Kirk Whalum, born July 11th, 1958 in Memphis, Tennessee is an American jazz musician and songwriter. He is known for playing all types of saxophone including the tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone as well as the flute. Kirk specializes in the musical genres of smooth jazz, pop, R&B, and gospel. He began to play music in high school and was a member of the Texas Southern University Ocean of Soul marching band.
Kirk released his first album in 1985 called Floppy Disk. In 1986 he performed at Jean Michel Jarre’s concert called Rendez-Vous Houston and Rendez-Vous Lyon. At both concerts he performed a track called “Last Rendez-Vous” in honor of his friend and fellow saxophonist and astronaut Ron McNair. In 1988 Kirk released the album called And You Know That. He followed up with the release of the album named The Promise in 1989. Kirk then branched out and worked on a number of film scores for movies such as The Prince of Tides, Boyz in the Hood, Grand Canyon, Cousins, and The Bodyguard. During his work on The Bodyguard he met Whitney Huston and ended up touring with her for several years and soloed on her single “I Will Always Love You.”
Kirk has released a total of 18 more albums since 1993 and an additional 4 live jazz albums. He has been nominated for over 12 Grammy Awards in his career. Kirk won his first Grammy in 2011 for Best Gospel Song for the song “It’s What I Do” featuring Lalah Hathaway.
Music, Pop
Country, Music
Hip-Hop, Music
Music, Rock