That's the thing: There are so many art songs in jazz. It's a much more rich experience for the singer than people think.
Interpretation
Jazz incorporates a variety of artistic songs that enhance the singer's experience significantly.
In this quote, Kurt Elling emphasizes the depth and richness of jazz music, particularly highlighting the complex and artistic songs that are often overlooked. He points out that for singers, performing these art songs offers a profoundly enriching experience that goes beyond mere performance, showcasing the unique emotional and creative intricacies found within jazz.
In practice
In a discussion about the depth of musical genres, one might quote Elling to highlight the richness of jazz.
It helps me to learn things in different languages, even if it's just phonetically, and to make myself vulnerable to other audiences by trying to reflect back to them the genius of their own cultures, and to do that, oftentimes, in new jazz settings, new arrangements. It's a way to show respect.
I try to stick with things that I can sing with honesty.
One doesn't have to scat to be a jazz singer.
I'm one of the culprits who keeps turning stuff around, shaking up original tunes and trying to stand the canon on its ear. But sometimes, you just need to sing the song.
Sometimes when you're heavy into the shooting or editing of a picture, you get to the point where you don't know if you could ever do it again.
Whether I'm painting or not, I have this overweening interest in humanity. Even if I'm not working, I'm still analyzing people.
To be a film-maker, you have to lead. You have to be psychotic in your desire to do something. People always like the easy route. You have to push very hard to get something unusual, something different.
Through Kurt I saw the beauty of minimalism and the importance of music that's stripped down.
It is always hard for poets to believe that one says their poems are bad not because one is a fiend but because their poems are bad.
Literature is inexhaustible, with every book a homage to infinity
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