Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter Emerge Fom Lockdown with the Ultimate Groove Elixir: SuperBlue

'In the thick of pandemic lockdown, an exalted jazz vocalist and an eminent groove guitarist forged a partnership from a distance. Kurt Elling, the singer, had been seeking fresh connection at a time of disorienting distance from the bandstand. He found it with Charlie Hunter, the hybrid guitarist, who brought in a couple of younger firebrands from the Richmond, Va. funk collective Butcher Brown. What came out of this alignment was SuperBlue, an album on Edition Records — and also a band that has since found traction on tour. On this episode of Jazz United, we peer under the hood of SuperBlue, with a special attention to the mechanics of groove; reminisce about our separate relationships with Elling and Hunter’s music, going back to 1995; and hear from both artists about their collaboration.'