Kirk Whalum Takes Fans on Musical Journey with New Release : Smooth Jazz Now :

For the musician, his father was the key person who helped to launch and nurture his musical career. As he declared to Memphis local newspaper "The Commercial Appeal": " "He was an incredible dad. When I recorded a concert in Washington, D.C., the other weekend, I dedicated the concert to him," Kirk said. "He bought my first saxophone, he and my mom. They were very, very supportive of me from the very beginning."

Kirk Whalum Takes Fans on Musical Journey with New Release

August 2, 2007 - Sax legend Kirk Whalum is taking a stroll through his musical history on his upcoming CD "Roundtrip" which is scheduled to be released on August 28, 2007 on the Rendezvous Entertainment label. This is Whalum's 18th album to date and his second release for Rendezvous Entertainment which delivered the chart topping "Kirk Whalum Performs the Babyface Songbook."

"Roundtrip" culminates 22 years of solo Kirk Whalum projects and also goes back to his early days in Houston, Texas with the recording of unreleased material and a modern day version of the 1987 hit "The Wave" from the album "And You Know That." Also looking toward the future of the genre, the album infuses Contemporary Jazz with Rap, Hip Hop and Spoken Word.

Joining Kirk on his voyage are some of his talented family members such as brother, singer Kevin Whalum, his son, bassist Kyle Whalum, nephew, saxophonist Kenneth Whalum, III, cousin, rapper Caleb Tha Bridge and his uncle, Rendezvous artist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum. There are also special appearances by guitarists Earl Klugh and Jeff Golub, saxophonist Gerald Albright, R & B star Shanice and legendary television actress Kim Fields, who contributes spoken word.

In addition to touring for "Roundtrip," Whalum will also continue to be one of the stars of the Guitars and Saxes tour throughout 2007 with Tim Bowman, Jeff Golub and Gerald Albright. - by Joy Hall

First Annual Celebration of Hope featuring Kirk Whalum and Friends - Review

July 21, 2007 - On July 1, 2007, Smooth Jazz Fans were treated to great music for a VERY meaningful and worthwhile cause. The organization Stroke of Hope had its first annual Celebration of Hope featuring Kirk Whalum and Friends guitarist Jeff Golub on and keyboardist Phillipe Saisse. This was a concert to celebrate the life and legacy of R & B superstar Luther Vandross who suffered a debilitating stroke in April 2003 and passed away on July 1, 2005. More

Norman Brown, "BWB is not Dead Yet"

July 1, 2007 - The idea of a supergroup on paper at least looks like a great idea. Making it work however with crazy musicians schedules, contracts and then there's the money is a tough gig. Guitarist Norman Brown, Trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist Kirk Whalum made it work for at least one CD in 2002 with their "Groovin" album. Then the group got stuck in the middle of the Warner Brothers downsizing coupled with their individual booming careers but Brown says the band is still very much alive. The three recently reunited on the guitarist's new album "Stay with Me" with the tune "It's Not Over." Brown says, "I just had such fun with that group! I came into the business as a solo artist. I had one gig before I became Norman Brown, I played rhythm guitar for George Howard on one tour. And so I hadn't really had a chance to collaborate with other guys, I wanted to feel that. That group was great -- Warner Bros. put us together, we had a great time, we toured, and then it was over, it stopped. I just missed that feeling. That song hit me and it was perfect, it was like, oh, this is us." Actually the three have reuninted on each of their solo albums recently. Brown says the title "It's Not Over" is no accident since the three plan on working together again "very soon." Look for the guitarist on his "Summer Storm Tour" along with keyboardist Jeff Lorber, vocalist Peabo Bryson, and saxophonist Marion Meadows. - by Kari Graham

Warren Hill & Kirk Whalum Serving Up Some New Tunes

June 21, 2005 - Saxophonists Warren Hill and Kirk Whalum will both release new material in the coming months. Hill has completed work on his new album "PopJazz". The album, which can currently be purchased exclusively at www.popjazz.com and whose first single "Still in Love" has been released to Smooth Jazz radio, should be released to stores this summer. Hill is currently working on a distribution deal. Whalum's latest outing will showcase the songbook of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and should be released this fall. - by Cheryl Philips

