“Where to Find It” is powered by Hunter’s guitar, using the wah-wah effectively, as the band lays down a neo-soul groove. “Sassy” has Elling taking on Manhattan Transfer’s four vocalists just by himself. The opening title track is pure funk and one of the better tracks, floating in over a hypnotic bass riff and hand drums. How about the hipster humor – “ Are you a brick house or a brick” or a song title like “Manic Panic Epiphanic,” the latter with verses to “He’s got the whole wide world in his hands.” Talk about making a play for a new audience – seldom has a well-known artist taken such a drastic turn. This is a beats-fueled record that you can dance to.
He even sings through a vocoder on some tracks. While Elling has long proved his mettle at bebop, pop, progressive jazz, and even neo-soul, he’s never been heard in this context. Now we have one of the premier jazz vocalists of our time taking a major left turn with SuperBlue, an album of funk, insistent beats, and contemporary lyrics under the auspices of producer-guitarist Charlie Hunter and two musicians more often associated with hip-hop: drummer Corey Fonville, and bassist-keyboardist DJ Harrison (both of Butcher Brown). His 2020 project Secrets Are the Best Stories, with pianist Danilo Perez won a Grammy. We witnessed a two-hour radio play, Big Blind, at the virtual Detroit Jazz Festival held in the beginning of September. Recently this writer is pondering if there are any limits to Kurt Elling’s talent.
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