Feb 13, 2020 2:11 PM
In Memoriam: Lyle Mays
Lyle Mays, the keyboardist who spent a significant portion of his career recording and performing as a member of the…
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
Lyle Mays (1953– 2020)
Feb 13, 2020 2:11 PM
Lyle Mays, the keyboardist who spent a significant portion of his career recording and performing as a member of the…
After some health issues, John McLaughlin has returned with a flurry of activity.
Feb 7, 2020 8:09 AM
In an interview published in DownBeat’s November 2017 issue, guitar legend John McLaughlin lamented the fact that a…
McCoy Tyner (1938–2020)
Mar 6, 2020 2:18 PM
A member of the classic John Coltrane quartet of the 1960s, as well as a powerful improviser and potent composer in his…
Eddie Kendricks (1939–1992)
Feb 11, 2020 9:00 AM
By 1972, Eddie Kendricks, the Temptations singer who led the ensemble through classics like “Just My Imagination,”…
John Coltrane’s the focus of Chasing Trane.
Mar 20, 2020 12:05 PM
You’re at home. We’re at home. Let’s take a break from the coronavirus anxiety that surrounds us and watch a…
