Although
Kevin eschews any effort to force him into a category or genre', he freely admits to defining himself as "primarily a jazz vocalist who just happens to be a Christian".
After
graduating with a degree in English from Morehouse, Kevin moved to Chicago, IL, to pursue a career in music. Less than six months after his arrival, he had formed a jazz-funk-soul group called, Kevin
Whalum
& Fast Forward. They quickly became one of Chicago's most talked-about local bands. The band consisted of Tim Gant on keys, Richard Patterson on bass, Gerry Johnson on guitar, Steve Cole on sax, and Oscar Seaton on drums. With
that
lineup, they took no prisoners when they hit the stage. They worked the area for the next six years, and then life came calling.
One
would imagine, however, that
Kevin
is best known for his stellar work with Kirk on his brother's gospel series entitled,
Kirk
Whalum
, The Gospel According To Jazz, Chapters 1-4.
Chapter One was released in 1998 to critical acclaim, and it put Kevin on everyone's radar with his medley take on the Negro spirituals,
Wade In The Water/Motherless Child
. It broke new ground in gospel. If
Chapter 1
was Kevin's introduction to gospel music fans, then,
Chapter 2
was the solidification of his presence
.
Chapter 3
is responsible for bringing in the R&B fans among the
Whalum
brothers' audience. For this live recording, Kevin chose a song by the late Luther Vandross called,
Make Me A Believer
.
Kevin now has three solo albums under his belt: the self-produced solo
debut,
Timetable
(2002); the George Duke-produced,
One Life To Love
(2008); and the new self-produced,
I Live For You
(2016).
Easily, he is one of the national treasures and a bridge between all forms of jazz an R&B music. His performances electrify the audience with both his technical ability and his heartfelt musical passages. We are elated that Kevin has consented to be our headliner for the Musical Arts Institute 4th Annual Gala Concert