Premiere: Hear a Track from Kurt Elling’s ‘The Questions’

News, First Listen, Kurt Elling, Branford Marsalis, Marquis Hill

By DownBeat I Mar. 7, 2018

Kurt Elling’s upcoming album, *The Questions*, features songs combining the singer’s own writing with well-known poems.
(Photo: Anna Webber)

Vocalist Kurt Elling has a new disc, The Questions, slated for release March 23 on the OKeh imprint. Today, he debuts “A Happy Thought,” which prominently features Chicago-bred pianist Stu Mindeman. The track finds Elling in a contemplative mode with supple, tasteful backing from drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts. Mulling over death and fear, the singer slowly moves through the composition, arriving at the conclusion that maybe there’s really not too much to worry about.

Elsewhere on The Questions, Elling’s joined by genre stalwarts like saxophonist Branford Marsalis and trumpeter Marquis Hill. For more information about the album, as well as upcoming tour dates, visit Elling’s homepage. DB

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