Brian Culbertson

Composer, multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, bass, reeds, drums and percussion), arranger and producer Brian Culbertson was born in Decatur, Illinois, on January 12, 1973. Son of trumpeter and jazz bandleader Jim Culbertson, he became familiar with instruments and records at an early age, and after lessons in piano, drums, trombone and bass, specialized in the Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer, experimenting with its possibilities. After high school, the musician studied music at DePaul University in Chicago and played in the house band. In 1994, Brian Culbertson signed with Mesa Records and recorded his debut album Long Night Out, for which he supervised production and played most of the instruments. On the following album Modern Life (1995), Culbertson surrounded himself with a team of musicians, including saxophonist Gerald Albright. Alongside his own albums After Hours (1995), Secrets (1997) and Somethin' About Love (1999), Culbertson also worked as a producer for Steve Cole and others. From smooth jazz to funk, Culbertson recorded a succession of albums with occasional collaborators such as Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins and Ray Parker Jr. In 2013, he re-recorded his first album with Nathan East, Russ Freeman, Steve Lukather, Candy Dulfer and a thirty-three-piece orchestra. The project, retitled Another Long Night Out, is released on his BCM label. Culbertson then embarks on an anniversary tour summarized in Live: 20th Anniversary (2016), followed by Colors of Love (2018), ranked number one on the Billboard jazz charts. After the Winter Stories album, ranked #3 in 2019, Culbertson continues with XX and Music from "The Hang" in 2020 and The Trilogy: Red in 2021, followed by the other two installments Blue and White in 2022, Sleep in 2023 and Day Trip in 2025.