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Biography
Infobox musical artist|name = Kirk Whalum|image = KirkWhalum-creditJacobMorrow.jpg|caption = Photo by Jacob Morrow|background = non_vocal_instrumentalist|birth_name =|Born = Birth date and age|1958|7|11 Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis , Tennessee United States |death_date =|instrument = Saxophone , Flute |genre = Smooth jazz , Pop music|Pop , Rhythm and blues|R& B , Gospel music|Gospel |occupation = Musician , Songwriter |years_active = 1985 — Present|label = Rendezvous, Mosaic Contemporary, Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros. , Sony Record|Sony , Columbia Records|Columbia |associated_acts = Jonathan Butler Whitney Houston , Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds|Babyface , Bob James (musician)|Bob James , Donny Hathaway , Lalah Hathaway |website = http://www.kirkwhalum.com/ www.KirkWhalum.com Facebook|KirkWhalum Twitter|KirkWhalum Kirk Whalum (born July 11, 1958) is an United States|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 music|pop to R& B to smooth jazz . Kirk’s musical accomplishments have brought him a total of 12 Grammy Awards|Grammy nominations.
Kirk won his first Grammy Awards|Grammy award in 2011 for Best Gospel Song (“It’s What I Do”-featuring Lalah Hathaway ) alongside life-long friend and gifted writer, Jerry Peters.
Biography
Kirk Whalum born July 11, 1958 in Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis , Tennessee , was surrounded by music as he grew up in the R& B capital of the South. Kirk attended Melrose High School and Texas Southern University where he was a member of the World Famous Ocean of Soul Marching Band. 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."Ebony Man, April 1994, p. 10
In 1986 , he performed at Jean Michel Jarre 's giant concerts Rendez-Vous Houston and List of Jean Michel Jarre concerts#Rendez-Vous Lyon|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 , Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds|Babyface , Nancy Wilson (singer)|Nancy Wilson , Yolanda Adams , Take 6 , BeBe & CeCe Winans , Barbra Streisand , Kirk Franklin , 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 n the Hood , The Bodyguard , Grand Canyon (1991 film)|Grand Canyon , and Cousins (film) .
In 2005 Whalum recorded the Babyface Songbook (2005) with R& B icon Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds|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 saxophone player Dave Koz , and guitarists Norman Brown and Chuck Loeb among others. Whalum also contributed to the 2008 documentary film Miss HIV .
"Mad About the Wolf" from Simply Mad About the Mouse (1991)
Caché (Kirk Whalum album)|Caché (1993)
In This Life (1995)
Joined at the Hip w/ Bob James (musician)|Bob James (1996)
Colors (1997)
Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter 1 (1998)
For You (1998)
Unconditional (2000)
Hymns in the Garden (2001)
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)
Promises Made: The Millennium Promise Jazz Project (2008)
Everything Is Everything: The Music of Donny Hathaway (2010)
The Gospel According to Jazz Chapter III (2010)
"Romance Language" (2011)
References
Reflist
External links
Official website|www.kirkwhalum.com
Facebook|KirkWhalum
Twitter|KirkWhalum
Persondata | NAME = Whalum, Kirk | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = July 11, 1958 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Memphis, TN | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Whalum, Kirk Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:American jazz saxophonists Category:Jazz fusion saxophonists Category:African American songwriters Category:American performers of Christian music
