Kirk Whalum is happy that the third installment of his popular series The Gospel According To Jazz is scheduled for release on February 16th on his own Top Drawer Records through distributor Mack Avenue Records. This time the live project arrives on DVD as well as on CD. The veteran saxophonist and composer says it took one door closing for this window to open.
"I had been on Columbia Records for 12 years when I was kicked to the curb like a lot of other artists," Whalum told Billboard.com. "The next day my wife said, 'What can we do today that we couldn't do yesterday?'"
It was at that point he began to put together the musical personnel for the very first Gospel According To Jazz set, which arrived in 1998. The second installment was released in 2002.
Whalum explains that the project -- which showcases jazz musicians playing a live program of inspirational jazz and gospel music for a church audience -- is a concept that's a bit hard to grasp. He explained: "It's not hardcore fundamentalist kind of an evangelical -gospel kind of an event because we're trying to meet people where they are and present the great musician in a context where people can hear His voice, hear this melody and resonate with it in their spirits."
The Gospel According To Jazz III was recorded live at the Reid Temple AME church in Glenn Dale, Maryland.
Guests include keyboardist George Duke, guitarist Doc Powell, and several Whalum family members, including . Kirk's vocalist brother Kevin Whalum; his uncle, singer and saxophonist Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum; his nephew, saxophonist Kenneth Whalum III; his son, bassist Kyle Whalum; his nephew, vocalist Kortland Whalum; and his cousin, hip-hop artist Cable The Bridge.
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