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Join Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum for Kafé Kirk, a monthly jazz series in Crosstown Theater featuring musical and spiritual collaborations with special guest artists. This month’s guest: Memphis-based jazz vocalist Wendy Moten.
Doors at 5 pm | performance at 6 pm
General admission tickets — $45
VIP tickets (includes a meet-and-greet and free CD) — $60
About Kirk Whalum:
Soulful, passionate, stirring … these are the words most often used to describe Kirk’s music. Forged from his Memphis gospel roots and his 1980s initiation into the thriving Houston nightclub scene, Kirk’s big, rich tenor sound is unmistakably his.The 80s were highlighted by Kirk’s stepping out of his blossoming sideman role and forming his own band. It was there that Kirk ultimately developed both his “voice” and songwriting in the crucible of the local club scene — especially at a rooftop club called Cody’s. It was also in Houston where jazz pianist Bob James “discovered” him and brought him on tour, which led to five successful albums with Columbia Records, including Cache, Kirk’s first No. 1 album. Kirk and Bob also received a Grammy nomination for their collaboration album, Joined at the Hip.
After moving to Los Angeles, Kirk became an in-demand session player for top artists like Barbara Streisand, Al Jarreau, Luther Vandross, Larry Carlton, Quincy Jones, and, most notably, Whitney Houston, amongst many others. It’s his sax heard on the mega-hit, “I Will Always Love You.” Kirk soon followed that career high point with his phenomenal hit album released on Warner Bros. Records, For You, perhaps the most successful of over 25 solo recordings to date. Others include his eclectic, and much-lauded, Gospel According to Jazz series, (Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4). In addition to his many solo projects, Kirk was also a member of the popular soul/jazz group, BWB, which features Kirk as the “W” of the group with Rick Braun (trumpet) and Norman Brown (guitar).
About Wendy Moten:
When Wendy Moten talks about her more than 20 years in the music industry, a few words come up over and over: growing, collaborating, learning. Lucky, fortunate.
A surprising juxtaposition emerges: one of pop music’s most powerful voices, who hopes that her legacy will be as a collaborator, open to creating great art.
It’s a refreshing perspective from a vocalist with Wendy’s resume. The Memphis-born singer has earned a vast collection of professional credits in Contemporary, R&B, Jazz, Rock, and Country since launching her career with her self-titled debut record (EMI) in 1992. That album produced two Billboard charting singles, including the enduring ballad “Come In Out of the Rain” and the up-tempo dance hit “Step by Step.”
On the heels of that release, Wendy was chosen to open for Michael Bolton during his North American stadium tour and connected with fans worldwide through sold-out headlining performances at venues like the famed Budokan in Japan. In 1994, she recorded the GRAMMY ® nominated single “Whatever You Imagine,” from the animated film The Pagemaster starring Macaulay Culkin. Additional film soundtrack credits include 1993’s Mr. Wonderful starring Annabella Sciorra and Matt Dillon.
Julio Iglesias and Wendy Moten Wendy recorded two more albums for EMI: Time For Change, an international smash and European best-seller, with “Change Of Heart” and “Your Love Is All I Know;” and Life’s What You Make It, which showcased her versatility as an artist, vocalist, producer and songwriter.
That’s when Wendy got an invitation that she says was pivotal to the course of her career. She travelled the world with Julio Iglesias as a featured vocalist for 15 years, connecting with worldwide audiences, growing tremendously as a performer and discovering herself as an artist.
Through that experience and in the years since, Wendy has earned a reputation, not just for her powerhouse voice but for her professionalism and versatility – a chameleon behind the mic, she’s worked in every genre imaginable – and as a talented vocal and musical arranger and songwriter, her recording credits reach across genre lines with artists like Michael Bolton, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Al Jarreau, Joss Stone, John Mayall, Kenny Rogers, Jeffrey Osborne, Montgomery Gentry, Brooks & Dunn, Alice Cooper, Mindy McCready, Marcia Ball, Joe Louis Walker, Bonnie Tyler, Todd Snider and many others.
Wendy Moten and Kirk Whalum by Patty W. PadgettIndeed, the list goes on endlessly: her stunning lead vocal on the Stevie Wonder mega-hit, “All I Do,” from saxophonist Kirk Whalum’s GRAMMY® winning album, “For You;” her duets on records like Michael McDonald’s No Love to Be Found; featured vocals on Buddy Guy’s 2009 GRAMMY® nominated album Skin Deep and the recently released Good Road to Follow by John Oates. In 2009, she released Tis the Season, a collaboration with American jazz, pop, and Latin pianist Clay Perry and in 2013 shared backing vocal duties with Bekka Bramlett at Bonnaroo’s Rock ‘N’ Soul Dance Party Superjam, rocking out with an all-star lineup including John Oates, Jim James, Larry Graham, Billy Idol, R. Kelly, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
