Brian Culbertson’s “Another Long Night Out” debuts at No. 1

Hitmaker revisits his contemporary jazz roots joined by an all-star cast to reinterpret his debut album 20 years later.

Los Angeles, Calif. (7 March 2014): Twenty years after the release of his debut album, “Long Night Out,” award-winning contemporary jazz/R&B multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson completely reimagined the collection as “Another Long Night Out,” his 14^th album and first on his BCM Entertainment label, which debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. The set spotlighting a stellar collective comprised of many of the contemporary jazz luminaries that influenced and inspired Culbertson to make the first record is the musician’s sixth album to debut at No. 1. Speeding up the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart to No. 2, the first single, “Fullerton Ave.” featuring guitarist Chuck Loeb, is on the road to earning Culbertson his 27^th No. 1 single as an artist, producer and songwriter.

The day before the February 25 album release, Culbertson took over Sirius XM’s Watercolors for 16 hours programming cuts from the new collection as well as from some of the musicians featured on “Another Long Night Out” including Loeb, Lee Ritenour, Eric Marienthal, Rick Braun, Steve Lukather, Russ Freeman, “Patches” Stewart, Candy Dulfer and Jonathan Butler. Other noteworthy musicians appearing on the remake are Paul Jackson Jr., Jimmy Haslip, Will Kennedy, Nathan East, the late Ricky Lawson, Ray Parker Jr., Jeff Kashiwa, Larry Dunn and Ricky Peterson along with a 33-piece orchestra playing arrangements by David Benoit and Culbertson.

For the first time, Culbertson has made the sheet music used during the “Another Long Night Out” recording sessions available for free on his website. Musicians that want to play along can purchase “Music Minus One” mixes for piano, bass, drums and “band only” (no piano or other lead instruments) on Culbertson’s webstore.

Recorded in the bedroom of his crowded college apartment above a Chicago costume shop while he was a 20-year-old music student at DePaul University, the three demos that formed the basis of “Long Night Out” landed Culbertson a 6-album record deal. The notion to rebuild the album from scratch using fresh arrangements and feature performances from contemporary jazz royalty has long-ruminated inside Culbertson’s head and began with a wish list cast of musicians.

“The idea behind the remake was to make the album the way I always wanted to do it. Over the years, I’d randomly listen to that album. I liked the songs and arrangements, but always heard things that I would have liked to have done differently, mainly because of the limitations I had at the time. I had a very limited budget and limited technology so I tried to make the instruments sound real even though I had to use synth piano, a drum machine and synth bass. Now I can use real piano and live players along with the experience I’ve had over the past 20 years as a producer,” said Culbertson, who also had another purpose for the new recording in mind. “I wanted to return to my roots and introduce newer fans to another side of me as a musician and an artist. Contemporary jazz fans will dig ‘Another Long Night Out.’ I hadn’t done a full instrumental album in years. It is jazz fusion-y and I want to be known as a broader artist than just the R&B/funk guy. A lot of people didn’t know the (music on the) first album, which is out of print.”

Also a popular concert draw known for high-energy performances and masterful musicianship, Culbertson will begin rehearsals next week for an entirely new show that will be unveiled at a dress rehearsal March 12 for invited guests and 94.7 The Wave Los Angeles radio station contest winners with the first tour dates in support of “Another Long Night Out” taking place March 20-23 at Seattle’s Jazz Alley. Last week, Culbertson played a short set in Napa for Wine Country royalty as he launched his own wine, “Culbertson” Pinot Noir by Reata Wines, a personal blend he created in partnership with Jamieson Ranch Vineyards. Tickets for Culbertson’s third annual Napa Valley Jazz Getaway, a star-studded wine and jazz festival that will again lure thousands of enthusiasts from all over the world to Napa June 11-15, 2014, are on sale now with the June 14 & 15 shows taking place on the stunning Jamieson Ranch property.

For more information, please visit www.BrianCulbertson.me.

Culbertson gears up for “Another Long Night Out”

Album pre-orders underway as the first single, “Fullerton Ave.” featuring Chuck Loeb, earns the highest debut on the Billboard chart and the music video premieres. 

Los Angeles, Calif. (23 January 2014): Twenty years in the making, the album multi-instrumentalist hitmaker Brian Culbertson wanted to record ever since he was a 20-year-old music student at DePaul University recording demos in the bedroom of the crowded Chicago apartment on Fullerton Avenue above a costume shop that he shared with three roommates is finally ready for release. Joined by some of the most accomplished musicians in contemporary jazz, Culbertson completely reimagined the eleven songs he wrote and produced for his debut disc, “Long Night Out.” “Another Long Night Out” will be available in stores and online February 25^th with Amazon and iTunes now accepting pre-orders. Culbertson will autograph albums pre-ordered through his website (www.BrianCulbertson.me).

The low-budget demos on which Culbertson played most of the instruments himself resulted in his first record deal and became his debut album. It is fitting that the entirely re-envisioned production serves as the first release from his BCM Entertainment label.

Culbertson’s 14^th collection, “Another Long Night Out” is prefaced with the release of “Fullerton Ave.,” which will be the highest new single to debut on next week’s Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart. A video of the sprawling jazz jam led by Culbertson on piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, keyboards, slap bass, trombone and tambourine and a towering inferno of lead guitar from Chuck Loeb premiered yesterday on Culbertson’s YouTube page (www.youtube.com/brianculbertsonmusic). The clip showcases an all-star ensemble – Paul Jackson Jr., Michael “Patches” Stewart, Eric Marienthal, Jimmy Haslip and Will Kennedy – recording the cut in the studio along with a montage of shots of the Chicago skyline and the city’s locales frequented by Culbertson, including his college apartment.

