Kirk Whalum
{{short description|American jazz saxophonist and songwriter (born 1958)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Kirk Whalum
| image = Kirk Whalum.jpg
| caption = Kirk Whalum in 2007
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|7|11}}
| birth_place =Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
| genre = Smooth jazz, pop, R&B, gospel
| occupation = Musician
| instrument = Saxophone, flute
| years_active = 1985–present
| label =Warner Bros., Sony, Columbia
| associated_acts =Jonathan Butler, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Babyface, Bob James, Donny Hathaway, Lalah Hathaway
| website = {{URL|kirkwhalum.com}}
}}
Kirk Whalum (born July 11, 1958) is an American R&B and smooth jazz saxophonist and songwriter. Whalum has recorded a series of commercially and critically acclaimed solo studio albums. Along with several film soundtracks, with music ranging from pop to R&B to smooth jazz. While he's been bestowed with one win out of 12 Grammy nominations.{{Cite web |title=Kirk Whalum |url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/kirk-whalum/15622 |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=grammy.com |publisher=The Recording Academy}}
Whalum is a member, together with trumpeter Rick Braun and guitarist Norman Brown, of jazz group BWB. He's also worked with artists such as Whitney Houston, Bob James, Jonathan Butler and Quincy Jones. What's more, he's collaborated with the likes of Michael McDonald, Chante Moore, Luther Vandross, Patrice Rushen, Will Downing and Brian Culbertson.{{Cite web |title=Kirk Whalum |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kirk-whalum-mn0000101795 |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=allmusic.com |publisher=Allmusic |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Gachango |first=Rayhab |date=2018-03-01 |title=Interview With The Acclaimed American Jazz Band BWB |url=https://potentash.com/2018/03/01/interview-american-jazz-band-bwb/ |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=Potentash Africa |language=en-GB}}
Biography
Whalum performing in a September, 2007 music festival in [[Nashville.|thumb|250px|left]]
Kirk Whalum was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He attended Melrose High School and Texas Southern University, where he was a member of the renowned Ocean of Soul Marching Band. In addition to singing in his father's church choir, Whalum 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. 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 Rendez-Vous Lyon. At each concert, he performed the track "Last Rendez-Vous," also known as "Ron's Piece," in place of Jarre and Whalum's mutual friend, saxophonist and astronaut Ron McNair, who died in the Challenger disaster.
Whalum recorded a duet with R&B singer, Jevetta Steele called "Love is a Losing Game" in 1993.
Whalum has worked on a number of film scores, including for The Prince of Tides, Boyz n the Hood, The Bodyguard, Grand Canyon and Cousins. He toured with Whitney Houston for more than seven years and soloed in her single "I Will Always Love You", the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. He was also featured on many Luther Vandross albums, most often playing on the singer's covers of older pop and R&B standards such as "Anyone Who Had a Heart", "I (Who Have Nothing)", and "Love Won't Let Me Wait".
Whalum has recorded a series of well received solo albums and film soundtracks, with music ranging from pop to R&B to smooth jazz. His musical accomplishments have brought him a total of 12 Grammy nominations. He won his first Grammy award in 2011 for Best Gospel Song ("It's What I Do", featuring Lalah Hathaway) alongside lifelong friend and writer Jerry Peters.
File:Dave Koz and Friends, St. Helena, California - 2021-08-28 - Sarah Stierch 04.jpg in August 2021.]]
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 saxophone player Dave Koz, and guitarists Norman Brown and Chuck Loeb among others. That same year, he also performed a cover "Any Love" on the album Forever, For Always, For Luther, which included other smooth jazz greats, like the aforementioned Dave Koz, bassist Marcus Miller, tenor saxophonist Richard Elliot and alto saxophonist Mindi Abair covering Vandross' well-known songs. Whalum also contributed to the 2008 documentary film Miss HIV.
