Kurt Elling and Eliane Elias, both Grammy-nominated vocalists, headline this year's JazzFest Denver at Dazzle this weekend. Elling's warm baritone can stretch over four octaves and he honed his chops by listening to Mark Murphy, Jon Hendricks and other crooners before him. The guy's a mad scatter, as well as being deft in vocalese, where he's set words to songs written by John Coltrane, Pat Metheny and Herbie Hancock, all of which can be found on his 2003 Blue Note release Man in the Air.
Jazz Fest Denver Dazzle Restaurant & LoungeFriday, March 20 through Sunday March, 22Dazzle is home to some of the finest local and national jazz acts that swing through Denver on a nightly basis, but this week Dazzle graciously lent its doors and transformed the club into a three-day awkward romp known as Jazz Fest Denver. Sterling Kaminsky and his crew have brought in some of the finest acts in jazz to our town. This year's lineup was spectacular despite the festival's ups and downs. Knowin
Al Hood has a very crowded agenda. The trumpeter teaches fulltime at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music in addition to contributing to a slew of ensembles, including the Denver Brass and the Ken Walker Jazz Sextet. Somehow, though, he also found time to record a new CD entitled Just a Little Taste: Al Hood Plays the Writing of Dave Hanson. It's a creamy, elegant collection featuring tunes by jazz talents like Benny Golson ("I Remember Clifford") and Lee Morgan ("Ceora"), as well
