In a jazz community with some great piano players, Kym Purling is one of the very best. He’s a regular in our Side Door Cabaret and on our main stage in Hough Hall. He most recently headlined our jazz benefit for Nepal.
Now Kym will be spending more time on national and international stages. He was recently chosen to be musical director and conductor for the legendary singer Englebert Humperdinck.
Englebert, famous for tunes like “Release Me” and “After The Lovin’ “ continues to have a major career as a concert artist. The big guy with the big voice (and that memorable moniker) plays the big rooms in Vegas and the major halls around the world.
Eddie Tobin, Englebert’s former musical director, recommended Kym for the job after hearing him at a concert. Kym’s no stranger to a job like this. He’s done national tours and played with lots of top names in Las Vegas and elsewhere, but he’s never done it on this scale.
“I’ve worked with a lot of famous people here and there but I’ve never really gone on the road with somebody of Englebert’s stature,” Kym said. “He is 75 and still sounding great. And he is a wonderful performer.”
A tour this fall will take Kym and the 10-piece band to England, including a stop at the Royal Albert Hall.
“That’s a dream come true, that one,” Kym said.
Tampa Bay audiences will still have plenty of chances to enjoy Kym’s music. Englebert tours several months a year, but there will still be many months when Kym is in town – at the Palladium or The Fox in Tampa.
It’s a much-deserved break for one of our top talents. I wish him well.
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