"There will be some of our signature quartet thing happening, but a little bit more boogaloo," he said. "It will be a mix of covers and new material. I've written lyrics to a number of things -- not necessarily jazz standards -- more contemporary pop standards."

[Kurt Elling] has toured the [Johnny Hartman]/Coltrane project and received laudatory reviews: "Some of the best ballad singing being performed today," said the Chicago Tribune; "Elling has proved his finesse as a Hartman-like melodist... accessing both [John Coltrane] and Hartman, he sounded like no one but himself," wrote the New York Times. The Washington Post called it "a stunning spectrum of music, both vocal and instrumental."

"It's pretty rare in jazz to have a full-on steady band," he said, remarking that pianist Brad "Mehldau has a nice thing going on" with his longtime trio, or tenor saxophone great Sonny Rollins. "Some of it comes to money, how many dates you can book in a year."