Indiegogo

Brian Culbertson’s 2020 vision: Drop his 20th album, “XX,” and launch The XX Tour

Pink and Blue NotesLeave a comment

 

 

 

BC2

Brian Culbertson’s 2020 vision: Drop his 20th album, “XX,” and launch The XX Tour

Tickets go on sale this week for the three-month US concert trek that begins April 1.

CHICAGO (7 November 2019): As chart-topping multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Brian Culbertson crafts his 20th album, the aptly titled “XX” – Roman numerals representing twenty – he revealed plans for the extensive US concert tour that will support the record release. Beginning April 1 in Louisville, Kentucky, Culbertson will take an elaborately designed concert production, The XX Tour, on the road for three consecutive months, playing more than 70 shows, an extremely rare feat for a contemporary jazz artist.

Culbertson’s catalogue includes recordings of jazz – contemporary and straight ahead – as well as R&B, funk, instrumental pop and New Age. “XX,” which drops April 10, reflects his remarkable diversity.

“It’s a mix of things that I’ve done throughout my twenty records. There’s a lot of funky instrumentals, some pop-sounding tracks, a couple slow jams, straight-ahead jazz, gospel, some vocals, lots of horns and some straight-up FUNK! The album is very much a mixture of some modern sounding programming along with live instruments, too. Real drums on almost everything mixed with programming. Definitely a cool sound,” said Culbertson, who invites fans to get involved with the making of “XX” via an Indiegogo campaign that launched this week (https://igg.me/at/BCXX).

Recreating that cool sound live for The XX Tour is Culbertson’s favorite part. Like his massive Colors of Love Tour that played 77 shows in three months and was captured for “Brian Culbertson’s Colors of Love Tour: Live in Las Vegas” Blu-ray disc and two-disc CD that dropped last Valentine’s Day, Culbertson is creating the sound and look for The XX Tour as a sensory experience. The exuberant performer spends months in preproduction meticulously conceiving stunning visuals – staging, lighting, wardrobe and effects – in order to put on a mesmerizing show each time he takes the stage. In addition to spotlighting the new album, the setlist will include cuts from Culbertson’s hit-filled songbook that has amassed 32 Billboard No. 1 singles. There will also be a segment showcasing songs from “Winter Stories,” an album released last month that placed him in an acoustic jazz trio setting for the first time.

Culbertson, who founded and curates the annual Napa Valley Jazz Getaway and Chicago Jazz Getaway music and lifestyle festivals, is offering two tiers of VIP ticket experiences during The XX Tour. The Ultra VIP package includes front row center seats; an intimate pre-show champagne toast backstage with Culbertson; pre-show meet & greet, photo opportunity and performance; exclusive tour merchandise gift; autographed tour poster; commemorative The XX Tour VIP laminate; and early access to the venue for crowd-free merchandise shopping.

The Meet & Greet VIP package consists of premium seats; pre-show meet & greet, photo opportunity and performance; exclusive tour merchandise gift; autographed tour poster; commemorative The XX Tour VIP laminate; and early access to the venue for crowd-free merchandise shopping.

Tickets for The XX Tour go on sale on Wednesday, November 13 at 10am local time exclusively for American Express cardholders and those connected to Culbertson’s social media and fan email lists as well as subscribers to the Napa Valley Jazz Getaway and Chicago Jazz Getaway email lists. On Thursday, November 14 at 10am local time, presales begin for Ticketmaster and the venues’ email lists. The public on-sale starts on Friday, November 15 at 10am local time.

