October 16, 2025 • 18 mins
With 29 albums and an incredible 40 Billboard #1 singles under his belt, Brian Culbertson has solidified his place as one of the most exciting and genre-defying instrumentalists of our time. A powerhouse keyboardist, songwriter, and producer, Culbertson blends jazz, funk, R&B, pop, and more into a sound that’s uniquely his — and always evolving. Known for his dynamic live shows and elaborate productions, Culbertson continues to push musical boundaries while delighting fans worldwide. With signature style, undeniable flair, and a sharp business sense, Culbertson is the visionary behind the annual Jazz Getawaysin Napa Valley, New Orleans, and Chicago (with more to be announced) — premier destination events that draw fans from around the world for unforgettable, music-filled weekends curated by Culbertson himself.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello is this Brian? Yeah, good morning, we're afternoon.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Is it really still morning where you are?
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Not really, but it feels like it. That's all good.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Where's that tour bus have?
Speaker 1 (00:12):
You know? We're in production rehearsals in Rockford, Illinois? Wow?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Is the first The first show is Friday night here?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Wow? So do you do you still go through the
jitters and the butterflies and things like that, because I
mean to me that that stage is always it's always
got some sort of bite to it.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yes, I mean there's so many variables with the live show,
you know, everything from uh, just all the technical things
that you know, you you.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Hope fire on all cylinders, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yeah, because you're going out there with a ten piece
band and with with you on that tmpiece band, I
mean it's like, I mean, I mean, you guys would
have to be on your game out there.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
You know, it's all the lights, it's all the the
wireless equipment and this and that, and you know, it's
like so many things.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Uh and then oh.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, we gotta we got to play the music right
and perform and jump around and whatnot, which that's the
fun part of course. Uh, and then you know, with
the first show, you never know, Okay, how's the audience
going to react? So inevitably I end up, you know,
tweaking the show the first week or so, you know,
(01:30):
depending on how it's feeling, how the flow is and whatnot.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So it's kind of an exciting time. See.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I always thought it was me. I was the problem
when it came to wireless microphones. It didn't work. It
was like, oh, it's always happening to me. Oh my.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I went up this morning. I was like, hey, is
this thing on? No, okay, what's going on. Let's let's
you guys work that out.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
The new album is called day Trips. So every time
I bring up a song, I want you to know
where I would love to listen to this piece of music, like,
for instance, like a buy your Side, I would love
to be in Charleston, South Carolina and listening to this
song and either at sunrise or sunset, no matter what.
It's a beautiful city.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Oh well, thank you, I agreed. Yeah, very cool. Well
we're gonna be there, We're gonna play We'll play it
there so maybe you can drive down.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Of course it would be a great place to come
and listen to your style of music. I mean, you
are not new to my life.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Mister h Well, thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
The collaborations that you have on this I mean to me,
you know, I'm still having those Beatle images where they
all sat in the studio gluing pieces and thoughts together.
Was that what you guys were doing or is it
the modern day way where you just kind of send
each other little sound bites and then and then put
it on a pro tools.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
No, the most of this record was done everyone in
the studio. So we went in I you know, I
co wrote all the songs or nine of the songs
with the guy Nicholas Cole, and we you know, sat
down and wrote all these songs in a week.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
It was amazing synergy.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
And then we decided, hey, who would be the right
rhythm section, So we got Nathan easton little John Roberts
on drums. So the four of us went into the
studio and cut the basic tracks live all together, you know,
like old school.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Then I did.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Then I went into the studio, you know, with the
percussionist by himself, so we laid all the percussion. But
you know, I was in the studio with everybody for sure.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
See that's the way it's supposed to be done, because
to me, that's the connection, and then we feel that
when we come in there, you know, vicariously listening.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Yeah, I think there was only three sessions we did remotely.
It was mainly because of people's schedule. So the guys
in New York, Mike Stern and Randy Brecker. I was
unable to be in New York when they were able
to record, so we you know, we facetimed and you
(03:59):
know as much as we could, uh, you know, so,
but otherwise everything else was live in the studio. Me,
Marcus Miller, Sheila Eyes, you know, we're I was. I
was out in la for quite a long time. The
full horn section, we're all together, you know, obviously myself
on trombone, Marinthon on saxon, Steve on trumpet, and then
(04:24):
so you know, I did basically ninety nine percent of
this live in the studio.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
So and I think it feels like it.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
You know, you bring up Sheila e and Marcus Miller.
