I try to stick with things that I can sing with honesty.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of authenticity in one's expression, particularly in music.
Kurt Elling's quote highlights the significance of sincerity in artistic endeavors. By stating that he tries to stick with things he can sing about honestly, he implies that genuine expression enhances the value and impact of art. It suggests that authenticity resonates more profoundly with audiences, creating a deeper connection between the artist and their work.
In practice
A musician might use this quote to inspire a songwriting workshop focused on personal experiences.
It helps me to learn things in different languages, even if it's just phonetically, and to make myself vulnerable to other audiences by trying to reflect back to them the genius of their own cultures, and to do that, oftentimes, in new jazz settings, new arrangements. It's a way to show respect.
That's the thing: There are so many art songs in jazz. It's a much more rich experience for the singer than people think.
One doesn't have to scat to be a jazz singer.
I'm one of the culprits who keeps turning stuff around, shaking up original tunes and trying to stand the canon on its ear. But sometimes, you just need to sing the song.
It has often been observed that the repercussion of poetic language on prose language can be considered a decisive cut of a whip.
Building a bridge, in my opinion, is a symbolic gesture, linked with the needs of people who cross over it, and with the idea of overcoming or surmounting obstacles. A modern bridge can also be a work of art. It helps to shape our daily lives and becomes a vital experience for all the people who use it.
I am careful about fiction. A novel is not a tract or an essay. If I want to write about land reforms, or Hindu-Muslim relations, or position of women, I can do it as it affects my characters as in 'A Suitable Boy.' I could only write about issues specifically through essays. But I'll do that only if I have something worthwhile to say.
Blogging is to writing what extreme sports are to athletics: more free-form, more accident-prone, less formal, more alive. It is, in many ways, writing out loud.
I feel like a lot of the fundamental material, I've assimilated. So now the question is: Am I going to really get into my spiritual inheritance of music and really develop my abilities?
A good poet's made as well as born.
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