Kirk Whalum
| 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. There were so many live
music venues then..everybody came through Houston. I have memories of
hanging out with Sonny Stitt and Rollins.. I was like a sponge – just
sitting there with these giants and absorbing everything they threw my
way." It worked. His musical reputation as well as his local following
grew. Soon Kirk became "the" opening act for jazz shows that came to
Houston and in 1983 he caught the ear of jazz pianist Bob James, who was so impressed with the young Whalum that two weeks later Kirk found himself in New York soloing on Bob’s album, Bob James 12. Kirk became a member of his touring band and eventually snagged a recording deal with Columbia Records. Kirk released five records while signed to Columbia, the first in 1985, Floppy Disk, introduced the still frequently requested tune, "Kyle’s Smiles" written for Kirk’s yet-to-be-born, son Kyle. But it was the 1995 release of Cache that put Kirk on the charts. That CD went to #1 and remained there for five weeks. Other releases on that label include And You Know That! The Promise and In This Life. |
Artist Equipment
Keilwerth Tenor SX90R
Contact Information :
Selected Discography
Click here to view Mr. Whalum's full discography