My god, I mean that's a song on the road,
which I mean, to me, my day trip would be
on the back roads of Carolina where you know, yeah, yeah,
there's a speed limit, but do you have to really
trust it? I just go for it, Just put the
song on and go for a ride.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Oh sure, yeah, I mean, it's that's the that's the
song when we first came up where they were like, okay,
this is a this is the driving song right here,
and it really gets the album going.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
You know, do you find yourself maybe going out and
listening to the prew of an engine of a car
so that you can get that vibe of that traveling
on a highway.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
We did not, but you know, we've all certainly done
many many road trips in our lives, so you know,
I was just trying to bring that feeling and that
that that vibe into the studio and onto recording.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
That was important to us.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
So now when you do a song called U Turn
with Branford, I mean it's like, I mean, is it
written about a physical U Turn? Where everybody goes, oh
my god. I mean, because this song has attitude, it's
got swagger, it's Jerry, it's so free.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Yeah, that was that was all about. Hey, you know,
this is clearly something a little different than I normally do. Right,
First of all, it's it's basically a horn feature, so
you know, not a piano based feature. So that right then,
you know, it's just something a little little off the
beaten path. And then that whole melody I came up
(05:59):
with when I was know, just driving around the city
in Chicago and just thinking about, man, this is it's crazy,
you know, so oh wait a minute, I miss it.
We've got to turn around. And so it's like this
haphazard feeling of you know, you're going around, but you know, hey,
on a day trip, that can certainly happen if you're
if you're driving around and see something, Oh wait there
(06:22):
it is, okay, you know, so change the plan and
making that left turn. And I think that music too,
you know, right in the middle of the song, it
kind of does that halftime breakdown where it goes into
like whoa and then.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Back boom boom. So there's all you know, I like
twists and turns, and that's really what this album is about.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Always keeping the listener, uh, just excited and never knowing
what's about to happen.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
You are so speaking my street right now because I'm
always thinking about, okay, the attention span of that listener. Okay,
what am I going to do to reattract the attention. Now,
keep them from reattract and keep it, keep it going forward.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Yeah, if there's not a surprise coming up, I mean,
people can just easily tune out and then it becomes
a background and so you know, you just yeh, would
you know? So there's a time and place for that
kind of music. Of course, you know a lot of
my trilogy was like, Okay, it's a vibe, right, which
is cool. But now and then you really want some
(07:22):
music that you can sink your teeth into. I think,
you know, being a musician, you know I really want
to Hey, let's play some challenging music that real musicians
are really gonna dig, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
So that's where this came from. Please do not move.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
There's more with Brian Culbertson coming up next the name
of his album day Trip. We are back with Brian Culbertson. So, now,
am I wrong to say that I believe that the
modern day funk sound is in jazz because when you
listen to to your collection of music day Trip, I'm
I love it when you jump into a funk piece
(08:00):
because I'm going, oh my god, this is what I
grew up on. This is what I listened for.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Well, yeah, I mean a lot of that the music
in the late seventies, early eighties. It was that fusion
of funk and jazz that got me excited as an
early kid, you know, young kid. And you know, so
I really gravitated towards that stuff. The stuff that was
(08:26):
it was really grooving and instrumentally challenged, challenging with the horns.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You know, I loved all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
You know, my influences, you know, Brecker Brothers number one, Yeah,
David Famborn and chick corea electric band, and you know,
and then you know Tower Power from and Fire on
the real funk side, you know, but you know, all
those bands huge influence on me and Clila. That's that's
(08:57):
that's definitely trying to come through a little bit on
this day Trip record.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
You know.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Speaking of that record, one of the big songs on
there is called Let's drive that to Me right There
is a sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles song.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Ah, I like it with a little jazz odyssey breakdown
in the middle.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, because you know, when you when you're
stuck at that red light, you know, you know, Sunset's
going to stretch forever in a day, And all of
a sudden, you that red light. This song right here's
going to keep me.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Calm, nice, nice. I love that. Very cool.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
The way that you have designed this entire collection of music.
