ENSEMBLE ARTS PHILLY PRESENTS
GRAMMY® AWARD-WINNING JAZZ VOCALIST,
KURT ELLING,
PERFORMING WILDFLOWERS
WITH CHRISTIAN SANDS,
FEBRUARY 27, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (December 10, 2025) – Ensemble Arts Philly presents two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz vocalist, Kurt Elling, performing Wildflowers, at the Perelman Theater inside the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on February 27, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. As part of Ensemble Arts Philly’s 2025-26 Jazz Series, Kurt Elling will be joined by virtuoso pianist Christian Sands to perform songs from his Wildflowers album trilogy.
Over his twenty-five-year career, Kurt Elling has made a name for himself as today’s preeminent male jazz vocalist, renowned for a signature, rich sound and an inventive and individualized body of work. With a one-of-a-kind brand of contemporary beat lyricism and vocalese-writing ingenuity, the Chicago-based musician has extended the parameters of vocal jazz.
Elling's Wildflowers trilogy is a collection of albums that emphasize spontaneity and unpredictability. The first album, Wildflowers Vol. 1, was an impromptu project featuring pianist Sullivan Fortner and vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant. Wildflowers Vol. 2 highlights collaborations with pianist Joey Calderazzo and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. The third installment, Wildflowers Vol. 3, released on August 22, 2025, marks Elling's first collaboration with pianist Christian Sands.
Elling has won three Prix du Jazz Vocal Awards (France), two German Echo Awards, two Dutch Edison Awards, and has been nominated for sixteen GRAMMY® Awards. He has had a 14-year run atop the DownBeat Critics and Readers polls and has won twelve Jazz Journalists Awards for "Male Vocalist of the Year."
“Kurt Elling’s brilliance as a vocalist and storyteller captures the spirit of jazz at its most adventurous and heartfelt,” said Frances Egler, Vice President of Theatrical Programming and Presentations. “We’re excited to welcome him back for this Wildflowers performance, an invitation for our audiences to experience the transformative power of live jazz while celebrating the genre’s ever-evolving legacy.”
Elling's work with other leading figures in the jazz world includes important collaborations with Branford Marsalis, Danilo Perez, Fred Hersch, Charlie Hunter, and Stefon Harris. He has also performed as a featured soloist with many of the world's leading large ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic, BBC Concert Symphony, Count Basie Orchestra, WDR Big Band and Orchestra, Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, and the Village Vanguard Orchestra.
Other featured upcoming performances in the 2025-26 Jazz Series include Béla Fleck & the Flecktones: Jingle All the Way (December 12, 2025, Miller Theater); Alfredo Rodríguez & Pedrito Martínez (January 22, 2026, Perelman Theater inside the Kimmel Center); Emmet Cohen (March 20, 2026, Miller Theater); Endea Owens & The Cookout (March 28, 2026, Perelman Theater inside the Kimmel Center); Christian McBride & Edgar Meyer (April 21, 2026, Miller Theater); Rhiannon Giddens (May 5, 2026, Miller Theater); Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (May 26, 2026, Marian Anderson Hall inside the Kimmel Center).
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased online at www.ensembleartsphilly.org, by calling 215-893-1999, or in person at the Academy of Music Box Office (240 S. Broad Street) daily from 10 a.m.–6 p.m. For more information, visit www.ensembleartsphilly.org.
Wildflowers: Kurt Elling with Christian Sands
Perelman Theater inside the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Friday, February 27, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
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ABOUT ENSEMBLE ARTS PHILLY
For more information about ENSEMBLE ARTS PHILLY, visit www.ensembleartsphilly.org.
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