Home » Search Center » Results: Kirk Whalum

Results for "Kirk Whalum"

About Kirk Whalum

Results for pages tagged "Kirk Whalum"...

Musician

Johannesburg is a long way from Kirk’s hometown of Memphis, TN. Having grown up a "pastor’s kid," it’s not surprising to learn that Kirk’s warm, melodic sound was birthed in the Baptist church. Born into a musical family, Kirk first expressed his interest in music on the drums, switching to saxophone in Jr. High School when he was "impressed" with the shininess of the sax. Kirk began playing local functions and clubs while still in high school. A music scholarship brought him to Texas Southern University in Houston, beginning his road to musical maturity. "I became enthralled by the "Texas Tenor" sound and was able to spend many years gleaning from Arnett Cobb one of the fathers of that "big" Texas sound." Having built a steady following as a sideman in some of Houston’s top jazz clubs, 1980 saw Kirk stepping out in faith and starting his own band. "Houston was such a cool music town in the early ‘80s

Article: Chats with Cats

The A&R Producer: Matt Pierson

by B.D. Lenz
May 26, 2026

Behind many great records is someone helping shape the music beyond the notes themselves: a producer, collaborator, sounding board, and sometimes even an unofficial artist-development guide. While listeners often focus on the musicians on the cover, producers and A&R figures can play a major role in how a project ultimately comes together--and whether it reaches an ...

Article: Album Review

Brian Culbertson: Day Trip

Read "Day Trip" reviewed by Bridget A. Arnwine

by Bridget A. Arnwine
February 17, 2026

Multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson is a musician with a vision, and on his Day Trip, he sets out to share that vision with his listeners. What is that vision? It is that of an artist who understands what music is capable of and his role as an artist to bring that all to fruition: the slow groove ...

Album

Day Trip

By Brian Culbertson

Label: Self Produced
Released: 2025
Track listing: Morning Light (feat. Eric Marienthal); On The Road (feat. Marcus Miller & Sheila E.); Let’s Drive; With You (feat. Isaiah Sharkey); U-Turn (feat. Branford Marsalis); By Your Side; In The Vines (feat. Kirk Whalum); The Winding Path (feat. Mike Stern); Sunset Kiss; A Hundred Miles (feat. Randy Brecker & Eric Marienthal); Home Again.

Article: Interview

Russell Gunn: No Safety Net, No Overdubs, Just Pure and Original

by Dean Nardi
January 6, 2025

One of the reasons podcasts have become so popular is they provide listeners with the experience of hearing people live, raw and unedited with no safety net as opposed to reading an article in a magazine or on the Internet. Even a Question & Answer interview is edited to remove repetitive comments and all the “ums" ...

Article: Top Ten List

Versioning: The Top Ten Songs for Asking Someone “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?"

by Dean Nardi
December 31, 2024

Tin Pan Alley is on West 28th in NYC, between 5th and 6th Avenues, but it references much more than a location and a few buildings that are now designated as landmarks. This is where the magic was created by songwriters composing for the live theater on Broadway. The term “Tin Pan" was slang at the ...

Article: SoCal Jazz

Dean Brown: Global Fusion on Acid

by Jim Worsley
February 3, 2024

In memory of Dean Brown. This interview was first published at All About Jazz on April 23, 2021. From the outset, the equation was simple enough. Jazz + rock = fusion. However, whether it was Miles Davis, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin, or any of the pioneers of fusion, the music has always been far ...

Article: Profile

Christine Kamau: Delivering Afro-Jazz Power

by Nicholas F. Mondello
January 27, 2022

In the blockbuster film, Black Panther (Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures, 2018) the power of and quest for “Vibranium," an all-powerful element, plays a pivotal role. Like a latter day female T'challa (The “Black Panther") and through her music, Kenyan musician Christine Kamau delivers a unique and powerful perspective of her own, melding jazz with its ...

Album

Time Traveler

By Nnenna Freelon

Label: Origin Records
Released: 2021
Track listing: I Say a Little Prayer; Marvin Medley; Just You; Betcha By Golly Wow; Time in a Bottle; You Make Me Feel Brand New; Moon River; Time After Time; Come Rain or Come Shine; Time Traveler; Time Traveler (Reprise).

Article: Radio & Podcasts

Bob Reynolds: Running The Changes

by Leo Sidran
April 12, 2021

This year musicians and creative people have had to confront themselves, their work, and their ambitions head on, and Bob Reynolds is no exception. But unlike so many of us, Bob already had some mechanisms in place to process that struggle in a creative way. Bob is a Grammy Award-winning saxophonist, composer, and educator known for ...