It's one of those where it's like I'm not going
to sit down and just listen to it, like I'm okay,
I'm sitting here next to it. I want to be
doing something so it fits into my day. And that's
how that's how I measure music. And it's like, god, dang,
this dude was keeping me forward.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Oh wow, that is cool. I mean, you know, music
can be used for so many things.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
You know, if you're obviously a road trip or maybe
you're cleaning the house, who knows what. Whatever makes you,
you know, keep going and being excited and happy about life,
you know what I mean. So this this music is
like definitely uh, I think very positive sounding and uplifting.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Uh. And and and fun that's the Botto line. I
think it's fun. It's fun record.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
How do you know where to place it on that
playlist when you're up there on that stage, because you
were talking about tweaking the music list and stuff, like
that because it's like, you know how people get sometimes
and they hear that new song, They're gonna sit there,
They're gonna sit down. It's like, don't sit down, keep standing,
stand up.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
It's always tough putting a new set list together, but
I've learned early on that it's it's important to keep
it mixed within other songs that people of course know. So,
you know, with a new record and a new tour,
I like to come out with a couple of new ones.
You know, right away it's like, Okay, boom, new music,
(10:54):
WHOA what's.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Going on here?
Speaker 3 (10:56):
But then bam, we're into an old, fun, you know favorite.
But then you know, kind of keep mixing it up.
So on this new show, I'm doing about seven of
the new songs and about oh geez, fifteen old songs
I guess classics. And I'm bringing some songs in from
(11:19):
my first album, the Long Eyed Out record I've that
I haven't done before as well, because to me, a
lot of those songs have a similar feel a little
bit to Day Trip. So we're doing like this Fullton
Avenue song. We're doing Heroes of the Dawn, which is
very fusion oriented, with a Latin twist, so you know,
(11:42):
just kind of bringing songs in that I thought would
fit with this day trip as well as other fun
old songs that have a lot of horns on it
since I have a full horn section on this tour.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
So yeah, yeah, please tell me that Morning Light is
going to be a part of this. If not, then
we're all going to meet out there and Jackson Hole,
Wyoming and listen to this song.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
It is absolutely part of his number two on the
set list.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
See there's something to this song.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
I knew there would be nice.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Yeah, we're opening the set with on the Road and
just hitting it hard because that was the summer single,
which is I don't know if I mentioned it yesterday,
but it's currently number one on the Billboard Jazz Airplay charts,
so that's exciting. So we're going to open with that
song so people already know that, and then we're going
to go into morning Light. So really kind of you know,
(12:32):
flipping the album order one and two, two and one
on the show, So it just felt better for a
show read it is.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
The Winding Path? Were you thinking about going down a
mountain when you were doing the Winding Path or going
up the mountain.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
You know what, this is more about hiking.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Okay, but it's still involved. Yes, it's still involved.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
It does it does so, Yes, a winding all over
the place. You're going through the woods and up and
down and over rocks and here and there. I did
a lot of hiking up in this state park in
northern Wisconsin, and I just was thinking about it when
I was writing that song, and that was the one
(13:14):
that was actually the first song that I wrote.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
For the whole album. Wow. Wow, that kind of spurred
an idea.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So definitely the most adventurous in terms of time signatures
and beats per minute. You know, it changes all the time.
Every bar, there's like a different meter going. It's very crazy.
If you look at the chart, you're like, what is
going on here?
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Now?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
What is it like for you when a song like that,
you know, all of a sudden, it's the birth of
a brand new creation. Because I mean all of a sudden.
I mean, do you sit back and go, oh boy,
here we go. Here, here goes about another three weeks
of my life. It's this is the only thing I'm
gonna breathe.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Oh, absolutely, you know it's it's it's exciting right when
the new ideas are flowing, you know, because after this
long you know, having done twenty geez twenty seven to
twenty eight records, it's like, you know, people ask me
like how do you how do you come.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Up with some new and fresh and new ideas and
this and that, as like, well, you just kind of.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
I like to come up with a concept first, And
this concept for day Trip was, like I said earlier,
you know, going back to some music that I kind
of grew up listening to that was challenging.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
There was a little more I don't know, maybe well
always changing, and so that was really the idea.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
So I knew immediately if a song wasn't going to
make this record, if it was too like eh, heard
that before, throw it out.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Are you guys already doing pre sales for the thirteenth
Annual Napa Jazz Festival.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
There we are?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Yes, that is actually all the packages are already sold out.
