R&B/Jazz Multi-Instrumentalist Brian Culbertson Debuts New Album XII

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Jazz

On July 20, 2010, Brian Culbertson released the twelfth album of his multi-faceted career, simply titled XII, on GRP Records/Verve.

XII is the highest charting record of Culbertson’s long, successful career, debuting at #82 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, #9 on the R&B charts and #79 on the Current Chart. XII also sits squarely at the #1 spot on the Contemporary Jazz Chart, his fourth #1 record. In addition to his sales success, his single “Skies Wide Open” featuring Avant is #16 on both Adult R&B and Urban AC radio charts. His other single “That’s Life” was the #1 most added single in the Smooth Jazz format.

Culbertson commemorates his twelfth release with 12 new songs that continue to reflect his broad-ranging musicality and mastery of intimate moods. XII appeals to many different fan bases by covering a wide range of music genres. The titles swing from the rich love ballad "Skies Wide Open" (featuring R&B singing star Avant) to an an all-out Go-Go party jam titled "Feelin’ It" featuring the man who put Washington, D.C. Go-Go music on the map, Chuck Brown in addition to a comedic appearance by Sinbad). Think piece “I Don’t Know” exploes the meaning of it all with help from spoken word enchantress, Floetry’s Natalie Stewart. Others featured on the record are Ray Parker Jr., Kenny Lattimore, Brian McKnight, Faith Evans, and Earl Klugh. The rest of the songs are instrumentals showcasing Culbertson’s impressive talent as demonstrated, for example, in the rippin’ Moog solo he takes in the funky track “Stay Wit It.”