There was a time in the 1990s when singer Kurt Elling was the subject of the kind of hype and lionizing that's hard for any artist to live up to. Now that the steam has settled, we can see the vocalist for what he really is -- a superbly gifted singer with a powerful voice, a penchant for experimentation and ecclectic taste in material, yet someone who also appreciates the value of the old ring-a-ding-ding. He brings a welcome touch of showmanship and crooner charm to the mic, whether he's doing standards, original tunes or a King Crimson cover (as improbably offered on his new album, "The Gate.")
The best of Elling's instincts came together last year on the Grammy-winning "Dedicated to You," a highly personal take on the music of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. Elling will revisit that material (ably assited by an ace band including saxophonist Ernie Watts and pianist Laurence Hobgood) in a Cal Performances appearance 8 p.m. Saturday at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall. Tickets are $24-$46.
Also of note on the Bay Area jazz calendar this week:
- Pianist, educator and all-around Bay Area institution Dick Whittington rounds up his quartet for an 8 p.m. Monday concert at Piedmont Piano Company in Oakland. $20
- Bassist/bandleader Marcus Shelby and dynamite vocalist Faye Carol celebrate Duke Ellington's upcoming birthday with a retrospective of some his greatest tunes, 8 p.m. Wednesday at Yoshi's San Francisco. $18-$22
- Scintillating singer Clairdee focuses on Gershwin tunes in an 8 p.m. Tuesday appearance at the Rrazz Room in San Francisco's Hotel Nikko. $30
- Juan de Marcos González blends Latin jazz with folksier forms in the Afro-Cuban All Stars, a rhythmic powerhouse that offers a grand sample of Cuban music tradition. The group makes a Cal Performances apearance 8 p.m. Tuesday at Zellerbach Hall. $22-$52.
- Bassist Victor Wooten, best known for his work as a Flecktone, dishes up a genre-busting fusion fury in shows at 8 and 10 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Yoshi's Oakland. $28
- Acerbic singer-songwriter Randy Newman, best known lately as a prolific composer of film music, makes a rare solo appearance in an SFJAZZ show 8 p.m. Friday at Davies Symphony Hall. $25-$85
- Horn trio Upsurge! (featuring saxman Michael Zilber) mixes free-spirited jazz with poetry in an 8 p.m. Saturday show at Berkeley's Jazzschool. $18
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