When jazz singer Kurt Elling isn't punching out standards like "My Foolish Heart" and "A Time For Love," he's adding original lyrics to classic instrumental pieces. It's called vocalese and Elling's voice, inventiveness, and sheer charisma may make him the genre's most exciting practictioner in decades. "Freddie's Yen for Jen," a soaring scat tour-de-force to the tune of Freddie Hubbard's "Delphia," is not to be missed. If you find yourself in Chicago on a Wednesday night, catch Elling at the Green Mill Lounge on North Broadway.

Harold Check