Michael Stever

Culbertson readying to take “Funk!” to the stage

June 11, 2016Pink 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

Culbertson celebrates a milestone anniversary “Live”‏

January 12, 2015Pink and Blue NotesLeave a comment

Culbertson celebrates a milestone anniversary “Live”

The first live recording from the multi-genre multi-instrumentalist aims to get radio to “Think Free”

Los Angeles, California (12 January 2015): Years ago, a young ambitious musician-songwriter-producer emerged from Chicago who went on to architect 27 No. 1 Billboard singles along with a half-dozen albums that debuted at No.1 that changed the status quo with a creative and fresh alchemy of astutely performed contemporary jazz, soulful R&B and horn-powered funk. Decades later, his ability to achieve and balance commercial success and the respect of his peers is perhaps as admirable as his hit-making consistency and the meticulous approach he uses to craft infectious melodies and compelling rhythms. The above description could easily apply to the works of his role models, Maurice White and Quincy Jones, but here we refer to Brian Culbertson.

From the 1994 debut of “Long Night Out,” released while the keyboardist-trombonist was a DePaul University music major recording demos in the bedroom of his crowded apartment that landed him a six-album record deal, right up through his 14^th album, 2014’s “Another Long Night Out,” Culbertson has injected a much needed jolt of lyrical harmony and deft musicianship along with a flair for lively showmanship that meshes to form an aesthetic that raises the bar on a musical genre. To commemorate his 20^th anniversary as a recording artist, Culbertson marched his well-drilled band out on a coast-to-coast concert mission last year that was preserved for posterity on his first live album recorded during a sold-out, eight-show stand at the famed Yoshi’s nightclub in Oakland, California last September. The resulting double CD set, “Live – 20^th Anniversary Tour,” was released Monday – Culbertson’s 42^nd birthday – on his own BCM Entertainment label.

Featuring a crack eight-piece band, many of whom are musicians out of Chicago and have been playing with Culbertson for years, “Live” is a spirited and at times sweaty celebration of jazz, fusion, R&B, romantic piano pop and deep funk grooves that barely let up for air bolstered by crisp horn section arrangements reminiscent of the mighty Earth, Wind & Fire and Tower of Power.

One could say that “Live” is a statement album. Forget what you thought you knew about so called “smooth jazz.” Seldom does a contemporary jazz artist dare to release a live record these days making it even more of a treat that Culbertson & Company was able to bottle the magic, charismatic energy and excitement of their live show on this recording. The 21-song session – 22 songs if you include the CD exclusive bonus track, “Forever” – rifles through Culbertson’s chart-topping original compositions and introduces a vibrant new number, “Think Free,” the album’s initial radio single written by Culbertson and Sheldon Reynolds especially for the occasion. Culbertson’s set list also pays tribute to his influences – White’s Earth, Wind & Fire (“Serpentine Fire”) and Jones (“Secret Garden”) – along with the rump-shaking party starter “Hollywood Swingin’,” a Kool & The Gang classic.

“I just wanted to capture the raw dynamic energy of our live show. My band members are each incredible talents in their own right and I’m happy to be able to showcase them, which in turn makes the entire project more exciting and daring,” said Culbertson, who is also a lifestyle curator who founded and serves as artistic director of the starry Napa Valley Jazz Getaway, the fourth annual wine and music festival presented by Lexus in the heart of California’s stunning wine country slated for June 10-14, 2015.

Culbertson’s touring band consists of Marqueal Jordan (vocals, tenor sax & percussion), Eddie Miller (keyboards, Hammond B3 organ & vocals), Michael Stever (trumpet & keyboards), Adam Hawley (guitar & background vocals), Rodney Jones Jr. (bass) and Chris Miskel (drums). For the “Live” recording, they were supplemented by the firepower of Doug Beavers (trombone & additional percussion) and Doug Rowan (Bari sax).

“Live” contains the following songs:

Disc 1

“City Lights Intro”

“Always Remember”

“Hollywood Swingin’”

“Do You Really Love Me”

“Come To Me”

“All About You”

“Let’s Get Started”

“Fullerton Ave.”

“Beautiful Liar”

“Get It On”

“Skies Wide Open”

“Another Love”

“Horizon”

Disc 2

“Think Free”

“Dreams”

“On My Mind”

“Secret Garden”

“Serpentine Fire”

“Funkin’ Like My Father”

“City Lights Outro”

“Our Love”

“Forever” (CD bonus track only)

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

Nicholas Cole…The Next Generation

July 10, 2013July 16, 2013Pink and Blue NotesLeave a comment

When I hear the name Nicholas Cole, a few words come to my mind. Words such as gifted, grounded, humble, and beyond a shadow of a doubt, AMAZINGLY talented. Cole has landed on the contemporary jazz scene and shown that he’s the future generation. His friend Brian Simpson says “Nicholas is the best young songwriter of contemporary jazz that I’ve come across in the last several years….and he will definitely play a huge part in the future.” He is a composer, producer, and performer. He collaborated with Michael Stever, Tim Bowman, Vincent Ingala, Steve Oliver, Julian Vaughn, Marcus Anderson, and Lynne Fiddmont on his current CD “Endless Possiblities.” His knowledge and awareness of different genres of music gives him the ability to be innovative and continuously evolving. The future is very bright for Nicholas, and I look forward to following his journey.

Click below to hear our interview:

[audio https://mm2513.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/nicholas-cole.mp3]

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