They sold out in one week.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I'm not shocked. I'm not shocked. Oh yeah, So.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Right now that are available are just kind of the.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Single day passes and the kind of the silver packages,
which is just kind of the night time shows.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
But all the mean VIP golden platinums sold out. Wow,
So that's exciting. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Something about you guys, well, I.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Mean it's definitely a unique event.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
I don't know any other event you know that's even
remotely like this, you know, pairing obviously the wine and
the music together in you know, one of the most
beautiful places in the world.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
So you know, everybody sort of wants to go to Napa.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
You know, if you're into wine, and it's just it's
beautiful out there and we have a great time. So
you know, now in our thirteenth year, we've really got
it then and everybody have been coming. So many people
have been coming every year and they meet up with
the same people and have made friends, and it's just
a vibe, family, family vibe.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
It's great.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Where can people go to find out more about everything
that you're doing when you're talking about all of this music,
because you know how we are this generation, we're always
discovering somebody new and even though you've you've been here,
there's always that person that says, oh, I just discovered
this guy. His name is Brian.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Absolutely absolutely no. I mean, you know that's the thing
about this kind of music. We're not on mainstream television
every day, so you know, if you're not really tuned in,
you may not know. So that's that's the cool thing
about the Discovery. So yeah, yeah, I mean, my website
kind of has links to everything, and you can check
out all all my albums and the tours.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
It's just my name dot com. Brian Culbertson dot com. Easy.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
I love it. You got to come back to this
show anytime in the future, and we got to meet
up here in the Carolina. It's the next time you
come out here. I know you're going to be in Charleston,
so we got maybe maybe we'll meet in Charleston.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Then, well, we're gonna be in Charlotte, uh, Durham and Charleston.
So I'm touring the entire Carolinas.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
That's so awesome. Are you to be it's the night Center,
You're going to be a Bloomenthal Where you going to
be out here in Charlotte?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Uh? You know what I'm trying to remember.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
I think it's the night Yes, well you know what
I think it's the Carolina Theater of the newly Restore.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Downtown?
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Yes, dude, I was. We did a wedding inside that
when it was a piece of trash. But we but
we we took all of that stuff that with everybody's
going ugly, ugly ugly, and we made it beautiful. Oh
my god, wait until you said Elvis Presley played in there.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Dude. Oh wow, yeah, amazing. Oh it's so we will
be there. I think it's next week. Is it it
next week? Next Friday?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Oh that's so amazing.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Well, hey, you got to come if you're in town.
An available If not, next time, but you know we'll
be there very soon, so I love it. Come hang out.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Well, I got to come back to this show anytime
in the future. The door is always going to be
open for you.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Dude.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
I appreciate ero, thank you very much. And you know
I appreciate you, you know, really listening to the music
and digging in there. So there's a lot to hear
in these tracks for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yeah, will you be brilliant today?
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Okay, thank you Erro much, appreciate it. Take care of him.
Hello is this Brian? Yeah, good morning, we're afternoon.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Is it really still morning where you are?
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Not really, but it feels like it. That's all good.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Where's that tour bus have?
Speaker 1 (00:12):
You know? We're in production rehearsals in Rockford, Illinois? Wow?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Is the first The first show is Friday night here?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Wow? So do you do you still go through the
jitters and the butterflies and things like that, because I
mean to me that that stage is always it's always
got some sort of bite to it.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yes, I mean there's so many variables with the live show,
you know, everything from uh, just all the technical things
that you know, you you.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Hope fire on all cylinders, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yeah, because you're going out there with a ten piece
band and with with you on that tmpiece band, I
mean it's like, I mean, I mean, you guys would
have to be on your game out there.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
You know, it's all the lights, it's all the the
wireless equipment and this and that, and you know, it's
like so many things.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Uh and then oh.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, we gotta we got to play the music right
and perform and jump around and whatnot, which that's the
fun part of course. Uh, and then you know, with
the first show, you never know, Okay, how's the audience
going to react? So inevitably I end up, you know,
tweaking the show the first week or so, you know,
(01:30):
depending on how it's feeling, how the flow is and whatnot.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So it's kind of an exciting time. See.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I always thought it was me. I was the problem
when it came to wireless microphones. It didn't work. It
was like, oh, it's always happening to me. Oh my.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I went up this morning. I was like, hey, is
this thing on? No, okay, what's going on. Let's let's
you guys work that out.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
The new album is called day Trips. So every time
I bring up a song, I want you to know
where I would love to listen to this piece of music, like,
for instance, like a buy your Side, I would love
to be in Charleston, South Carolina and listening to this
song and either at sunrise or sunset, no matter what.