Below is The XX Tour itinerary (more dates will be added to the itinerary when confirmed):

April 1              Louisville, KY                          Bomhard Theater

April 3              New Haven, CT                        Lyman Center for Performing Arts **

April 4              Cranston, RI                             Park Theater

April 5              Reading, PA                             Scottish Rite Cathedral **

April 7              Morristown, NJ                         Mayo Performing Arts Center

April 8              Collingswood, NJ                      Scottish Rite Auditorium

April 9              Buffalo, NY                              Buffalo State Performing Arts Center **

April 10            Pittsburgh, PA                           Roxian Theatre

April 11            Columbus, OH                          Southern Theatre **

April 14            Detroit, MI                               MotorCity Casino Hotel

April 15            Ft. Wayne, IN                           The Clyde Theatre

April 16            Indianapolis, IN                        Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

April 17            Akron, OH                                Akron Civic Theater

April 18            Washington, DC                       Warner Theatre

April 19            Richmond, VA                          The National

April 21            Clearwater, FL                          Bilheimer Capitol Theatre

April 22            Orlando, FL                              Plaza Live

April 23            Sarasota, FL                              Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall *

April 24            Panama City, FL                       Seabreeze Jazz Festival *

April 26            Jacksonville, FL                        Florida Theatre *

April 27            Newberry, SC                           Newberry Opera House *

April 29            Nashville, TN                           Marathon Music Works

May 1               Atlanta, GA                              Atlanta Symphony Hall

May 2               St. Louis, MO                           The Pageant

May 3               Minneapolis, MN                      Fitzgerald Theater

May 5               Joliet, IL                                   Rialto Square Theatre

May 6               Kansas City, MO                      Arvest Back Theatre at The Midland

May 7               Tulsa, OK                                 Cain’s Ballroom

May 8               San Antonio, TX                       Empire Theatre

May 9               Dallas, TX                                Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center Dallas

May 10             Houston, TX                             Cullen Performance Hall

May 14             Ft. Collins, CO                          The Armory

May 15             Denver, CO                              Paramount Theatre

May 19 & 20    Mesa, AZ                                 Mesa Arts Center

May 21             Tucson, AZ                               Rialto Theatre

May 22 & 23    Las Vegas, NV                          Aliante Casino

May 24             Lake Tahoe, NV                        Montbleau Resort Casino & Spa

May 27             Santa Barbara, CA                    Lobero Theatre

May 28             Fresno, CA                               Tower Theatre

May 30             San Diego, CA                          Humphreys

June 3               Bend, OR                                 Tower Theater

June 4               Spokane, WA                           Bing Crosby Theatre

June 5               Seattle, WA                              The Moore Theatre

June 6               Boise, ID                                  The Egyptian Theatre

June 7               Portland, OR                             Revolution Hall

June 12             Yountville, CA                         Napa Valley Jazz Getaway *

June 14             Los Angeles, CA                       The Wiltern

June 17             New Orleans, LA                      The Civic Theatre

June 19             Memphis, TN                            Minglewood Hall

June 21             Charlotte, NC                           Knight Theater

June 24             Durham, NC                             The Carolina Theatre

June 25             Birmingham, AL                       Lyric Theatre

*Denotes tickets are already on sale

** Denotes tickets will go on sale at a later date

For more information, please visit http://www.brianculbertson.com.

Brian Culbertson to celebrate love with a colorful bouquet of romantic music on Valentine’s Day

Pink and Blue NotesLeave a comment

bc

 

Brian Culbertson to celebrate love with a colorful bouquet of romantic music on Valentine’s Day

 

The jazz-R&B keyboardist will release the intimate “Colors of Love” single and album that will be supported by an extensive spring concert tour. A bonus track is available for Indiegogo supporters.

LOS ANGELES (7 November 2017): They met for the first time when they were music majors at DePaul University. Flash forward, Michelle and Brian Culbertson celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary last month. With love, romance and his wife serving as his motivation, the soulful contemporary jazz hit-maker started writing material earlier this year inspired by the occasion, crafting thirteen new songs that will be released as “Colors of Love,” his eighteenth album, on Valentine’s Day on the BCM Entertainment label. The seduction begins early next month when the amorous title track, a sensual R&B groove illuminated by Culbertson’s lyrical acoustic piano melodies typical of the collection’s contents, ships to radio. A nearly three-month-long U.S. concert tour will bring “Colors of Love” to life in a vivid theatrical production with the itinerary being revealed December 1.   

