne:
Billy Test, piano
John Goldsby, bass
Hans Dekker, drums
Wim Both, trumpet
Rob Bruynen, trumpet
Andy Haderer, trumpet
Ruud Breuls, trumpet
Carlo Nardozza, trumpet
Jonathan Böbel, trombone
Raphael Klemm, trombone
Andy Hunter, trombone
Mattis Cederberg, saxophone, woodwind
Johan Hörlén, saxophone, woodwind
Karolina Strassmayer, saxophone, woodwind
Ben Fitzpatrick, saxophone, woodwind
Paul Heller, saxophone, woodwind
Jens Neufang, saxophone, woodwind

Recorded October 1-5, 2024 Köln, Germany in Studio 4
Engineered by Walter Platte
Mixed and Mastered by Christian Schmitt
Produced by Kurt Elling and Christian Schmitt for WDR Big Band
Executive Producer: Arndt Richter for WDR Big Band, Bryan Farina for Big Shoulders Records

Kurt Elling
Renowned for his singular combination of robust swing and poetic insight, two-time GRAMMY winner Kurt Elling has secured his place among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists. The New York Times proclaimed Elling, “the standout male vocalist of our time”. Over a twenty-five 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 fifteen times. He has had a 14-year run atop the DownBeat Critics and Readers polls, and has won twelve Jazz Journalists Awards for “Male Vocalist of the Year”.

Kurt Elling’s voice is instantly recognizable, embracing listeners with his warm, rich baritone and navigating the full span of his four-octave range as a virtuoso improvisor and a compelling storyteller. The Guardian (UK) has named Kurt Elling, “a kind of Sinatra with superpowers,” and, “one of jazz’s all-time great vocalists.”

Elling has recorded and toured with Branford Marsalis, Danilo Perez, Stefon Harris, Fred Hersch, James Morrison, and Charlie Hunter. He has performed extensively with larger ensembles like The Clayton/Hamilton Orchestra, The National Youth Orchestra (led by Sean Jones), The Bob Mintzer Big Band, The BBC Concert Symphony (led by Guy Barker) The Metropole Orchestra (Holland), The Irish Radio and Television Orchestra (led by Brian Byrne), The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, and The WDR Orchestra and Big Band (Germany).

The Wall Street Journal said, “Elling combines authenticity with stunning originality.” The Washington Post declared that, “since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling.”

Elling’s dynamism is enhanced exponentially by the fact that he consistently generates new vocal material by writing and recording signature and definitive lyrics to the compositions of foundational jazz composers like John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul. Additionally, Kurt Elling has co-created multi-disciplinary performances for Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater and The City of Chicago. Jazz At Lincoln Center saw the world premier of The Big Blind, an entirely new jazz musical-in-progress Elling is co-writing with collaborator Phil Galdston (“Save The Best For Last”). National Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky declared that, “In Kurt Elling’s art, the voice of jazz gives new spiritual presence to the ancient, sweet and powerful bond between poetry and music.”

Elling has toured the world in a variety of contexts, including UNESCO-sponsored “International Jazz Day” performances in Havana, Cuba, in St. Petersburg, Russia, in Melbourne, Australia and in Washington DC. He has twice performed at the White House, including a performance in collaboration with the late Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony Orchestra for President Obama’s first State Dinner. He has served as Artist-In-Residence at the Monterey and Singapore Jazz Festivals. As a music industry leader, Elling spent six years serving as a Trustee and two years as Vice Chairman of The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

This album contains no booklet.