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" I hope to be at the top of my game when I'm 65 or 70. I don't want to reach my peak at 29. Not that I'm holding back anything, but there's a bunch of junk I don't know. "
Kurt Elling
Know
Want
Reach
Related Quotes:
" I want to be the jazz singer. "
Kurt Elling
Singer
Jazz
Want
" I really thought I was gonna have a straight gig. But these jazz musicians put their arms around me time and again and said, 'Hey, young fella, you're one of us. Come with us.' That's a big deal when you're young and looking for your way in the world. "
Kurt Elling
World
You
Time
" I don't really have a more intellectualized approach. After the fact, I can sure talk about stuff a lot - but when I make decisions, I really just follow what sounds good to me. "
Kurt Elling
Me
Decisions
I Can
" If I was going to sell out, I would do it for more than 10,000 records. "
Kurt Elling
More
Going
Out
" It's easy to get tired of religious fundamentalists. They're such a bore. They have no sense of mystery. It's a drag, man. "
Kurt Elling
Get
Man
Tired
" I try to sleep as much as I can. I drink a lot of water. I practice consistently and just try to be ready for the gig. "
Kurt Elling
I Can
Practice
Water
" The musicians in Chicago gave me my vocation, but New York calls to a jazz musician, for sure. You want to test your mettle. "
Kurt Elling
Musicians
You
Jazz
" I've tried to learn as much as I can about the great jazz singers to understand what makes them important, vital artists, but there is always something more to learn. "
Kurt Elling
Jazz
Learn
Important
" I couldn't do what I do without the encouragement and influence of the musicians I played with in Chicago. "
Kurt Elling
Encouragement
Influence
Musicians
" A lot of the commercial world wants to bank in on the cachet that jazz brings. "
Kurt Elling
World
Wants
Jazz
" Each of the CDs prior to 'Flirting With Twilight' were more like roller-coaster rides. "
Kurt Elling
CDs
Twilight
Like
" I try to stick with things that I can sing with honesty. "
Kurt Elling
Honesty
I Can
Stick
" I can't say New York's home, but I've made a lot of friends, and I'm developing a map of what cats are here and where they play, and as a singer, you're always looking for projects that tie things in emotionally and intuitively with your life. "
Kurt Elling
Life
You
Looking
" I listened to a lot of King Crimson back in the day. "
Kurt Elling
Listened
Back
Crimson
" I think my intention was there, and my love for the music was apparent. And there are very few singers who get up and desire to take the kinds of risks that jazz musicians routinely need to be taking. "
Kurt Elling
Musicians
Music
Risks
" While I revel in the memories of my own Grammy moment, I also know how it feels to walk away empty-handed. "
Kurt Elling
Know
Moment
Walk
" There's a spiritual complement to any attempt at transposing a commitment to humanity through music or art. "
Kurt Elling
Any
Art
Commitment
" You don't want to make records so you can win a Grammy. You make records because you want to be a musician. "
Kurt Elling
Records
Win
You
" At a certain point, the graduate school thing didn't work out, and that meant I was liberated. "
Kurt Elling
Point
Work
Graduate School
" I didn't arrive on the scene until after Jaco Pastorius had passed, but 'Three Views of a Secret' is a long-time favourite of mine. "
Kurt Elling
Secret
Three
Scene
" It's a lovely thing to have people in any circumstance appreciate your work. "
Kurt Elling
People
Your
Work
" Chicago is my home. And the way Chicago sounds will always be a part of who I am. "
Kurt Elling
Way
Will
Always
" It's true that I'm not known as a crooner or balladeer. I'm known for a more crusading or quixotic temperament. "
Kurt Elling
Temperament
True
More
" One doesn't have to scat to be a jazz singer. "
Kurt Elling
Jazz Singer
Singer
Jazz
" Listening to something without being present is different from being there in the flesh. "
Kurt Elling
Listening
Without
Present
" Salacious? I suppose every once in a while the salacious thing is not a bad thing. It's kind of monochromatic if that's all you do. "
Kurt Elling
Kind
Suppose
Bad
" My strength is to communicate with an audience and to know what jazz singing is capable of. "
Kurt Elling
Know
Strength
Audience
" I've tried to educate myself in the world and what's beautiful and what has meaning and is lasting. Then I just follow my intuition and see how it fits. "
Kurt Elling
Beautiful
Meaning
Myself
" I had everything to gain by giving it everything I could. "
Kurt Elling
Had
Gain
Giving
" Audiences have taught me how to sing better and entertain better. "
Kurt Elling
Sing
Me
Taught