Smooth jazz giant Brian Culbertson returns to Central Ohio when he and his band play a CAPA show at the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, 100 W. Dublin-Granville Rd., New Albany, on Sunday, October 23rd, at 8 pm. Tickets are $36-$66 at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000. The keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer is touring in support of his brand new album Funk!, which he describes as “a throwback, funkadelic, old-school record in the style of P-Funk meets Prince that will make you dance, laugh, sing along and pretty much get down.” Culbertson’s blend of jazz, R&B and funk has resulted in 16 albums, thousands of performances around the world, and numerous awards including a 2012 Soul Train award. This should be a great show for fans of smooth and contemporary jazz. Keep reading for more info from CAPA and video from the Funk! tour:
THE MCCOY TO OPEN THE 2016-17 SEASON WITH BRIAN CULBERTSON OCTOBER 23
Jazz/R&B/funk musician, instrumentalist, producer, and performer Brian Culbertson has released 16 albums, toured the world, topped Billboard and radio charts, worked and performed with industry all-stars, and received numerous awards including a 2012 Soul Train Award and a nomination for a 2012 NAACP Image Award.
Culbertson began his musical journey at the age of 8 on piano, adding drums at 9, trombone at 10, and bass at 12. He was so naturally gifted, his 7th grade piano recital consisted of all original tunes. Culbertson flourished in school bands throughout high school, then moved to downtown Chicago to continue his musical studies at DePaul University. He grew up loving genre-crossing, jazz-pop artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago, Tower of Power, The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Yellowjackets, Sting, and Chick Corea.
At age 20, Culbertson self-produced his debut album, Long Night Out (1994). He then went on to compose jingles for clients such as United Airlines, Gatorade, Sears, Coors, and McDonald’s in the bustling city’s highly competitive advertising community while still continuing to make records and tour.
Since then, Culbertson has released 15 more albums, toured around the world, seen his name at the top of Billboard and radio charts, worked and performed with industry all-stars like Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire, Larry Graham, Michael McDonald, Chris Botti, Musiq Soulchild, Ledisi, Barry Manilow, Herb Alpert, Natalie Cole, Chuck Brown, and Bootsy Collins just to name a few, and received numerous awards.
In 2012, Culbertson founded the Napa Valley Jazz Getaway, a five-day festival of wine, food, art, and music set in California’s famous wine region. The inaugural event featured Sinbad, Oleta Adams, Kenny Lattimore, David Benoit, Eric Darius, and many top wineries throughout Napa Valley including Silver Oak, Chimney Rock, and others.