Culbertson is thriving creatively on this, his third independent album funded by an Indiegogo campaign (http://bit.ly/2wr3kt9), which closes this Thursday and offers unique opportunities and exclusive perks including a bonus track. Having spent the majority of his career on a major label, the freedom to follow his creative muse is readily apparent on “Colors of Love,” a complete contrast to last year’s “Funk!” set, which was a lively, full-band funk/R&B workout that features a number of vocal cuts. He describes “Colors of Love” as “purposely electronic, using very modern sounds and production” with his acoustic piano serving as the singular lead voice throughout the intimate date. The quiet and contemplative tracks are textured atmospherics and gentle R&B grooves – soothing beds for Culbertson’s melodic piano expressions of ardor.

Sharing the recording process via Facebook live, Culbertson polled his audience and they voted that “Colors of Love” be instrumental only. He took it a step further and for the first time in his career that to date has racked up 30 No. 1 Billboard singles as an artist, producer and/or songwriter, he refrained from using saxophone or guitar as lead instruments – only his poetic piano.

“The music on ‘Colors of Love’ explores all aspects of what love is. It’s a deep word that says a lot of things. There’s passionate love, love at first sight, longing love, lost love. Each color represents a different type of love. There are heart-wrenching songs, cuddly love – all kinds of different love songs,” said Culbertson, who played all of the instruments on the new record except for rhythm guitar (Isaiah Sharkey) and accordion (Peter White).

“I’ve been playing ‘Through the Years’ from the new album in my set since the Berks Jazz Fest last April. The response has been very emotional. Clearly this music touches a nerve – or the heart to be more exact.”   

Culbertson is already at work on how he will present “Colors of Love” live during the U.S. concert trek that runs March 28 through June 17 with tickets going on sale December 8. He’s planning to incorporate a video element in a major way.

“It’s going to be a very theatrical presentation with video images and lighting timed to the music. This music is visual and cinematic thus the show needs to be visual to complement the experience. It’s going to be larger than life when you see it live.

“Colors of Love” contains the following songs:

“Love Transcended”

“I Want You”

“Colors of Love”

“Don’t Go”

“You’re Magic”

“Through the Years”

“In A Dream”

“Let’s Chill”

“Desire”

“Michelle’s Theme”

“In Your Embrace”

“The Look”

“All My Heart”

A bonus track will be available exclusively for Indiegogo supporters.

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

Culbertson readying to take “Funk!” to the stage

Pink and Blue NotesLeave a comment

BC Funk

Culbertson readying to take “Funk!” to the stage

“Been Around The World” to precede new album and extensive concert tour

Los Angeles, Calif. (25 May 2016): Message to funk received from the Mothership: hit-maker Brian Culbertson is in the studio conspiring with his cosmic group of musical soul brothers on his second funk collection, “Funk!,” which will be released September 16 on his BCM Entertainment label. Less than a week after his seventeenth album streets, the award-winning multi-instrumentalist will launch a coast-to-coast concert tour on a scale unlike any trek ever mounted by the vivacious showman who will be flanked by the same band showcased on the album. To help set the stage for the 11-song set plus three playful interlude sketches, all produced by Culbertson, radio stations will be serviced “Been Around The World” in early July.

Those who have caught a Culbertson show over the last year might have had a premonition that the R&B-jazzman was about to again morph into an emissary of funk, a mission that began with his 2008 recording “Bringing Back The Funk,” which he co-produced with the late Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire and featured legendary funksters Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham. His set list at recent gigs included a pair of funk classics, “Got To Give It Up” and “Play That Funky Music,” which made it onto the new album. The Chicago-bred musician who plays piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, clavinet, Hammond B3 organ, synths, trombone, bass, drums, percussion and sings on the entire record wrote or co-wrote nine new songs for “Funk!” that showcases his live band – Marqueal Jordan (vocals & sax), Tyrone Chase (guitars), Eddie Miller (keyboards, organ & vocals), Rodney Jones, Jr. (bass, guitar & vocals), Chris Miskel (drums) and Michael Stever (trumpeter & horn arrangements) – along with Chance Howard, a nasty R&B keyboardist, bassist and vocalist who has toured and recorded with fellow Minnesota native Prince. Noted trumpeter Patches Stewart will replace Stever for the Funk! Tour.

