By Michael Roberts
There’s nothing sexier than confidence, and Kurt Elling’s overflowing with it. Having long since established his place among the preeminent jazz vocalists of his generation, he knows he can take any kind of artistic risk and the results will be cool, simply because he’s the one doing it — which is one of many reasons
SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree, his second team-up with producer-guitarist Charlie Hunter, is such an irresistibly swaggering delight.
Take “Naughty Number Nine,” the duo’s version of a well-remembered Bob Dorough ditty from
Schoolhouse Rock!, a tuneful animated attempt to make academics entertaining launched by ABC-TV in 1973. The idea of such a cover might seem unwise, but the singer, ably assisted by Hunter, ultra-funky drummer Corey Fonville, keyboardist DJ Harrison and a brass section dubbed the Huntertone Horns (featuring trumpeter Jon Lampley, saxophonist Dan White and trombonist Chris Ott), tackles the track with good-humored élan. Elling even includes the section of the lyric that passes along multiplication shortcuts — a decision that helps transform a potential embarrassment into a cheeky kick.
The fun factor is equally high on the self-referential “Bounce It,” in which Elling warns, “Get ready/’Cause we’re coming at you SuperBlue” as Hunter cranks out the wah-wah, and “Not Here/Not Now,” an auditory strut filled with boasts such as “Baby, I’m your undercover lover and your private passion.” But there are plenty of successful, more sober artistic gambles, too, including a thrilling rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Black Crow” highlighted by an Elena Pinderhughes flute feature, and “Only the Lonely Woman,” in which Elling dares to add words to Ornette Coleman’s iconic “Lonely Woman” and emerges with a portrait of despair as bold as it is devastating.
The rest of
The Iridescent Spree is equally fearless — just like the voice behind it.
