Elden Kelly exit interview: part one

For more than a decade, guitar virtuoso Elden Kelly has been a uniquely brilliant fixture in Lansing’s music scene. Being an improvising musician nurtured by jazz but also a composer, singer-songwriter and solo fingerstyle guitarist, his distinct style is refined, pristine and downright jaw-dropping to witness in person.

However, Kelly’s time in Lansing is nearing an end. Next month, he’s moving to Memphis, Tennessee, because his wife, Lani Kelly, a classical oboist, landed a job with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Before that, he’ll play a farewell concert and live album-release show July 9 at the Turner-Dodge House. 

City Pulse caught up with the 37-year-old musician — here’s what he had to say about the big move and his future as a Memphian. 

This is part one of a two-part interview; pick up the July 5 issue to read the conclusion.

Your wife has a new gig in Memphis, but do you have plans set up in Memphis yet?

Elden Kelly: Although Memphis will be our new home base, my performing career is taking me to many places lately. In late June, I will perform overseas with the Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet at JazzAscona, a weeklong festival in Switzerland, where I’ll join them for three concerts. I plan to return to Los Angeles soon with a new band I’m developing with accordionist Cory Pesaturo and mandolinist Eva Scow. I have a new jazz project in the works with some big names in New York City that I can’t reveal yet, but we will record sometime in the fall. 

When did you first start performing locally?

Well, my first locale was Vermont, where I grew up. I was born in western Massachusetts, and at age 7, my family moved to Richmond, Vermont, just outside of Burlington. I began to perform there at coffeehouses in my early teenage years, and by 15, I was gigging around the jazz scene in Burlington. After music school in Boston, ages 18 to 22, I moved to Michigan, and I didn’t perform a lot for about two or three years while I completed a degree in ethnomusicology. I started performing again here in Michigan when I was 24. 

Have you been to Memphis to check it out yet? 

I’ve been to Nashville, Tennessee, but I actually haven’t ever been to Memphis. Coincidentally, my dad recently moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, about three years ago, so it’ll be nice to be somewhat closer to him and my 95-year-old grandma in St. Louis. 

Although Memphis is inarguably one of the cradles of the blues, I suspect its scene may be similarly varied under the surface. We’ll see. I hope it allows me to play out in my home city more frequently — even during the week, not just on weekends. 

What can you tell us about this limited CD release you’ll have at the show?

It’s a sampler of original music and interpretations I played live in one take in front of a small gathering of friends and fans at Troubadour Recording in Lansing. There are originals, jazz fingerstyle and some transformations of familiar tunes. I wanted to capture what I do in a live solo show — no overdubs, layers or looping on this one. 

As for the Turner-Dodge farewell show setlist, what do you have in mind?

The show will be a retrospective of original material I wrote while living in Lansing over the years. I’ll play things from the CD and things not on the album. The material has developed over the years, and this show is for the fans and people who know me already but also those new to my music to represent a wide palette of my artistic personality.

What initially brought you to Lansing?

I’m grateful for the opportunity to have come to the Lansing area in the first place by Rodney Whitaker granting me a teaching assistantship for Ken Prouty, my master’s degree adviser. It was a bit of an adjustment coming from living in Boston, but we like Lansing. I’m eternally grateful to my friend Gregg Hill and Cold Plunge Records. He has been an absolute rock for me as an artist. Honestly, my wife and I didn’t have plans to stay in Lansing as long as we did after MSU, but the cost of living is great, and the people are some of the nicest you’ll meet anywhere. 

How does it feel to leave Lansing? 

Transitions can certainly be hard, but what makes it all a lot easier for me is all the great connections I’ve made all around the state — from Traverse City and Lansing to Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo and the rich scene of Detroit that I’ll look forward to returning to. Even though I’m not living here, I’ll certainly be back to play.

Looking back, what will be your fondest memories of Lansing?

So many memories! My wife and I bought our first house here in Lansing less than a year ago. We built a little studio out back together. I didn’t enjoy that for nearly as long as I had hoped, but what’s more important are the skills I learned and who I became through building it. I never thought we could do it, but now we know how to build anywhere. The lesson was that the process, not just the final product, is valuable.