Kirk's primal connection to soul comes naturally. He was born in Memphis, musical home of Otis, Sam and Elvis...in that order. His history there is part of what connects him so deeply to the music of Donny Hathaway. "If you think about how I got started, it was the live gospel instrumental experience there in my home church where my Dad was pastor." The R&B, blues, pop and jazz that imbue Kirk's expression are obviously part of the Memphis legacy and Kirk made the jazz connection when he was in high school.

He received a music scholarship from Texas Southern University in Houston, where he formed his own band, playing original compositions on the Texas club circuit. After opening for Bob James in Houston one night in 1984 Whalum was invited to New York by the celebrated pianist to appear on his album 12. Whalum signed with Columbia shortly thereafter, releasing five albums for the label: Floppy Disk (1985), And You Know That (1988), The Promise (1989), Caché (1993) and In This Life (1995).

While still there he collaborated with Bob James on the 1996 Warner Bros. release Joined At The Hip, which won Kirk his first Grammy® nomination. In 1997 Whalum signed to Warner Bros. Records and released his solo debut for the label, Colors. It was during that transitional time that The Gospel According To Jazz concept gained steam and the first GATJ was released in October of 1998, the same year he released For You, his collection of soul and R&B covers, which yielded four Top 10 hits.

In 2000 Whalum released Hymns In The Garden which received a Grammy nomination for best Pop Instrumental Album. Unconditional, also released that year, generated three Grammy nominations over two years for Pop Instrumental Song (2001 and 2002) and Pop Instrumental Album (2001). Unconditional captured the No. 1 spot on the jazz charts, his fourth album to do so, and generated a No. 1 radio hit, "Now 'Til Forever." In 2002 The Gospel According To Jazz, Chapter II and The Christmas Message were released, ultimately garnering two more Grammy nominations. His last album on the Warner label Into My Soul (2003) took Kirk back to his Memphis roots.

Transitioning to Rendezvous, he teamed up with Pierson as producer for Kirk Whalum Performs The Babyface Songbook (2005) and followed with Roundtrip (2007), both catapulting to No. 2 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart—the latter garnering him his eighth Grammy nomination. The Gospel According To Jazz, Chapter III, released earlier this year, began the Hathaway connection with Lalah featured on a number of songs.

In the course of his career he has graced the recordings and stage performances of the preeminent vocalists, instrumental artists and soundtracks of our time including the stunning sax solo on "I Will Always Love You," performed by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard. Whalum has lent his lyrical phrasing and melodic artistry to Babyface, Luther Vandross, Nancy Wilson, George Benson, Bebe & Cece Winans, Barbra Streisand, Vince Gill, Michael McDonald and Quincy Jones, among many others, with well over 100 recordings to his credit.

Because of his love for working with young musicians, his tenure as artist in residence (the very first) at Stax Music Academy in Memphis since 2006 has been particularly meaningful. He was subsequently named the Varnell Artist in Residence at Memphis Theological Seminary, where he is finishing his Masters degree. His relationship with Stax has deepened and he was recently appointed as CEO of both the Stax Museum and Music Academy, and hopes to serve as an ambassador around the world for the legacy of soul music it represents.