Kurt Elling – Wildflowers, Vol. 3
Kurt Elling has long been recognized as one of jazz’s leading vocal authorities. In recent years, however, he has also proven himself to be something of a vocal chameleon. Already in 2025 he released SuperBlue: Guilty Pleasures, Vol. 2, reworking familiar songs in bold new arrangements, and he is currently touring with the Yellowjackets, reinventing Weather Report classics. On August 22, he adds yet another project to his catalog: Wildflowers, Vol. 3, a stripped-down exploration of the voice-and-piano duo, this time in collaboration with pianist Christian Sands.
Recorded in just one day on June 18, the album brings together five stylistically diverse songs — from a 1920s German operetta to a Bee Gees pop hit — that might not naturally belong on the same record. Yet through the combined artistry of Elling and Sands, these pieces emerge fresh, imaginative, and cohesive.
Reinventing the Familiar
The album opens with Glow-Worm, where Sands launches into a buoyant stride-style introduction before Elling layers his voice into four-part harmony, a direct nod to the Mills Brothers’ 1950s hit. It is the only track where Elling permits overdubs, but the result is so tight and swinging that the choice feels inevitable. At the other end of the record, the duo closes with Emotion by the Gibb brothers, transforming the pop ballad into something stripped-down and intimate. Elling’s falsetto flights and Sands’ rich, harmonically nuanced accompaniment reveal how even unlikely material can be reshaped into a modern jazz standard in the right hands.
Social Commentary in Song
Elling also uses the duo format to highlight lyrics with weight. On Sands’ Song for the Rainbow People, to which he contributed words, Elling leans into a spoken-word preacher’s cadence. Joined by trumpeter Marquis Hill, the performance takes on themes of environmental and political crisis, with lines such as:
“No matter what they say, we are not through yet, in all our souls caught in a net. We have another day, to try to make it right.”
Despite the heavy subject matter, the groove radiates optimism, sustained by Sands’ rhythmic pulse and Hill’s muted trumpet interjections. The result is both socially pointed and musically uplifting.
A More Intimate Voice
Another side of Elling emerges in the ballad My Son, from Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion Pinocchio. His breathy, delicate tone conveys vulnerability at the song’s opening, and his control across the bridge shows his ability to reshape material into something wholly personal. Sands provides a restrained, almost meditative backdrop, never crowding the vocal line. The piece becomes a study in emotional subtlety and balance between voice and piano.
Playful Jazz Spirit
The duo also celebrates their jazz lineage with Thelonious Monk’s Blue Monk. Elling scats the melody with his signature articulation, while Sands lays down a relaxed boogie-woogie groove. Their joy in collaboration is unmistakable — at one point, Elling jokes, “This is the happiest this piano was today.” It is this spirit of play, interaction, and spontaneity that runs through the entire record, making the duo format sound endlessly alive rather than limited.
Conclusion
On Wildflowers, Vol. 3, Kurt Elling proves once again that he is not only a remarkable vocalist but also a daring arranger and producer. The stripped-down format with Christian Sands shines a bright light on every nuance of his artistry. Sands proves an ideal partner, equally sensitive and inventive, always in sync with Elling’s phrasing and direction.
The result is an album that makes bold repertoire choices yet binds them into a coherent artistic statement. It invites repeated listening and leaves one hoping the duo will take this program to the stage. Until then, audiences can immerse themselves in Wildflowers, Vol. 3, released August 22 on Elling’s Big Shoulders Records.
