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Kirk Whalum gave a great performance
at Gilly’s in Dayton, Ohio, on Friday,
March 30, 2001. This was my second time seeing Kirk perform at
this venue.
By the time my party and I arrived at Gilly’s, there weren’t many
seats
left. I ended up right in front of the stage and I had to look up to
watch
the show.
Kirk started the show with “All I Need” from his “Colors” CD,
his first
release on the Warner Brothers label. As his sidemen began to
play, I heard
Kirk’s horn, but didn’t see him on stage. Gilly’s is not a
very large
place. Everyone was looking to see where Kirk
was. He was way in the back, working the audience to their
delight! After
making his way all over the place, shaking hands and giving hugs to
patrons,
he finally made it to the stage with the crowd singing the chorus.
He was
right in front of me, wearing his yellow shoes, black leather pants, red
jacket, and and his Frankie Beverly cap. After the first number,
the crowd
was pumped up.
Kirk performed tunes from his latest CD, “Unconditional” and I
believe they
were “Now ‘Til Forever”, “God Must Have Spent A Little More Time
on You”,
and “Unconditional.” I tried to take mental notes of each tune, but
obviously, my forgetful mind could not remember :-)
Kirk’s also performed a number from his Grammy nominated gospel CD
“Hymns in
the Garden.” I can’t recall the title of the tune, but it was
a beautiful,
uplifting tune. He also performed “That’s the Way Love Goes”
, “All I Do” ,
and “Ascension”, which he did a little singing, from his “For
You” CD, his
second solo release on the Warner Brothers label.
Throughout the program, Kirk mentioned his sideman’s name. Boney
James’
keyboardist, David Torkanowsky, in which Kirk joked about keeping David
for
himself; Michael Mason on bass, Sean McCurley on drums, percussion
- Luis
Conte? guitarist - David? (Sorry, I can’t remember their names!)
Kirk told little stories after his tunes, one being how much he loved
his
wife, Ruby, and the spiritual aspect of their relationship. He met her
when
he was 15 and she was 14. He married Ruby when he was 22 years old
and
they’ve been married for 20 years. Kirk was also doing a little
dancing.....the cabbage patch. He told how his kids tell him,
“Daddy,
please don’t dance!” Kirk said he was doing that dance in the
70s and he’ll
continue doing this dance move in the 21st century. The crowd got
a good
laugh out of that one!
Kirk also told the audience how he was humbled to perform at Gilly’s.
He
went on about Gilly’s rich history, and the horn players of yester
year who
have played there: Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Stits, and I believe Kirk
mentioned Lester Young. With that said, Kirk and David, played
some
traditional jazz tunes. Because the stage is very
small, David got off to play the piano standing in front of the
stage. The
piano was covered, so David played with the cover over his hands.
Kirk
eventually pulled the cover off. The crowd enjoyed Kirk and
David’s medley
of standard tunes.
Kirk’s encore tune was “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” After
the show, Kirk
signed autographs. Because I knew he was pressed for time for his 10
p.m.
show I asked him to signed only my Jazziz magazine, in which Kirk was on
the
November 1997 cover, my “Unconditional” and “For You” CD
jackets. Kirk
mentioned to me he saw my magazine (he couldn’t miss it because when I
said
I was up front, I mean I was UP FRONT! :-) Kirk was also
selling his
“Hymns in the Garden” CD which is on a private label. I told him I
had
ordered it from his website, www.kirkwhalum.com,
but I had not received it.
He told me “you’ll get it” and I replied “I know, but, I would
not have his
autograph on it.” A member of his entourage said they ship the orders
on the
first and
15th of the month. I had ordered my copy in between shipping
dates. Kirk
then said to let me give you a hug! He is such a great guy who
does not
take his fans for granted! And by the way, I did get my CD one week
after
Kirk’s gig at Gilly’s.......
Debbie
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