Kirk Whalum
(born July 11, 1958) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist and songwriter. He toured as Whitney Houston's opening act for several years. Whalum has also recorded a series of well received solo albums and film soundtracks, with music ranging from pop to R&B to smooth jazz. Kirk’s musical accomplishments have brought him a total of seven Grammy nominations.
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KIRK WHALUM TICKETS
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Biography
Kirk Whalum born
July 11,
1958 in
Memphis, Tennessee, was surrounded by music as he grew up in the R&B capital of the South.Kirk attended Melrose High School. In addition to singing in his father's church choir, Whalum also learned to love music from his grandmother, Thelma Twigg Whalum, a piano teacher, and two uncles, Wendell Whalum and Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum, who performed with jazz bands around the country. These influences proved lasting, as he told
John H. Johnson's magazine "Ebony Man" in a
1994 profile, "The music I like to play and write encompasses the four elements I grew up with: Memphis R&B, gospel, rock, and jazz. The emphasis, though, is on melody, period."
[1]
In
1986, he performed at
Jean Michel Jarre's giant concerts
Rendez-Vous Houston and
Rendez-Vous Lyon. At each concert, he performed the track
Last Rendez-Vous
, AKA
Ron's Piece
in place of Jarre and Whalum's mutual friend, saxophonist and astronaut
Ron McNair, who died in the
Challenger disaster. As part of the Challenger mission, McNair was due to perform the piece live from space as part of the Houston concert.
The '90s also brought Whalum an amazingly diverse series of session and touring jobs, working with artists like
Whitney Houston,
Willie Norwood,
Babyface,
Nancy Wilson,
Yolanda Adams,
Take 6,
BeBe & CeCe Winans,
Barbra Streisand,
Edwin Hawkins,
Quincy Jones,
Kevin Mahogany,
Al Green, and
Luther Vandross. He also has worked on a number of film scores, including those for
The Prince of Tides,
Boyz in the Hood,
The Bodyguard,
Grand Canyon, and
Cousins (film).
In
2005 Whalum recorded the
Babyface Songbook
(2005) with R&B icon
Babyface's best songs of the past 15 years, including "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)," "I'll Make Love to You," "When Can I See You," and others. Joining in the intimate and stylish proceedings are other smooth jazz notables, including trumpeter
Rick Braun, soprano superstar
Dave Koz, and guitarists
Norman Brown and
Chuck Loeb among others. Whalum also contributed to the 2008 documentary film
Miss HIV.
Selective discography
- Floppy Disk
(1985)
- And You Know That
(1988)
- The Promise
(1989)
- Cache
(1993)
- In This Life
(1995)
- Joined at the Hip
w/ Bob James (1996)
- Colors
(1997)
- Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter 1
(1998)
- For You
(1998)
- Unconditional
(2000)
- Hymns In The Garden
(2000)
- The Christmas Message
(2001)
- The Best of Kirk Whalum
(2002)
- ''Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter 2 (2002)
- Into My Soul
(2003)
- Kirk Whalum Performs the Babyface Songbook
(2005)
- Ultimate Kirk Whalum
(2007)
- Roundtrip
(2007)
- ''The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter III (2008)
Footnotes
- Ebony Man, April 1994, p. 10