*** Kurt Elling

THE MESSENGER

(Blue Note)

A Chicagoan with an acerbic, nasal, flexible, commanding vocal style unlike any you've heard -- except for the gravelly hoot and intrepid synthesis of his idol Mark Murphy -- Kurt Elling does standards to turn your head and invert old meanings. He inserts mystical scat into "Nature Boy," wheezes ill breezes under Orbert Davis's Miles-ian trumpet on "April in Paris," and does his patented "rant" (spontaneous improvisation of lyric poetry) on a medley of originals with fellow alternative voice and pianist Laurence Hobgood. And that's just the first "set" on the second Blue Note CD from this demanding innovator.

Elling reinvents all kinds of classics: machine-gunning and caterwauling Jimmy Heath's "Gingerbread Boy," going straight (weaving with Eddie Johnson's tenor sax) on Duke's "Prelude to a Kiss," sleep-talking through a haughty-naughty Lord Buckley recitative. A smoky duet with Cassandra Wilson brings their contrasting poses (Mr. Steel versus Ms. Velvet) to a standoff. Elling's closing titular "rant" revisits Kerouac's free-associative quixotic meandering while blowing good mood jazz with saxophonist Ed Petersen, drummer Paul Wertico, and bassist Rob Amster.

-- Fred Bouchard

(Kurt Elling will sing at Scullers next Thursday, May 8. Call 562-4111.)