“‘Another Long Night Out’ is a return to my creative roots and reflects my love of instrumental contemporary jazz. To help realize my vision, I gathered many of the legendary musicians that inspired me to make this kind of music in the first place. People like Lee Ritenour, Chuck Loeb, Nathan East, Russ Freeman, Jonathan Butler, Candy Dulfer, Jimmy Haslip, Rick Braun, Eric Marienthal, Larry Dunn, Steve Lukather, Ricky Lawson, David Benoit and many, many more joined me in the studio. This is the project that I’ve wanted to do for many years and I’ve finally done it,” said Culbertson, an award-winning radio favorite and concert headliner who has amassed 26 No. 1 hits as an artist, producer and songwriter.

“Another Long Night Out” will be supported by record release events, in-store appearances and concert dates.

Culbertson is also a lifestyle curator who created the Napa Valley Jazz Getaway, a star-studded wine and jazz festival that will take place for the third time June 11-15, 2014 drawing thousands of music and wine lovers from around the world to Napa, Calif. He will soon unveil his own wine, a Pinot Noir blended in partnership with Reata Wines and Jamieson Ranch Vineyards. For more information, please visit www.BrianCulbertson.me.

The songs that comprise Culbertson’s “Another Long Night Out” are:

“City Lights” featuring Lee Ritenour

“Fullerton Ave.” featuring Chuck Loeb

“Beyond The Frontier”

“Heroes Of The Dawn” featuring Eric Marienthal & Rick Braun

“Beautiful Liar” featuring Steve Lukather

“Double Exposure” featuring Russ Freeman

“Twilight” featuring Eric Marienthal

“Horizon” featuring Michael “Patches” Stewart

“Alone With You”

“Long Night Out” featuring Candy Dulfer

“Changing Tides” featuring Jonathan Butler

“Another Long Night Out” for Brian Culbertson

On the 20th anniversary of its release, the multi-instrumentalist hitmaker returns to his contemporary jazz roots to remake his debut album joined by many of the accomplished artists that inspired him.

Los Angeles, Calif. (12 September 2013): Brian Culbertson was a 20-year-old student at DePaul University recording demos in his bedroom “studio” in a crowded apartment that he shared with three roommates above a costume shop on a busy Chicago street. Those demos not only landed the then trombone player in DePaul’s jazz ensemble a record deal, but they were released a year later – February 1994 – as part of his debut album, “Long Night Out,” on which Culbertson played most of the instruments himself. Twenty years later, he’s an award-winning recording artist, songwriter and producer who is currently in the studio revisiting that first collection of songs that will be released in February 2014 as “Another Long Night Out,” but this time he’ll be accompanied by many of the contemporary jazz artists who influenced him when making the original.

Culbertson’s recent releases have primarily been excursions aboard R&B and funk grooves thus “Another Long Night Out” marks a return to his roots in contemporary jazz. Among the preeminent musicians joining him in the recording studio to play on the 11-song album are the Rippington’s Russ Freeman, Eric Marienthal, Candy Dulfer, Toto’s Steve Lukather, Paul Jackson Jr., Fourplay’s Chuck Loeb and Nathan East, Jimmy Haslip and Will Kennedy of Yellowjackets fame, Ricky Lawson, Michael Thompson, Lenny Castro, Michael Bland, Patches Stewart and a 38-piece orchestra with additional legendary artists soon to be added. Culbertson is producing the record.

Another major change for the keyboardist-trombonist who has released his 13-album catalogue through major record labels is that Culbertson decided to go the independent fan-funded route in order to get his worldwide fan base intimately involved with the project. In recent years, he has been a leading figure in contemporary jazz when it comes to embracing technological innovation, social media and video blogs and is energized about the new music business, the creative freedoms it affords and the opportunities to interact directly with fans.

Said Culbertson, who discusses the new project and shares footage from some of the recording sessions in his latest video blog (www.YouTube.com/BrianCulbertsonMusic), “I’m excited about being able to make the album the way I’ve always wanted to make it. With the limited resources I had at the time, most of ‘Long Night Out’ was just me on drum machines, synth bass and sampled/synth piano trying to sound like real instruments. Now I’ve got some of the best contemporary jazz musicians on the planet playing those parts. This record is a true passion project and a return to my roots as a recording artist. I’m also enthused about opening up the recording process to fans via fan funding, which is almost like having them there in the studio with us. They’ll get to hear demo versions of songs and early mixes in almost real time. The entire recording process will be documented on my video blog. Plus we’ll be offering fans extraordinary experiences such as personalized videos and phone calls, private concerts, concert tickets, video blog shout outs or a thank you in the album’s liner notes, signed sheet music and CDs, a limited edition vinyl copy of ‘Another Long Night Out,’ an opportunity to hang with me at the mastering session followed by dinner or the chance to come to a rehearsal for my 2014 tour. I can even play on your record.”

A highly-popular headline concert performer, Culbertson is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Brian Culbertson’s Napa Valley Jazz Getaway, a five-day festival of wine and jazz in breathtaking Napa, California. The luminous lineup for the third edition of the Napa Valley Jazz Getaway, slated for June 11-15, 2014, will be revealed by the end of the month in conjunction with the release of tickets.

For more information, please visit http://www.BrianCulbertson.me and http://igg.me/at/brianculbertson.