On June 20, 2014, Whalum was the inaugural Jazz Legend honoree of the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tennessee. In September 2015, it was announced that Whalum would be joining the faculty of Visible Music College in Memphis, Tennessee.{{Cite web|title = Kirk Whalum to join Visible Music College|url = http://www.commercialappeal.com/entertainment/music/kirk-whalum-to-join-visible-music-college-ep-1264721890-327922721.html|access-date = 2015-09-19}} In September 2018 he received the coveted honor of a Brass Note on Historic Beale Street in his native Memphis.
Personal life
Whalum married his wife Rubystyne (Ruby) in 1980. They have four children, including musician and marathoner Kyle, as well as Courtney, Kori, and Evan.{{Cite web |title=Kirk Whalum {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/kirk-whalum |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=encyclopedia.com}} Whalum converted to Catholicism in 2022, after having served for years as a Protestant minister.{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Vernon |date=2022-11-01 |title=Tweet |url=https://twitter.com/vadamsarts/status/1587615900856983554 |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=Twitter |language=en}}{{Citation |title=Lenten Preaching: The Rev. Kirk Whalum | date=24 March 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0JCsesJdXk |language=en |access-date=2022-11-03}} He has also been a volunteer barber at a Catholic Worker house in Memphis.{{Cite web |last=Whalum |first=Kirk |title=Kirk Whalum: The gift of God's image in the poor |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/12/22/kirk-whalum-gift-gods-image-poor/962013001/ |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=The Commercial Appeal |language=en-US}}
Discography
= Studio albums =
- Floppy Disk (1985)
- And You Know That (1988)
- The Promise (1989)
- Caché (1993)
- In This Life (1995)
- Joined at the Hip w/ Bob James (1996)
- Colors (1997)
- For You (1998)
- Unconditional (2000)
- Hymns in the Garden (2001)
- The Christmas Message (2001)
- Groovin w/ BWB (Braun, Whalum, Brown) (2002)
- Into My Soul (2003)
- Kirk Whalum Performs the Babyface Songbook (2005)
- Roundtrip (2007)
- Promises Made: The Millennium Promise Jazz Project (2008)
- Everything is Everything: The Music of Donny Hathaway (2010)
- More of Everything is Everything – ep (2010)[https://smile.amazon.com/More-Everything-EP-Kirk-Whalum/dp/B004CBQLME/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496037167&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=kirk+whalum+donny+hathaway+more+everythinghttps://smile.amazon.com/More-Everything-EP-Kirk-Whalum/dp/B004CBQLME/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496037167&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=kirk+whalum+donny+hathaway+more+everything "More Of Everything Is Everything – EP"] Amazon.
- Romance Language (2011)
- Human Nature w/ BWB (Braun, Whalum, Brown) (2013)
- BWB w/ BWB (Braun, Whalum, Brown) (2016)
- #Lovecovers (2017)
- Humanite (2019)
- How Does Christmas Sound? (2021)
- Epic Cool (2024)
= The Gospel According to Jazz Series – Live =
- The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter I (1998)
- ''The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter II (2002)
- The Gospel According to Jazz Chapter III (2010)
- The Gospel According to Jazz Chapter IV" (2014)
= Live albums =
- Live from the Detroit Jazz Festival 2013 (2014)
= Compilation albums =
- The Best of Kirk Whalum (2002)
- Ultimate Kirk Whalum (2007)
= As sideman =
With Joey DeFrancesco
- Where Were You? (Columbia, 1990)
= Singles =
- "Mad About the Wolf" from Simply Mad About the Mouse (1991)
= Charted albums =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Album ! colspan="8"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Label |
|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:50px;"|US ! style="width:50px;"|US ! style="width:50px;"|US ! style="width:50px;"|US ! style="width:50px;"|US ! style="width:50px;"|US ! style="width:50px;"|US ! style="width:50px;"|US |
| 1988
