[Cover photo credit to Cory Dewald]
Multi-Grammy award-winning vocalist Kurt Elling has announced a February 17th, 2023 release date for Guilty Pleasures, a 6-track EP featuring guitarist Charlie Hunter and special guest drummer Nate Smith. Guilty Pleasures features six covers, including Kurt’s new rendition of “Wrap It Up,” originally recorded by R&B duo Sam & Dave.
Elling comments:
I’ve been a huge Sam & Dave fan from my $1 cassette years in the used bin. I wore that thing OUT. Now I just hope we’ve done the song the funky justice it deserves.
Guilty Pleasures is a continuation of Elling’s SuperBlue collaboration with Charlie Hunter. The second SuperBlue album will be released in Fall of 2023.
Other covers on the EP include Eddie Money’s “Baby Hold On,” Al Jarreau’s “Boogie Down,” PJ Morton’s “Sticking to My Guns,” AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” and a new rendition of Nate Smith’s “Bounce.”

Elling first met Hunter when both were signed to Blue Note Records in the late 1990s. They struck up an immediate friendship, leading to Elling’s guest appearance on Hunter’s album Songs From the Analog Playground.