Kurt Elling to Release New Jazz Recording WILDFLOWERS, VOL. 3
Elling is making his Broadway debut starring as “Hermes” in Hadestown, the Tony Award-winning “Best Musical,” beginning on Tuesday, September 2.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Aug. 13, 2025
Kurt Elling – the two-time Grammy Award-winning performer and writer – will reinforce his status as a potent force in the arts world with a fall season encompassing an impressive range of projects, including making his Broadway debut starring as “Hermes” in Hadestown, the Tony Award-winning “Best Musical,” beginning on Tuesday, September 2. His new jazz recording Wildflowers, Vol. 3, will be released on Friday, August 22 as he continues to tour in major cities with concerts throughout the United States and Europe.
Hadestown is a genre-defying new musical that blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine a sweeping ancient tale. The show is currently in its sixth year on Broadway and is now in its second in London’s West End. The record-breaking national tour just completed its coast-to-coast three-year run, and productions recently opened across the globe in Sydney, Melbourne, and Amsterdam.
Elling’s new recording Wildflowers, Vol. 3 will be released via his own Big Shoulders label. For the latest in his Wildflowers series of spontaneous and intimate recordings, Elling partners with Grammy Award-nominated pianist Christian Sands. The pair delves into surprising sources for the EP’s eclectic repertoire; selections include “My Son,” from Guillermo Del Toro’s 2022 film Pinocchio; “Song of the Rainbow People,” a Sands original with lyrics by Elling; and “Emotion,” which unearths the heartbreaking ballad at the core of a Bee Gees pop hit. The recording’s first single, “Glow Worm,” has already hit the #1 position on Spotify’s “Vocal Jazz” playlist.
Already looking into next year, …in the Brass Palace, Elling’s album recorded with the four-time Grammy Award-winning WDR Big Band, is due February 2026.
Hardly new to the world of theater, Elling has co-created multi-disciplinary performances for Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater and the City of Chicago. Jazz at Lincoln Center presented the world premiere of The Big Blind, a new jazz musical Elling is co-writing with Grammy Award-nominated songwriter Phil Galdston.
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