OPENING NIGHT! ORRIN EVANS MEETS KURT ELLING

THE CAPE MAY JAZZ FESTIVAL FOUNDATION PRESENTS: OPENING NIGHT! EVANS MEETS ELLING.

About the Artists

Kurt Elling is a two-time GRAMMY Award–winning vocalist renowned for his signature rich sound and an inventive, deeply individualized body of work. With a one-of-a-kind approach to contemporary beat lyricism and vocalese, the Chicago-based artist has expanded the expressive possibilities of vocal jazz. Over a career spanning more than twenty-five years of touring and recording, Elling has earned three Prix du Jazz Vocal (France), two German Echo Awards, two Dutch Edison Awards, and sixteen GRAMMY nominations.

.In 2024, Elling made his Broadway debut to critical praise, starring as Hermes in the Tony Award–winning musical Hadestown, further underscoring his rare versatility as both a jazz artist and theatrical performer.

Orrin Evans

During his kaleidoscopic quarter-century as a professional jazz musician, pianist Orrin Evans has become the model of a fiercely independent artist who pushes the envelope in all directions. Never supported by a major label, Evans has ascended to top-of-the-pyramid stature on his instrument, as affirmed by his #1 ranking as “Rising Star Pianist” in the 2018 DownBeat Critics Poll. Three Grammy nominations for his raucous, risk-friendly Captain Black Big Band stamp his bona fides as a bandleader and composer. In addition, Evans is also a dedicated educator and is the President of the Cape May Jazz Festival Foundation.

About the Cape May Jazz Festival Foundation

The Cape May Jazz Festival Foundation champions the cultivation and discovery of jazz, blues, and folk music for all.

The Cape May Jazz Festival Foundation educational initiatives aim to bring the music from the Exit Zero Jazz Festival stages into the lives of students of all ages. The Foundation provides students with opportunities to attend Festival performances, participate in Artist In Residence sessions and business of music sessions through their school music programs, attend in school performances by acclaimed performers, gain practical hands on experience in all facets of live music and festival production, and perform on the Exit Zero Jazz Festival as a member of the David O. Clemans Student Big Band.

OPENING NIGHT PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES OF THE CAPE MAY JAZZ FESTIVAL FOUNDATION

The Cape May Jazz Festival Foundation, Inc. is a New Jersey 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. All donations are 100% tax-deductible.