"The standout male vocalist of our time," according to The New York Times, Elling has garnered unprecedented accolades, including a 14-year run atop the DownBeat Critics Poll, a dozen Grammy Award nominations, and eight Jazz Journalists Assocation awards for "Male Singer of the Year." Elling's rich baritone spans four octaves and features astonishing technical mastery and emotional depth. His repertoire includes original compositions as well as standards, all of which are springboards for improvisation and vocalese. Elling has set his own lyrics to the improvised solos of John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, and Pat Metheny, among others.
Elling has served as artist-in-residence for the Monterey Jazz Festivals, and the Obama administration's first state dinner featured Elling in a command performance. 2020 will mark 25 years since Elling released his first album, Close Your Eyes, on Blue Note Records, which secured the artist his first Grammy nomination.