Dave Koz and Rendezvous Deliver 'Golden Slumbers 2 - A Father's Love' With Kirk Whalum

May 3, 2005 - Rendezvous records has not been around that long but in a few years the label has produced some of the biggest hits in Smooth Jazz including Praful's 'Sigh,' 'Marc Antoine's successful 'Mediterraneo' album and Michael Lington's bouncy 'Show Me.' Now the inspiration that started the company 3 years ago, the original "Golden Slumber - A Father's Lullaby" is going a bit further with 'Golden Slumbers 2 - A Father's Love.' More

Smooth Jazz Goes Cruising Crazy

February 21, 2005 - Seems like everyone is cruising these days. Smooth Jazz Cruise pioneer Warren Hill has just completed his second sell out full charter while, almost at the same time, Bob James was sailing on a musical journey out of San Diego. Later in the year Rick Braun is leading a top-notch line up on a seven-day trip out of Galveston and Warren Hill's 2006 event is already proving to be a big early seller. Sandwiched among all this is the "Dave Koz & Friends At Sea" cruise that sails from San Diego on November 5 and is being managed by the same organization that made Hills last event such a success. Calling at destinations that include Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas and Peurto Vallarta, Koz has assembled a line up every bit as good as one would expect from this master of live Smooth Jazz. Artists already confirmed, and who performed on the Hill cruise, are Wayman Tisdale, Kirk Whalum, Jeff Golub, and Jonathan Butler. Joining them will be Marc Antoine, Patti Austin, David Benoit, Chris Botti, George Duke, Jeffrey Osborne and Praful. It's a line up that promises to produce seven days of high quality Smooth Jazz. - By Denis Poole

Chuck Loeb Appreciates Spiritual Comrade Kirk Whalum
March 18, 2004 - "I am a spiritual person," says Chuck Loeb. The popular Smooth Jazz artist and producer says he never fools himself into thinking that he's solely responsible for any of his hits. "I am walking down the road and all of a sudden this melody is going around inside my head and I have to write it down," says Loeb. He told Smooth Jazz Now he feels like "a secretary writing it down for someone else." While recording his 2002 album "All There Is" Loeb said he got another reminder of the big picture from Saxophonist Kirk Whalum. "We were just about to record and I asked Kirk if everything was okay in his headphones and if he was ready to go. Kirk said he was all ready to go but there was one more thing that he would like to do, he said that he would like to pray." Loeb says that simple comment put things in perspective, "I thought okay so I went outside and my daughter and her boyfriend were in the room with us and Kirk said that he wanted to thank God for letting him make a contribution that wasn't really even his to a song that wasn't even really mine and that they were all from God." Check out our updated Interview with Chuck Loeb.

BWB To Record and Tour This Year

January 7, 2004 - To no ones surprise Smooth Jazz supergroup BWB made the top 20 in both Canada and the U.S. year end charts. The group consisting of Saxophonist Kirk Whalum, trumpeter Rick Braun and guitarist Norman Brown plan to record their second album later this year and plan to tour in February. Whalum told the Associated press the first BWB album was just a way of testing the waters without too much commitment, "unlike marriage, we thought this is something you want to try out first. If we were going to be committed to it, we wanted to make sure. The initial infatuation of it was undeniable. We love one another and love playing together.... We can't wait to get back into the studio." Whalum was recently nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel for the disc "The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter II."

BWB Gets Into Christmas

May 21, 2003 - Your Holiday season could be a little funkier for 2003! Smooth Jazz supergroup BWB are working on a Christmas album for Warner Brothers but word is it may not be released this year. The boys in the band also have new solo albums in the works Kirk Whalum (left) will release "Into My Soul" on July 22nd and Rick Braun's latest will be out on August 26th. BWB (which also features Norman Brown) are currently on the road.