By Ivy N. Carter, MBA
And God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light. Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the water.’ And it was so. Finally, God said, ‘Let there be jazz.’ And…ok maybe He did not say the last part but when you hear the jazz saxophone styles of legendary jazz artist Kirk Whalum, you know his abilities were God given. And in his latest CD, The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter III was released on March 16, continues to show how anointed his talents are.
The Gospel According to Jazz is another soul-stirring gospel music centered compilation combining jazz music and vocal artists, such as Lailah Hathaway, George Duke, Kevin Whalum (Kirk’s younger brother) and Doc Powell. His music is causing both supporters of gospel jazz and naysayers a like to admit a fondness for the CD and its DVD counterpart.
“My latest CD brings listeners into the incomprehensibility of God,” Whalum said in our over the phone interview. “We wanted to give a snapshot of the grandness of the God of creation. So we improvised a lot of the music. The DVD that we shot for the CD release was on the spot to represent that God is incomprehensible.”
Whalum admits that working with Hathaway, Powell and Duke was energizing because he was able to become a better musician and see the ramification of generations playing the same instrument, the saxophone. During the recording and taping of The Gospel According to Jazz Whalum played alongside his brother, uncles and nephews but gives credit to the matriarchs of his family, both of his grandmothers who taught music and sang gospel.
Limiting his creativity is not an option for Whalum as he has been recently appointed the CEO of Stacks Music Academy in Memphis, TN where he currently resides with his wife. Stacks Records is the foundation of soul music and boast to such artists like Rance Allen, The Staple Singers, and other iconic singers. Whalum is also working on a tribute CD to the late Donnie Hathaway but his first love is telling people either vocally, musically or through his actions about the goodness of God.
“I strive to follow Christ and mimic Him,” Whalum admitted, “Jesus was radical when He chose to be a servant and not be served; to welcome differences; to help the deserving and undeserving.
We should all be servants and give God the glory.”
To testify and purchase his latest body of work you can visit Target, Wal-Mart or Amazon.com for the third installment of The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter III. Whalum will be in the DFW on April 7-8 at Main Street for more details and ticket information visit www.kirkwhalum.com. If you are on Facebook you can become his fan and also receive half of the songs on his 14 track CD by downloading the application Share 12.