It's a beautiful city.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Oh well, thank you, I agreed. Yeah, very cool. Well
we're gonna be there, We're gonna play We'll play it
there so maybe you can drive down.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Of course it would be a great place to come
and listen to your style of music. I mean, you
are not new to my life.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Mister h Well, thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
The collaborations that you have on this I mean to me,
you know, I'm still having those Beatle images where they
all sat in the studio gluing pieces and thoughts together.
Was that what you guys were doing or is it
the modern day way where you just kind of send
each other little sound bites and then and then put
it on a pro tools.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
No, the most of this record was done everyone in
the studio. So we went in I you know, I
co wrote all the songs or nine of the songs
with the guy Nicholas Cole, and we you know, sat
down and wrote all these songs in a week.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
It was amazing synergy.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
And then we decided, hey, who would be the right
rhythm section, So we got Nathan easton little John Roberts
on drums. So the four of us went into the
studio and cut the basic tracks live all together, you know,
like old school.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Then I did.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Then I went into the studio, you know, with the
percussionist by himself, so we laid all the percussion. But
you know, I was in the studio with everybody for sure.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
See that's the way it's supposed to be done, because
to me, that's the connection, and then we feel that
when we come in there, you know, vicariously listening.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Yeah, I think there was only three sessions we did remotely.
It was mainly because of people's schedule. So the guys
in New York, Mike Stern and Randy Brecker. I was
unable to be in New York when they were able
to record, so we you know, we facetimed and you
(03:59):
know as much as we could, uh, you know, so,
but otherwise everything else was live in the studio. Me,
Marcus Miller, Sheila Eyes, you know, we're I was. I
was out in la for quite a long time. The
full horn section, we're all together, you know, obviously myself
on trombone, Marinthon on saxon, Steve on trumpet, and then
(04:24):
so you know, I did basically ninety nine percent of
this live in the studio.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
So and I think it feels like it.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
You know, you bring up Sheila e and Marcus Miller.
My god, I mean that's a song on the road,
which I mean, to me, my day trip would be
on the back roads of Carolina where you know, yeah, yeah,
there's a speed limit, but do you have to really
trust it? I just go for it, Just put the
song on and go for a ride.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Oh sure, yeah, I mean, it's that's the that's the
song when we first came up where they were like, okay,
this is a this is the driving song right here,
and it really gets the album going.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
You know, do you find yourself maybe going out and
listening to the prew of an engine of a car
so that you can get that vibe of that traveling
on a highway.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
We did not, but you know, we've all certainly done
many many road trips in our lives, so you know,
I was just trying to bring that feeling and that
that that vibe into the studio and onto recording.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
That was important to us.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
So now when you do a song called U Turn
with Branford, I mean it's like, I mean, is it
written about a physical U Turn? Where everybody goes, oh
my god. I mean, because this song has attitude, it's
got swagger, it's Jerry, it's so free.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Yeah, that was that was all about. Hey, you know,
this is clearly something a little different than I normally do. Right,
First of all, it's it's basically a horn feature, so
you know, not a piano based feature. So that right then,
you know, it's just something a little little off the
beaten path. And then that whole melody I came up
(05:59):
with when I was know, just driving around the city
in Chicago and just thinking about, man, this is it's crazy,
you know, so oh wait a minute, I miss it.
