Kurt Elling Quotes

No one in the world can beat Ella Fitzgerald as a riff singer.

Intermittently in my concert format, I sing a little jazz, a little scatting.

I've sung a whole lot of jazz. It's my favorite style of music to sing. People don't realize it, because they're so accustomed to hearing me sing musical theater.

Dianne Reeves, a famous jazz singer, would be my biggest influence.

I do love singing. I wouldn't say I'm any good, but I definitely love it - especially jazz singing.

I listened to Billie Holiday a lot in order to learn to sing. She remains one of the extraordinary jazz singers. But my intent is to become my own voice, to be able to interpret these songs in my own way.

The most common misconception about me is that I'm basically a jazz singer.

Every good gospel singer you can hear is a scat singer; they're just using different syllables. There are a lot of jazz singers out there, and more coming out of the churches.

My strength is to communicate with an audience and to know what jazz singing is capable of.

I consider myself a jazz singer. I think I stick to the roots of improvisation, singing in front of the beat, behind the beat, playing with notes and harmonies.

I think jazz has given me freedom with my voice.

I put out a recording of me singing mostly jazz because I wanted people to know I'm coming from a jazz background.

I'm comfortable singing jazz. The only thing I was concerned about is that everybody, even in jazz, has their own style. To me, the queen of doodling was Ella Fitzgerald, and scatting is something I never thought I could do.

Possibly, I should have been a jazz singer from the beginning.

One of my biggest musical influences is definitely Ella Fitzgerald as a vocalist.

I've often cringed when I heard myself described as a jazz singer. I've always thought of myself as a jazz vocalist.

I'm a trumpet player, and I sing jazz.

That's the thing: There are so many art songs in jazz. It's a much more rich experience for the singer than people think.

The way I was singing the songs was jazz

Chet Faker's a reference to the late Chet Baker. I'm a big fan of his vocal style; it's quite fragile and soft, and that was a style I wanted to take on.

I am not a jazz singer. I wouldn't place myself on that footing. I wouldn't even enter that arena.

Jazz is a music of great achievements but speed and chops serve a different function in jazz.

My mother had a gorgeous singing voice, and she'd play these amazing vinyls. My favorite was 'But Not for Me,' on the 1954 album 'Chet Baker Sings.'

I studied and sang lot of jazz when I was growing up. I think that plays a little bit into some of the things I do vocally, notes that I pick in chords.

Sometimes I'll be in circles, and I'll say I'm a jazz singer, and they have no idea what that means.