PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
?Contact: Anita G. Arnold
January 5, 2011?   (405)524-3800
 
Kirk Whalum Plays Donnie Hathaway at Soul Food Dinner Theater
 
“It is not everyday that one has an opportunity to have a scrumptious meal and see an 11 time Grammy nominee perform live at the most elegant restaurant in their city,” Anita Arnold, Executive Director of BLAC, Inc. said as she excitedly announced BLAC, Inc.’s 2011 season opener.   Kirk Whalum, smooth jazz saxophonist, music educator and songwriter, will appear at the Petroleum Club in downtown Oklahoma City on Saturday, January 22nd.  A soul food buffet begins at 7:00 p.m. and the show starts at 8:00 o’clock.
 
Whalum who was born in Memphis, Tennessee grew up surrounded by music.  “He was the son of a preacher man, Reverend Kenneth Whalum and wife, Helen, who happened to be a friend of mine at the time,” Arnold stated.  “Memphis was known as the R & B capital of the South during those days” she continued.  In addition to singing in his father’s church choir, Whalum also learned to love music from his grandmother, Thelma Twigg Whalum, a piano teacher and two uncles, Wendell Whalum and Hugh “Peanuts” Whalum who performed with jazz bands around the country.  These influences proved lasting, as he told John H. Johnson’s magazine “Ebony Many” in a 1994 profile, “The music I like to play and write encompasses the four elements I grew up with: Memphis R& B, gospel, rock and jazz.  The emphasis, though, is on melody, period.”  In recent years, Whalum’s musical genius and experiences have led to him being distinguished as one of 12 who made a difference in Tennessee, 11 Grammy nominations and his selection as CEO of Soulsville Foundation.  The Foundation includes oversight responsibility for the STAX Museum of American Soul Music and the Soulsville Charter School of Memphis.
 
Tickets are $70 for the dinner and show.  They are on sale now and can be purchased at Capitol Square Station, Charlie’s Jazz Rhythm, and Blues Store, Hopkins Haircare, KM66, and Learning Tree Toy Store or through BLAC, Inc.  For more information call (405)524-3800.  The Oklahoma Arts Council and the Ad Astra Foundation are sponsors of this event.