We've got to turn around. And so it's like this
haphazard feeling of you know, you're going around, but you know, hey,
on a day trip, that can certainly happen if you're
if you're driving around and see something, Oh wait there
(06:22):
it is, okay, you know, so change the plan and
making that left turn. And I think that music too,
you know, right in the middle of the song, it
kind of does that halftime breakdown where it goes into
like whoa and then.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Back boom boom. So there's all you know, I like
twists and turns, and that's really what this album is about.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Always keeping the listener, uh, just excited and never knowing
what's about to happen.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
You are so speaking my street right now because I'm
always thinking about, okay, the attention span of that listener. Okay,
what am I going to do to reattract the attention. Now,
keep them from reattract and keep it, keep it going forward.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Yeah, if there's not a surprise coming up, I mean,
people can just easily tune out and then it becomes
a background and so you know, you just yeh, would
you know? So there's a time and place for that
kind of music. Of course, you know a lot of
my trilogy was like, Okay, it's a vibe, right, which
is cool. But now and then you really want some
(07:22):
music that you can sink your teeth into. I think,
you know, being a musician, you know I really want
to Hey, let's play some challenging music that real musicians
are really gonna dig, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
So that's where this came from. Please do not move.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
There's more with Brian Culbertson coming up next the name
of his album day Trip. We are back with Brian Culbertson. So, now,
am I wrong to say that I believe that the
modern day funk sound is in jazz because when you
listen to to your collection of music day Trip, I'm
I love it when you jump into a funk piece
(08:00):
because I'm going, oh my god, this is what I
grew up on. This is what I listened for.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Well, yeah, I mean a lot of that the music
in the late seventies, early eighties. It was that fusion
of funk and jazz that got me excited as an
early kid, you know, young kid. And you know, so
I really gravitated towards that stuff. The stuff that was
(08:26):
it was really grooving and instrumentally challenged, challenging with the horns.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You know, I loved all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
You know, my influences, you know, Brecker Brothers number one, Yeah,
David Famborn and chick corea electric band, and you know,
and then you know Tower Power from and Fire on
the real funk side, you know, but you know, all
those bands huge influence on me and Clila. That's that's
(08:57):
that's definitely trying to come through a little bit on
this day Trip record.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
You know.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Speaking of that record, one of the big songs on
there is called Let's drive that to Me right There
is a sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles song.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Ah, I like it with a little jazz odyssey breakdown
in the middle.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, because you know, when you when you're
stuck at that red light, you know, you know, Sunset's
going to stretch forever in a day, And all of
a sudden, you that red light. This song right here's
going to keep me.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Calm, nice, nice. I love that. Very cool.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
The way that you have designed this entire collection of music.
It's one of those where it's like I'm not going
to sit down and just listen to it, like I'm okay,
I'm sitting here next to it. I want to be
doing something so it fits into my day. And that's
how that's how I measure music. And it's like, god, dang,
this dude was keeping me forward.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Oh wow, that is cool. I mean, you know, music
can be used for so many things.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
You know, if you're obviously a road trip or maybe
you're cleaning the house, who knows what. Whatever makes you,
you know, keep going and being excited and happy about life,
you know what I mean. So this this music is
like definitely uh, I think very positive sounding and uplifting.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Uh. And and and fun that's the Botto line. I
think it's fun. It's fun record.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
How do you know where to place it on that
playlist when you're up there on that stage, because you
were talking about tweaking the music list and stuff, like
that because it's like, you know how people get sometimes
and they hear that new song, They're gonna sit there,
They're gonna sit down. It's like, don't sit down, keep standing,
stand up.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
It's always tough putting a new set list together, but
I've learned early on that it's it's important to keep
it mixed within other songs that people of course know. So,
you know, with a new record and a new tour,
I like to come out with a couple of new ones.
You know, right away it's like, Okay, boom, new music,
(10:54):
WHOA what's.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Going on here?
Speaker 3 (10:56):
But then bam, we're into an old, fun, you know favorite.
But then you know, kind of keep mixing it up.
So on this new show, I'm doing about seven of
the new songs and about oh geez, fifteen old songs
I guess classics. And I'm bringing some songs in from
(11:19):
my first album, the Long Eyed Out record I've that
I haven't done before as well, because to me, a
lot of those songs have a similar feel a little
bit to Day Trip. So we're doing like this Fullton
Avenue song. We're doing Heroes of the Dawn, which is
very fusion oriented, with a Latin twist, so you know,
(11:42):
just kind of bringing songs in that I thought would
fit with this day trip as well as other fun
old songs that have a lot of horns on it
since I have a full horn section on this tour.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
So yeah, yeah, please tell me that Morning Light is
going to be a part of this. If not, then
we're all going to meet out there and Jackson Hole,
Wyoming and listen to this song.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
It is absolutely part of his number two on the
set list.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
See there's something to this song.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
I knew there would be nice.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Yeah, we're opening the set with on the Road and
just hitting it hard because that was the summer single,
which is I don't know if I mentioned it yesterday,
but it's currently number one on the Billboard Jazz Airplay charts,
so that's exciting. So we're going to open with that
song so people already know that, and then we're going
to go into morning Light. So really kind of you know,
(12:32):
flipping the album order one and two, two and one
on the show, So it just felt better for a
show read it is.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
The Winding Path? Were you thinking about going down a
mountain when you were doing the Winding Path or going
up the mountain.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
You know what, this is more about hiking.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Okay, but it's still involved. Yes, it's still involved.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
It does it does so, Yes, a winding all over
the place. You're going through the woods and up and
down and over rocks and here and there. I did
a lot of hiking up in this state park in
northern Wisconsin, and I just was thinking about it when
I was writing that song, and that was the one
(13:14):
that was actually the first song that I wrote.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
For the whole album. Wow. Wow, that kind of spurred
an idea.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So definitely the most adventurous in terms of time signatures
and beats per minute. You know, it changes all the time.
