Join Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum for Kafé Kirk, an ongoing jazz series in Crosstown Theater featuring musical and spiritual collaborations with special guest artists. This concert will feature legendary musicians Tom Braxton and Bobby Lyle.
TOM BRAXTON
Jazz saxophonist Tom Braxton has garnered critical acclaim while thrilling audiences of all ages from coast to coast and abroad for over two decades. From Africa to Japan...from New York to L.A., Braxton’s distinct, melodic sound leaves audiences astounded, clapping, and on their feet screaming for more!
His music can be heard on radio and television airwaves nationwide, and his albums have hit numerous jazz charts including Billboard, RadioWave, SmoothJazz.com, Groove Jazz Music, Capital Jazz Radio, and Amazon. That's why Jazz Review calls Braxton "one of smooth jazz's most prolific saxophonists...with all the required tools to become a major force." In the summer of 2020, Braxton signed with Innervisions Records and released a single entitled Lookin' Up. This fun, upbeat track was written and produced by Los Angeles keyboardist Herman Jackson. Tom’s second single, Hope for Tomorrow, features the jazz icon Bob James. Both singles landed on the Smooth Jazz Billboard Chart and ranked #1 on Amazon’s best seller and new releases list! Tom’s new album, also entitled Lookin' Up, was released on August 6, 2021.
BOBBY LYLE
Legendary pianist/organist Bobby Lyle was deemed a musical wonder when he released his first album, The Genie, which exploded onto the Billboard charts and blew the minds of jazz enthusiasts everywhere. Since that debut, Lyle has kept a high standard for 30-plus years, and has successfully maintained a flourishing, always-evolving career. As a pianist, composer, recording artist (with product on Capitol Jazz, Atlantic Jazz, Three Keys, Heads Up, and now New Warrior Music), musical director, music publisher, and music educator, Bobby Lyle’s presence, whether on stage or on his recordings, has always been bigger than life. Lyle’s
unrivaled high standard of excellence entitles him to a place on the throne alongside other musical royalty, making him a permanent fixture in the prodigious society of jazz. With Lyle's forthcoming CD Ivory Flow (2021), he has released the single, "Living in the Flow," which has already received massive airplay and a ton of attention with a cast of iconic musicians, including Stanley Clarke, Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, and more!
KIRK WHALUM
Soulful, passionate, stirring…these are the words most often used to describe Kirk’s music. Forged from his Memphis, Tennessee, gospel roots and his 1980s initiation into the thriving Houston, TX nightclub scene, Kirk’s big, rich tenor sound is unmistakably his. The ’80s were highlighted by Kirk’s stepping out of his blossoming sideman role and forming his own band. It was there that Kirk ultimately developed both his “voice” and songwriting in the crucible of the local club scene—especially at a rooftop club called Cody’s. It was also in Houston where jazz pianist Bob James “discovered” him and brought him on tour, which led to five successful albums with Columbia Records, including Cache, Kirk’s first #1 album.
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