| align="left"| And You Know That! | 142 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 142 | — | rowspan="4"| Columbia |
| 1989
| align="left"| The Promise | — | — | — | 7 | — | — | — | — |
| 1993
| align="left"| Caché | — | — | 39 | 1 | 42 | — | — | — |
| 1995
| align="left"| In This Life | — | — | 18 | 12 | — | — | — | — |
| 1996
| align="left"| Joined at the Hip | — | — | 11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | rowspan="10"| Warner Bros. |
| 1997
| align="left"| Colors | — | — | 13 | 10 | — | — | — | — |
| rowspan="2"| 1998
| align="left"| The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter I | — | — | 22 | 15 | — | 17 | — | — |
| align="left"| For You
| — | — | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — |
| 2000
| align="left"| Unconditional | — | — | 3 | 2 | 86 | — | — | — |
| rowspan="2"| 2001
| align="left"| Hymns in the Garden | — | — | 27 | 18 | — | — | — | — |
| align="left"| The Christmas Message
| — | — | 27 | 14 | — | — | — | — |
| rowspan="2"| 2002
| align="left"| Groovin' | — | — | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — |
| align="left"| The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter II
| — | — | 17 | 11 | — | 19 | — | — |
| 2003
| align="left"| Into My Soul | — | — | 10 | 7 | 44 | — | — | — |
| 2005
| align="left"| Kirk Whalum Performs the Babyface Songbook | — | — | 4 | 2 | 60 | — | — | 19 | rowspan="2"| Rendezvous |
| 2007
| align="left"| Roundtrip | — | — | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 30 |
| 2008
| align="left"| Promises Made: The Millennium Promise Jazz Project | — | — | 11 | 5 | — | — | — | — | Koch |
| rowspan="2"| 2010
| align="left"| The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter III | — | — | 4 | 2 | — | 11 | — | — | Top Drawer |
| align="left"| Everything Is Everything: The Music of Donny Hathaway
| — | — | 4 | 3 | 41 | — | — | — |
| 2012
| align="left"| Romance Language | — | — | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 2013
| align="left"| Human Nature | 184 | 184 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 151 | — | Heads Up |
| 2015
| align="left"| The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter IV | — | — | 6 | 1 | — | 7 | — | — | Top Drawer |
| 2016
| align="left"| bwb | — | — | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 2017
| align="left"| #Lovecovers | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | 18 | — | — | Top Drawer |
| rowspan="2"| 2019
| align="left"| Times of Refreshing: Live at Eagle Mountain International Church | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | — | — | {{n/a}} |
| align="left"| Humanité
| — | — | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | — | rowspan="2"| Artistry Music |
| 2024
| align="left"| Epic Cool | — | — | 16 | 6 | — | — | — | — |
| colspan="11" style="font-size:90%" |"—" denotes a recording that did not chart. |
= Charted singles =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"; |
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title ! colspan="7"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Album |
|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:50px;"| Hot R&B/ ! style="width:50px;"| Adult ! style="width:50px;"| R&B/ ! style="width:50px;"| Smooth Jazz ! style="width:50px;"| Hot Gospel ! style="width:50px;"| Adult R&B ! style="width:50px;"| Gospel |
| 1993
| align="left"| "Love Is a Losing Game" | 51 | 49 | 52 | {{n/a}} | — | — | — | Caché |
| 1999
| align="left"| "All I Do" | — | — | — | {{n/a}} | — | 18 | — | For You |
| 2001
| align="left"| "Real Love" | — | — | — | {{n/a}} | — | 33 | — | rowspan="2"| Unconditional |
| 2002
| align="left"| "Can't Stop the Rain" | — | — | — | {{n/a}} | — | 35 | — |
| rowspan="3"| 2006
| align="left"| "Whip Appeal" | — | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | rowspan="2"| Kirk Whalum Performs the Babyface Songbook |
| align="left"| "I'll Make Love to You"
| — | — | — | 30 | — | — | — |
| align="left"| "Give Me the Reason"
| — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | Various Artists – Today's #1 Smooth Jazz Radio Hits! |
| 2007
| align="left"| "The Wave" {{small|(2007)}} | — | — | — | 21 | — | — | — | Roundtrip |
