This would be my second concert throughout the year so far. My first concert was to go see Common & N.E.R.D live at the Cuthbert Amphitheater in Eugene Oregon; it was a great hip-hop concert that I have never experienced before. At a jazz concert, there’s hardly any pushing and shoving, but it is more of a friendly environment where you’ll see upper class people sipping wines and dressed up in their nice attires.

For Kurt Elling to have a gig here in Portland is a rare occasion. I’ve only known Kurt’s work on CDs and video clips on Youtube. When my little brother spotted an ad on the Portland Jazz Festival’s website, we couldn’t really deny this golden opportunity. We invited our friend Matt to join the night.

We came to the Crystal Ball Room about half an hour early where the concert was held. Parking wasn’t bad. The waiting line was long when we arrived which I’m not too surprised. There was a fancy restaurant right next to us, perhaps a bar? I liked the interior setting, maybe this would be a great eating place to stop by next time. The door opened at 8:00pm, we were escorted to main floor somewhere on the upper third floor. One of the securities asked for our IDs, however we only bought the “all ages” tickets since my little brother is under 21 (No alcohol for kids! haha!) therefore we had to go up another floor where it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. The seats were decent enough to see everything from above, but we could have gotten a better spot on the main floor. The concert started roughly around 8:15pm, one of the Portland Blazers team members introduced the show.

Kurt Elling walked up on stage with the sassy smile on his face and immediately dived into the first song of the show. After a few songs, Kurt pulled off his own version “They Say It’s Wonderful” by Irving Berlin. Drummer Ulysses Owens and pianist Laurence Hobgood were both electrifying. Toward the end of the show, Kurt did a tribute to John Coltrane’s master piece “Resolution” alongside with the legendary saxophonist Ernie Watts. Kurt Elling is so good at what he does. He could take any original songs and give new sounds to it. His soulful voice definitely makes him a great jazz singer. Good job Kurt! I had a great time.

Here’s a version of Nature Boy by Kurt Elling:

An interview he did on BloombergTV: