Grammy® Award-Winning Recording Artist Kirk Whalum Presents The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter IV
DETROIT (March 6, 2015) – Grammy® Award-Winning Recording Artist Kirk Whalum presents the highly-anticipated new The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter IV, in partnership with Mack Avenue Records and Rendezvous Music. The two-disc, 19-song album (and feature-length docu-musical film) sets a benchmark for live recording, nuanced performance and deep improvisation at the most profoundly felt, thoughtfully conceived and personal level. The double album is distributed by Sony Red Distribution and Provident Distribution and available in stores and online March 24, 2015. It is available for pre-order now on iTunes and Amazon. The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter IV docu-musical, which chronicles the album recording process and offers candid access to the artist as he reflects on his career and the music on this project will be presented at screenings and film festivals around the country as he embarks on The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter IV promotional tour later this month.
Recorded and filmed live at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., saxophonist Whalum elevates his award-winning Gospel According To Jazz series to a new level with the live-recorded double CD set featuring the best in Gospel music, Contemporary Jazz, and Urban music. The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter IV eloquently demonstrates the deep connections between Gospel and Jazz.
The spectacular The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter IV project is an invitation to pause, hear, and “see” in a fresh, prescient way, but above all, it is a tribute album in a uniquely gospel-centric way. Honored here are heads of state (Nelson Mandela and Barrack Obama), departed and greatly respected and loved artists (George Duke, Wayman Tisdale, and John Coltrane), alongside mothers (Kirk’s… the Virgin Mary, and yours if you like) and a homeless woman Whalum came to call friend (“Nannette”). Beyond that, the Father who made them and Christ who saved them are honored as well.
“We always try to reach out to the cadre beyond gospel artists, to a Norman Brown, a Rick Braun, or Doc Gibbs; that is a very crucial part of this,” said Whalum. “By their willingness to be part of it and by honoring them and their spiritual quest, what we are able to do is create a safe space. The Gospel According to Jazz embraces the talent God dishes out.”
The double-disc album and docu-musical features Braun, Brown, Gibbs, Sheléa, John Stoddart, Gerald Veasley, Kevin Whalum, and Kenneth Whalum III. Special guests include Marcus Finnie, Braylon Lacy, Ralph T. Lofton, Kevin Turner, and Kortland Whalum.
Kicking off in New York City on March 16, Whalum embarks on a multi-city tour promoting the release of The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter IV and screening his companion docu-musical at churches, theaters and film festivals. Additional stops are planned for Atlanta, Los Angeles, Memphis, Tenn., Dallas, and more.
The Gospel According To Jazz Chapter IV track listing:
DISC 1
Just As I Am
Let ‘Em In
Keep On Pushing
My Hero
Intro to This is the Day
This is the Day
Intro to There
There
Intro to Beauty in Strength, Strength in Weakness
Beauty in Strength, Strength in Weakness
Wait For the Sunshine
Intro to Un Amor Supremo
Un Amor Supremo
Intro to Triage
Triage
DISC 2
Ave Maria
Intro to Sunday’s Best
Sunday’s Best
Cain’t Stay Blue
Intro to I See You
I See You
Intro to Madiba
Madiba
Intro to Nannette
Nannette
Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
Kirk’s Improv
Love Is the Answer
LINKS:
Album Stream
Disc 1 Stream: https://soundcloud.com/kirkwhalum/sets/kirk-whalum-the-gospel/s-pd8S7
Disc 2 Stream: https://soundcloud.com/kirkwhalum/sets/kirk-whalum-the-gospel-1/s-b1Wbh
Album Pre-Order
Amazon: http://amzn.to/17RsrZ0
iTunes: http://apple.co/1wIoEJo
Video:
EPK: https://vimeo.com/kirkwhalum/review/121271388/25c08e74b6
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/kirkwhalum/review/120231273/494628c826
Connect:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KirkWhalum
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KirkWhalum
Instagram: www.instagram.com/KirkWhalum
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/KirkWhalumLive
Website: www.kirkwhalum.com
Media Kit: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jji0m3v35s9kd1d/AADW9pXamU0fGSW7dFwlmBSSa?dl=0
About Kirk Whalum:
Forged from his Memphis, TN gospel roots and his 1980′s initiation into the thriving Houston, TX scene, Kirk’s big, rich tenor sound is unmistakably his. The 80′s were highlighted by Kirk’s stepping out of his blossoming sideman role and forming his own band. It was there that Kirk ultimately developed both his “voice” and songwriting. It was also in Houston where jazz pianist Bob James “discovered” him and brought him on tour, which led to five successful albums with Columbia Records, including Cache, Kirk’s first #1 album. As well, Kirk and Bob received a Grammy nomination for their collaboration album, Joined at the Hip. After moving to Los Angeles, Kirk became an in demand session player for top artists like, Barbara Streisand, Al Jarreau, Luther Vandross, Larry Carlton, Quincy Jones and most notably, Whitney Houston, amongst many others. It’s his sax heard on the mega-hit, “I Will Always Love You.” Kirk soon followed that career high point with his phenomenal hit album released on Warner Bros. Records, For You, perhaps the most successful of over 25 solo recordings to date; others include his eclectic Gospel According to Jazz series, (Chapters 1, 2 and 3 – And Chapter 4 hitting on March 24, 2015). An ordained minister, Kirk has earned his Masters of Art in Religion. It’s in this spirit that he serves his community, frequently performs and volunteers at nursing homes, schools and missions. There is also his daily fifteen minute podcast, Bible In Your Ear (BIYE), in which he invites you to listen along as he reads through the Bible in a year. In addition to music and ministry, Kirk has a passion to educate young, aspiring musicians and as such he currently serves as Chief Creative Officer of the STAX Music Academy and the STAX Museum of American Soul Music in his hometown of Memphis, TN. Kirk is the recipient of numerous awards and acknowledgements for his musical excellence including three Dove Award nominations, an NAACP Image Award nomination and has won two Stellar Awards-Gospel music’s highest honor. An eleven time Grammy® nominee, Kirk won his first Grammy® Award for Best Gospel Song (“It’s What I Do”-featuring Lalah Hathaway) alongside life-long friend and gifted writer, Jerry Peters.
Kirk Whalum · Gospel According To Jazz Chapter IV
Rendezvous Music · Release Date: March 24, 2015
