In the three decades since his Blue Note Records debut, the double GRAMMY Award-winner has earned just about every honor available to modern jazz singers. Crowned “Male Vocalist of the Year” in the DownBeat Critics Poll for more than a dozen consecutive years, he’s an improviser of astonishing power and inventiveness, and now he’s applying that creativity to the benefit of fellow artists. Elling recently launched Big Shoulders Records and Big Shoulder Artist Services, an independent label and agency designed to help other musicians with management, marketing, and career development. The company’s roster includes vibraphonists Joel Ross and Sasha Berliner, tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, and pianists Fred Hersch, Julius Rodriguez, and Christian Sands, the brilliant 36-year-old player who joins Elling for an intimate duo encounter.

Elling last performed at SFJAZZ with powerhouse pianist Joey Calderazzo, his duo partner on his second Big Shoulders Wildflowers EP. The first Wildflowers EP, featuring pianist Sullivan Fortner, earned a GRAMMY nomination.