Sunset Jazz featuring Brian Culbertson, Eric Benét, Robert Glasper Experiment, Mike Phillips & Karen Briggs Plus The Rick & Russ Show

Brian Culbertson:

Brian Culbertson began his musical journey at the age of 8 on piano, adding drums at 9, trombone at 10 then bass at 12. He grew up near Chicago, IL, 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. So naturally gifted was Brian, his 7th grade piano recital consisted of all original tunes. Brian flourished in school bands throughout high school and moved to downtown Chicago to continue his musical studies at DePaul University. In 1994, at age 20, Brian self-produced his debut album, Long Night Out. After that release, 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, Brian has released fifteen 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 including being nominated for a 2012 NAACP Image Award and a 2012 Soul Train Award.

More info: www.brianculbertson.com

Robert Glasper Experiment:

Robert Glasper has long kept one foot planted firmly in jazz and the other in hip-hop and R&B. He’s worked extensively with Q-Tip, playing keyboards on the rapper’s 2008 album The Renaissance and co-writing the album single “Life Is Better” which featured his label mate Norah Jones. Glasper also serves as the music director in yasiin bey’s touring band, and has toured with the multi-platinum R&B singer Maxwell.

The Los Angeles Times once wrote that “it’s a short list of jazz pianists who have the wherewithal to drop a J Dilla reference into a Thelonious Monk cover, but not many jazz pianists are Robert Glasper,” adding that “he’s equally comfortable in the worlds of hip-hop and jazz,” and praising the organic way in which he “builds a bridge between his two musical touchstones.”
More info: www.robertglasper.com