Kirk Whalum in Oakland

Kirk Whalum is an American saxophonist and composer, born in Memphis in 1958, who plays contemporary jazz shaped by R&B and gospel. He is widely heard on the saxophone solo in Whitney Houston’s recording of “I Will Always Love You,” while his own catalogue includes the Gospel According to Jazz series and Joined at the Hip, his collaborative album with Bob James. Bob James brought Whalum into his touring band after hearing him perform in Houston. Whalum later toured with Whitney Houston, and his own concert work has drawn on both instrumental jazz and the church music documented in the Gospel According to Jazz recordings. That strand of his stage career also became the recurring holiday production Kirk Whalum’s Gospel According to Jazz Christmas.