Promising Elling Still Defining His Style

Singer Kurt Elling opened a four-night run at the Jazz Bakery on the crest of a wave of advance promotion. Among his many well-distributed accolades was veteran bandleader Artie Shaw’s assertion that Elling is “arguably the most interesting and innovative jazz singer to come along in years.”

The impression that emerged from Elling’s opening night performance Wednesday, however, was that of a young talent, still defining itself, very long on attitude and considerably shorter on musical accomplishment.

Elling’s program was an impressionistic combination of stand-up comedy, scat singing, an occasional ballad and some very good playing from the accompanying trio of Lawrence Hobgood, piano; Tony Dumas, bass; and Willie Jones III, drums. Assuming a manner reminiscent of such hip, jazz-associated ‘50s comedians as Lord Buckley and Lenny Bruce, Elling strolled the stage confidently, interacting with the musicians, tossing in spontaneous comments to a moderate-sized but receptive audience.

His vocalizing, however, was more uneven. Pitch problems cropped up on numbers such as “April in Paris” (which he probably should sing a tone or two higher). And his ballads--”The Very Thought of You” was typical--were largely dominated by long held notes, with interpretations that generally ignored both the story and the sentiment of the lyrics.

More tellingly, Elling’s scat singing was almost completely riff-oriented, usually done over repetitious, vamp-style accompaniment that did not demand that he wend his way through complicated chord changes. Swing, that essential element in jazz singing, was mostly provided by the accompanists. His most effective technique, in fact, was the use of climactic high notes and occasional vocal special effects.

Elling clearly has the drive and the intelligence to come up with offbeat approaches to jazz vocalizing. His ability to write offbeat, eccentric lyrics is admirable. The question that remains is whether or not he has the intuitive talent to transform that offbeat collection of skills into a fully realized, creative form of musical expression.

* Kurt Elling at the Jazz Bakery with the Lawrence Hobgood Trio through Saturday, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City, (310) 271-9039. $20 admission tonight and Saturday, 8:30 p.m.; $15 admission tonight and Saturday, 10:15 p.m.