The daring, Grammy-winning vocalist and the adventurous guitarist teamed up to make — surprise — a jazz-funk album. “SuperBlue,” released last fall, is sophisticated yet funky stuff, with one foot in fusion and the other in neo-soul. Hunter and musicians from the group Butcher Brown find the head-nodding, finger-snapping grooves and Elling floats in with a hip flow that feels organic. Occasionally, they stray into Steely Dan territory and Elling’s words feel a little forced. A highlight: a treatment of Tom Waits’ spoken-word “Circus” set to a percolating James Brown-like beat.
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