Kurt Elling (born 1967, Chicago) is an American jazz vocalist whose four-octave baritone, scat virtuosity, and Beat-poetry lyricism have made him the dominant male voice in the genre for three decades. He has earned 17 Grammy nominations and two wins - for Best Jazz Vocal Album - and has topped the DownBeat Critics Poll for more than twenty consecutive years. Beyond jazz, he made his Broadway debut in 2025 as Hermes in the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown, and his 2026 album In the Brass Palace, recorded with Germany's WDR Big Band, marks another creative milestone.
Elling released In the Brass Palace (February 13, 2026), a full-length collaboration with Germany's WDR Big Band conducted by saxophonist Bob Mintzer.
Elling made his Broadway debut on September 2, 2025, taking the role of Hermes in the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York City.
Wildflowers, Vol. 3 - a duo EP with pianist Christian Sands - was released on August 22, 2025.
SuperBlue: Guilty Pleasures, Vol. 2, a fourth collaboration with guitarist Charlie Hunter featuring guest appearances by singer Victoria Victoria and the Huntertones, arrived in May 2025.
Wildflowers, Vol. 1, recorded spontaneously with pianist Sullivan Fortner and featuring a duet with Cécile McLorin Salvant, was conceived, recorded, and released within a single week in August 2024, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
