It’s been a while since I’ve shared a Music Video of the Day, so let’s get to it. Today’s spotlighted song/video…
“Who Is It?” by Kurt Elling.
Kurt Elling is arguably today’s foremost male jazz vocalist, and for good reason…his musical output is legendary in the jazz world. This new song is the lead single from his upcoming album, “Passion World,” a collection of songs from around the world. When I first heard it, it sounded so fresh and new that I thought it was an original song he had co-written or something…nope, turns out it’s a cover of a tune by Björk. Yes, THAT Björk. (I took a listen to her original version later, and it’s…interesting. A very different approach, for sure.) The arrangement, by Kurt’s guitarist John McLean, is brilliant and absolutely gorgeous, and really brings out the warmth and melodic qualities of the song. Kurt’s vocals, as always, are outstanding. Fellow jazz singer Sara Gazarek (also one of my favorite artists) adds some nice background harmonies as well. The whole thing’s terrific and really gets me excited for the rest of “Passion World.”
I really like how simple the music video is. Featuring only Kurt and actress Carmit Levite, it’s an intimate, heartfelt 5 minutes, really putting the focus on Kurt and his winning performance. The interaction between him and Carmit is fun and romantic. I’ve posted videos before that are full of innovative and sometimes crazy visuals, with a lot going on, but it’s also nice to see music videos that really strip things down and keep it simple and classy. This is certainly one of those, and I think you’ll really enjoy it.
Harmony Avenue 
I just have to say, as a huge fan of Bjork and Kurt Elling, I far prefer her version. His is really beautiful, but it takes away a lot of the qualities that make the song what it is and instead it sounds more cheesy. And I miss the bells and the Alexander McQueen wardrobe of the Bjork video. 🙂 Nice blog!
I can definitely see where you’re coming from on that. I heard his version first so that might have affected my opinion a bit. 🙂 I really do love her music though, so I might have to just get used to the original. I really like the two very different vibes both versions have. They’re almost different songs…it’s always interesting to see people cover her because they bring out a lot of aspects of her songs that aren’t always readily evident in her versions.