| 2009
| align="left"| "Juicy" | — | — | — | 21 | — | — | — | Brian Simpson – Above the Clouds |
| rowspan="2"| 2010
| align="left"| "He's Been Just That Good" | — | — | — | — | 21 | — | 21 | The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter III |
| align="left"| "Love, Love, Love" {{small|(Kirk Whalum featuring Rick Braun)}} | — | — | — | 23 | — | — | — | Everything Is Everything |
| 2012
| align="left"| "Spend My Life with You" | — | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | Romance Language |
| 2013
| align="left"| "Man in the Mirror" | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | rowspan="3"| bwb – Human Nature |
| rowspan="2"| 2014
| align="left"| "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" | — | — | — | 1{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/bwb/chart-history/jsi/|title=bwb: Smooth Jazz Airplay|magazine=Billboard}} | — | — | — |
| align="left"| "Billie Jean" {{small|(bwb)}} | — | — | — | 22 | — | — | — |
| rowspan="2"| 2015
| align="left"| "Sunday's Best" | — | — | — | 22 | — | — | — | The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter IV |
| align="left"| "Swagster" {{small|(Jeff Golub featuring Philippe Saisse and Kirk Whalum)}} | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | Jeff Golub – The Vault |
| rowspan="3"| 2016
| align="left"| "Trust God" | — | — | — | — | 23 | — | — | J. Moss – GFG Reload |
| align="left"| "bwb" {{small|(bwb)}} | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | rowspan="3"| bwb – BWB |
| align="left"| "Triple Dare" {{small|(bwb)}} | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| rowspan="2"| 2017
| align="left"| "I Want You Girl" | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — |
| align="left"| "Go Home" {{small|(David Garfield featuring Kirk Whalum and Paul Jackson Jr.)}} | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | David Garfield – Jammin' - Outside the Box |
| 2019
| align="left"| "Korogocho" | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | rowspan="3"| Humanité |
| rowspan="2"| 2020
| align="left"| "Kwetu" | — | — | — | 20 | — | — | — |
| align="left"| "SJL" {{small|(Kirk Whalum featuring Keiko Matsui)}} | — | — | — | 22 | — | — | — |
| 2022
| align="left"| "Journey to Love" | — | — | — | 29 | — | — | — | Nathan Mitchell – It's My Time |
| 2024
| align="left"| "Bah-De-Yah!" | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | rowspan="2"| Epic Cool |
| 2025
| align="left"| "Pillow Talk" | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | — |
| colspan="10" style="font-size:90%" |"—" denotes a recording that did not chart. |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- https://archive.today/20140624174441/http://nmaam.org/celebration-of-legends/
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3XD5No2NAc "My Music Matters: Tribute to NMAAM 2014 Jazz Legend Kirk Whalum"]
- {{Official website}}
- [http://www.mackavenue.com/artists/detail/kirk_whalum Mack Avenue Artist Page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518093251/http://www.mackavenue.com/artists/detail/kirk_whalum |date=2015-05-18 }}
- [https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_529-0p0wp9v529 “In Black America; Kirk Whalum,”] 1992-10-01, KUT Radio, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
{{Kirk Whalum}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whalum, Kirk}}
Category:American jazz saxophonists
Category:American male saxophonists
Category:Jazz fusion saxophonists
Category:African-American songwriters
Category:American performers of Christian music
Category:Smooth jazz saxophonists
Category:Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee
Category:Songwriters from Tennessee
Category:The Rippingtons members
Category:21st-century American saxophonists
Category:Jazz musicians from Tennessee
Category:21st-century American male musicians
Category:American male jazz musicians
Category:Mack Avenue Records artists
Category:Warner Records artists
Category:21st-century African-American musicians
Category:20th-century African-American musicians
Category:American male songwriters