Kurt Elling

The audience should feel they are hearing the future, arriving just on time.

Listening is the key to everything good in music.

Jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.

And then when I found my sound, it took me two and a half weeks to find my sound and when I did I pulled out all the stops, all the stops I could find.

If a Jazz musician plays someone else’s song, he has a responsibility to make a distinct and original statement.

That’s the thing about jazz: it’s free flowing, it comes from your soul.

Music activates the brain at a high level.

It’s always Jazz. You can put a new dress on her, a new hat, but no matter what kind of clothes she’s the same old broad.

This guitar is such a pal. It’s a psychiatrist. It’s a doggone bartender. It’s a housewife. This guy is everything. Whenever I find that I’ve got a problem, I’ll go pick my guitar up and play. It’s the greatest pal in the whole world.

With songwriting I spend a lot of time living life, accruing all these experiences, journaling, and then by the time I get to the studio I’m teeming with the drive to write.

I started as a writer and when I sent my demos out everyone wanted to know who was singing and if that person wanted a record deal.

Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.

The secret is keeping busy, and loving what you do.

I like chords that are very lush with all the lush parts taken out.

There are no natural barriers. It’s all music.

Inspiration grows into full-scale creation through persistence and imagination.