Next month, Howard will join Culbertson on stage to premiere a few choice cuts from “Funk!,” including the first single, at Culbertson’s fifth anniversary Napa Valley Jazz Getaway, a wine and jazz lifestyle experience in the heart of California Wine Country taking place June 8-12.

“The concept for ‘Funk!’ was to make an old-school, throwback funkadelic record in the style of P-Funk meets Prince and to tour with the same band that appears on the album – my band plus Chance (Howard). We finished tracking and are mixing this week. The show we will be taking out on the road is unlike anything anyone has ever seen from me before. It’s on an entirely different level. Yes, we’re taking it there! I’m also very excited about capturing the magic by shooting a Blu-ray to be taped on tour this fall,” said Culbertson, who as an imaginative and trend-setting artist, producer and songwriter has architected 28 Billboard No. 1 singles along with a library of chart-topping albums.

Once again, Culbertson has opened the doors to the recording studio by posting a series of video blogs from the “Funk!” sessions on his website (http://www.brianculbertson.com/funk) as well as engaging his followers through Facebook Live. And like his most recent studio release, he’s offering fans the opportunity to get involved with the process by launching an Indiegogo campaign (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/brian-culbertson-s-funk–2#/) that provides a menu of unique options, including VIP concert tickets, tickets for the Blu-ray filming, autographed CD, limited edition vinyl album, a private personalized video message, sheet music and a bobble head Funk! doll

Tickets go on sale for the Funk! Tour for fan club members beginning June 1 and to the general public starting June 3. For more information, please visit www.BrianCulbertson.com.

The songs that comprise “Funk!” are:

“Get Ready”

“The Call”

“Been Around The World”

“Take It Up”

“Let’s Take A Ride”

“We Got What You Want”

“Sunshine” (interlude)

“Hey Girl”

“Damn, I’m Hungry” (interlude)

“Got To Give It Up”

“Mile Sauce”

“Play That Funky Music”

“Spend A Little Time”

“To Be Continued…” (interlude)

The Funk! Tour itinerary is listed below (additional dates will be added):

September 22-25             Seattle, WA                                        Jazz Alley (two shows Sept. 23 & 24)

September 26                   Portland, OR                                      The Aladdin

September 27                   Bend, OR                                             Tower Theater

October 5                            Fresno, CA                                          Tower Theater

October 6                            Santa Barbara, CA                            Lobero Theater

*October 7                         Newport Beach, CA                        Hyatt Newporter

*October 8                         Temecula, CA                                    Thornton Winery

October 9                            Scottsdale, AZ                                   Livewire

October 11-12                   Denver, CO                                         Soiled Dove (two shows per night)

October 13                          Salt Lake City, UT                              The State Room

October 14-15                   Las Vegas, NV                                    Aliante Casino

*October 16                       Catalina Island, CA                           Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival

October 20                          Indianapolis, IN                                 Murat Theater

October 21                          Cincinnati, OH                                    Ludlow Garage

October 23                          New Albany, OH                               Schottenstein Theatre

October 25                          Pittsburgh, PA                                   MCG Jazz (two shows)

October 26-27                   New York, NY                                    B.B. King’s

October 28                          Cranston, RI                                       Park Theatre

October 29                          New Haven, CT                                 John Lyman Center

October 30                          Boston, MA                                        Scullers Jazz Club (two shows)

November 4                       Collingswood, NJ                              Scottish Rite Auditorium

*November 5                    Mount Pocono, PA                          Mt. Airy Casino Resort

November 11                    Minneapolis, MN                             Dakota (two shows)

November 13                    Detroit, MI                                          Royal Oak Music Theatre

Nov. 28-Dec. 2                   London, England                              Pizza Express

*denotes tickets are already on sale