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" Why limit yourself to one discipline or field of study? "
Kurt Elling
Limit
Study
Why
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" I couldn't do what I do without the encouragement and influence of the musicians I played with in Chicago. "
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" We all know that jazz demands a cultivation of the mind. "
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" I had everything to gain by giving it everything I could. "
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Gain
Giving
" You want to be doing your best work whatever field of the arts you're in because your life's going to be over all too soon, and you have to make the most of it. "
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" 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. "
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Beautiful
Meaning
Myself
" 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. "
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Experience
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" I'd been studying philosophy at the University of Chicago. I hadn't been doing well, because I was sitting in with jazz musicians at night - it's hard to read Heidegger, but it's especially hard if you're half asleep. "
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Jazz
Doing
Musicians
" I'm lucky that I enjoy touring as much as I do. I'm not going to make a living just making records. "
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Enjoy
Just
Going
" My intellect was quickened at divinity school, and my abilities to discern were strengthened, and that's always valuable. "
Kurt Elling
Intellect
Divinity
School
" A lot of people are put off by the idea of scat singing. Either that or it's something to be made fun of. "
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Off
Fun
Something
" If I was going to sell out, I would do it for more than 10,000 records. "
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More
Going
Out
" There's a spiritual complement to any attempt at transposing a commitment to humanity through music or art. "
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Any
Art
Commitment
" I like the power and versatility of a big band and how an orchestra can vary the dynamics from very loud to very quiet, and SNJO covers those bases. "
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Like
Big
Power
" Out in L.A., things relax even further than they do in Chicago. There's such a looseness to it, and there's a potentially refreshing advantage to that. "
Kurt Elling
Things
Refreshing
Relax
" While I revel in the memories of my own Grammy moment, I also know how it feels to walk away empty-handed. "
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Know
Moment
Walk
" If you're going to be transparent, you're going to have to let the music come that wants to come. "
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Transparent
Going
Come
" 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
" Sometimes, with vocalese, I'm dealing with something, a great solo from the past, which is so iconic I can't presume to change it or mess with it. "
Kurt Elling
Great
Past
Mess
" Chicago has a burly, action-oriented but still self-assured and relaxed confidence to its stride. The city has a lot of wide-open space and all the possibilities that suggests. There's a lot of horizontal grandeur here. "
Kurt Elling
Space
Possibilities
Confidence
" Grammy nominations are certainly pleasant, but you can forget about them and lead a perfectly happy life - provided you have the approval of the musicians you work with. "
Kurt Elling
Happy
Happy Life
Musicians
" There is an actor's responsibility in presenting the emotional content of the lyrics to an audience. But whether you do that in a straightforward fashion or an ironic fashion or a blase fashion is all about opportunities, and singers are missing opportunities as artists if they don't pay attention to the lyric. "
Kurt Elling
Opportunities
Fashion
Responsibility
" Each of the CDs prior to 'Flirting With Twilight' were more like roller-coaster rides. "
Kurt Elling
CDs
Twilight
Like
" 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
" You don't know what bravery is until you overcome fear. "
Kurt Elling
Overcome
You
Bravery
" My strength is to communicate with an audience and to know what jazz singing is capable of. "
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Know
Strength
Audience
" I've worked with a number of big bands, but there's nothing in life like the Basie band. "
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Big
Number
Nothing
" The great jazz and jazz-influenced singers carry themselves with a certain panache and a certain elegance and, for lack of a better word, self-confidence. "
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Great
Self-Confidence
Better
" I'm one of the culprits who keeps turning stuff around, shaking up original tunes and trying to stand the canon on its ear. But sometimes, you just need to sing the song. "
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Original
Need
You
" I've got enough miles under my belt to know that whatever you envision in your mind, even if it comes true, will only keep a shape in the most general way. "
Kurt Elling
Mind
You
Enough
" I know how hard it's been for me to get my thing out there. "
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Me
Out
Know