Every bar, there's like a different meter going. It's very crazy.
If you look at the chart, you're like, what is
going on here?
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Now?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
What is it like for you when a song like that,
you know, all of a sudden, it's the birth of
a brand new creation. Because I mean all of a sudden.
I mean, do you sit back and go, oh boy,
here we go. Here, here goes about another three weeks
of my life. It's this is the only thing I'm
gonna breathe.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Oh, absolutely, you know it's it's it's exciting right when
the new ideas are flowing, you know, because after this
long you know, having done twenty geez twenty seven to
twenty eight records, it's like, you know, people ask me
like how do you how do you come.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Up with some new and fresh and new ideas and
this and that, as like, well, you just kind of.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
I like to come up with a concept first, And
this concept for day Trip was, like I said earlier,
you know, going back to some music that I kind
of grew up listening to that was challenging.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
There was a little more I don't know, maybe well
always changing, and so that was really the idea.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
So I knew immediately if a song wasn't going to
make this record, if it was too like eh, heard
that before, throw it out.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Are you guys already doing pre sales for the thirteenth
Annual Napa Jazz Festival.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
There we are?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Yes, that is actually all the packages are already sold out.
They sold out in one week.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I'm not shocked. I'm not shocked. Oh yeah, So.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Right now that are available are just kind of the.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Single day passes and the kind of the silver packages,
which is just kind of the night time shows.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
But all the mean VIP golden platinums sold out. Wow,
So that's exciting. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Something about you guys, well, I.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Mean it's definitely a unique event.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
I don't know any other event you know that's even
remotely like this, you know, pairing obviously the wine and
the music together in you know, one of the most
beautiful places in the world.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
So you know, everybody sort of wants to go to Napa.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
You know, if you're into wine, and it's just it's
beautiful out there and we have a great time. So
you know, now in our thirteenth year, we've really got
it then and everybody have been coming. So many people
have been coming every year and they meet up with
the same people and have made friends, and it's just
a vibe, family, family vibe.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
It's great.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Where can people go to find out more about everything
that you're doing when you're talking about all of this music,
because you know how we are this generation, we're always
discovering somebody new and even though you've you've been here,
there's always that person that says, oh, I just discovered
this guy. His name is Brian.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Absolutely absolutely no. I mean, you know that's the thing
about this kind of music. We're not on mainstream television
every day, so you know, if you're not really tuned in,
you may not know. So that's that's the cool thing
about the Discovery. So yeah, yeah, I mean, my website
kind of has links to everything, and you can check
out all all my albums and the tours.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
It's just my name dot com. Brian Culbertson dot com. Easy.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
I love it. You got to come back to this
show anytime in the future, and we got to meet
up here in the Carolina. It's the next time you
come out here. I know you're going to be in Charleston,
so we got maybe maybe we'll meet in Charleston.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Then, well, we're gonna be in Charlotte, uh, Durham and Charleston.
So I'm touring the entire Carolinas.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
That's so awesome. Are you to be it's the night Center,
You're going to be a Bloomenthal Where you going to
be out here in Charlotte?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Uh? You know what I'm trying to remember.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
I think it's the night Yes, well you know what
I think it's the Carolina Theater of the newly Restore.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Downtown?
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Yes, dude, I was. We did a wedding inside that
when it was a piece of trash. But we but
we we took all of that stuff that with everybody's
going ugly, ugly ugly, and we made it beautiful. Oh
my god, wait until you said Elvis Presley played in there.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Dude. Oh wow, yeah, amazing. Oh it's so we will
be there. I think it's next week. Is it it
next week? Next Friday?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Oh that's so amazing.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Well, hey, you got to come if you're in town.
An available If not, next time, but you know we'll
be there very soon, so I love it. Come hang out.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Well, I got to come back to this show anytime
in the future. The door is always going to be
open for you.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Dude.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
I appreciate ero, thank you very much. And you know
I appreciate you, you know, really listening to the music
and digging in there. So there's a lot to hear
in these tracks for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yeah, will you be brilliant today?
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Okay, thank you Erro much, appreciate it. Take care of him.
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