Brian Culbertson

Brian Culbertson learned to play bass, drums, piano, and trombone by age 12. ∙ Culbertson’s acclaimed 1994 debut, Long Night Out, includes songs he wrote in middle school and was recorded on a shoestring budget in his college apartment. ∙ Following Long Night Out’s success, one of Culbertson’s former music instructors hired him to compose songs for commercial advertising. ∙ The idea for 2008’s Bringing Back the Funk came to Culbertson after he had an impromptu jam session with Prince at a Las Vegas club. ∙ Nearly half of his 20 solo LPs have topped Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. ∙ He’s earned multiple honors from the American Society of Young Musicians, Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards, and Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards. ∙ Inspired to create “a jazz cruise but on land,” he launched the annual Napa Valley Jazz Getaway in 2012, featuring such performers as Al Jarreau and Boney James. In his own words: Describe one of your earliest musical memories in detail: "Seeing Earth, Wind & Fire in concert when I was just 8 years old blew my mind! Maurice White flew in with a white cape over the pyramid with lasers, it was unbelievable!"