Brian Culbertson

Inspired in part by his father, who was director of his school band, 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.