The Career of Kirk Whalum, Smooth Jazz Legend

Jazz music would not be the same without the amazing sounds of Jazz great Kirk Whalum. Born in the heart of Memphis Tennessee, Kirk Whalum has been blessing the jazz world for over twenty years. He has played for and with many of the best artists in every genre of music. Here is a look at the amazing career of a smooth jazz legend.

Kirk Whalum has been around music his entire life. As a kid he sang in the church choir at his dad's church. His grandmother taught him how to play the piano at a very young age. Whalum learned to play the drums as a kid as well. He eventually switched over to the saxophone, being attracted to its shininess. From there years of practice including study at Texas Southern University, led to the birth of a jazz legend.

Kirk began recording as a solo artist in the mid 1980's. Kirk's first album was titled "Floppy Disk." It had moderate success including a song wrote for his soon to be born son Kyle. Kirk Whalum's career really took off in the 90's. During this time Kirk toured and work with the likes of Whitney Houston, Babyface, Take 6, Yolanda Adams and Luther Vandross. In 1995 he released the CD Cache which was his first album to make it to #1. It spent a total of three weeks at that spot.

Kirk's career continued to grow during the mid 90's. After moving to Los Angeles, Kirk inked a deal with Warner Bros. Music. He began working with Jazz great Bob James. It was Kirk's 1998 release For You that took his career to an even higher level. The CD is Kirk's best CD to date and produced four top ten hits. It spent a total of 53 in the top ten on the jazz charts and a total of 65 weeks on altogether!

Kirk has also released gospel records during his career. In 1998 he released The Gospel According to Jazz. This was a highly acclaimed album that has been followed by The Gospel According to Jazz II in 2000, and will be followed by a third volume next year.

Over his career Kirk has gained a reputation as being a stand-up guy who has a passion for music. He also is a man who has a strong Christian belief that he does not mind sharing. He will continue to release great music as is evident by his 2007 release Roundtrip. What I like most about Kirk is that his talent is amazing yet he stays humble often saying that it is 'grace' that his gotten him to this point in his career. Look for Kirk's new album The Gospel According to Jazz III sometime next year.