Broadway BUZZ

Kurt Elling, a two-time Grammy Award winner, is making his Broadway debut as Hermes in Hadestown. The Chicago-based musician is renowned for a signature, rich sound and an inventive, individualized body of work. With a singular style of contemporary Beat lyricism and vocalese-writing ingenuity, Elling has extended the parameters of vocal jazz and increased its vocabulary. The New York Times called Kurt Elling “the standout male jazz vocalist of our time.” The Guardian (UK) pronounced him “a kind of Sinatra with superpowers.” Over twenty-five years of touring and recording, Elling has earned an array of top honors, including 17 Grammy nominations and a host of international awards. He’s spent two decades leading the DownBeat Critics and Readers polls and has won fifteen Jazz Journalists Association Awards for “Male Vocalist of the Year.” Elling has performed in over 70 countries, headlining the world’s top festivals and venues. Collaborators within the jazz world’s elite include Branford Marsalis, Danilo Pérez, Fred Hersch, Charlie Hunter, and the Yellowjackets. Elling is in constant demand as a featured soloist with premier orchestras and big bands around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, the BBC Concert Symphony, WDR Big Band, and the Count Basie, Metropole, and Village Vanguard Orchestras. Beyond the concert stage, Elling has written, directed and performed in multi-disciplinary, large-scale commissions for Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre and the City of Chicago. Elling enjoyed a world premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center of The Big Blind, a jazz musical he co-wrote with Grammy-nominated songwriter Phil Galdston. Elling has appeared at the White House multiple times, including a performance with the National Symphony Orchestra for President Obama’s first State Dinner. He served six years as a Trustee and two years as National Vice Chairman of The Recording Academy. He currently serves as Co-Chairman of the Chicago Jazz Alliance and as the Audrey L. Weaver Jazz Advisor to the Ravinia Festival. Wildflowers, Vol. 3 – Elling’s new duo EP with acclaimed pianist and composer Christian Sands – will be released August 22, 2025. His album recorded with the WDR Big Band, …in the Brass Palace, is due February 2026.