The Musician Insight

The fruit of a great collaboration

A reminiscence of a lost love

Kurt Elling is back with his new album Wildflowers Vol.1, accompanied by pianist Sullivan Fortner.

One of the highlights of this mini opus is A Memory of Enchantment, a song reflecting on a previous love. Throughout the track, Elling talks about the hopes and dreams of a former lover: “She believed that we could build a life, like making art”. While reminiscing their time together, the singer confesses on his regrets of not being able to see her side: “I was a younger soul than she, I couldn’t see the tree”.

Through the tale of his youth, Elling expresses how her vision of life impacted him after she left: he now wonders what could have been as “time calls”. This reminiscence of a past long gone, now is full of bittersweetness, as the singer remembers his lost love optimism: “grow a family and never part ”. Now, he can only recall what they both could have given to each other, and he is the one wishing “upon a start”. Nevertheless, the song ends on an optimistic note: they both give each other another chance to build a life together on the “brightest day”.

The song only consists of Elling’s voice and Fortner’s playing: with this minimalistic approach, we have an emphasis on the lyrics, phrasing and harmonies. Both artists techniques and musicality are superb, full of life and sensibility.

A Memory of Enchantment is a record to savor without any moderation.

Photo © Anna Webber