Kurt Elling
Voice Solo on
Billie's Bounce

About

Opening the solo section, this voice improvisation spans three choruses of the 12-bar blues at a medium-up 184 BPM. Vocalist Kurt Elling opens with three choruses of vocalese-influenced improvisation, bringing his distinctive approach to the Parker blues -- a noteworthy pairing given that singers rarely tackle this instrumental staple. Elling's vocal improvisation demonstrates harmonic awareness and rhythmic agility comparable to the instrumental soloists, using scat syllables and melodic invention to navigate the changes. Following this solo, Jeremy Pelt takes over on trumpet.

Kurt Elling was 46 to 47 years old at the time.