Kirk Whalum | Blog

Dance Jam Session in Nynashamn, Sweden [video clip]

Kirk Whalum — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:51:52 -0400

Dancer: Damon Frost (from Sweden)

Click here to view video on the KirkWhalumLive YouTube Channel

Hugh "PEANUT" Whalum - Danny Campbell - @KirkWhalum (Live In St. Louis)

Kirk Whalum — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:08:01 -0400

My uncle Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum's CD

Kirk Whalum — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:30:00 -0400

And the winner is...

Kirk Whalum — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:43:02 -0400

I recently held my own beauty contest (fictional... please do not google this!!!) and decided that I would feature the winner here on the site. The criteria for this beauty queen would be the following: Contestant has to have sacrificed much for undeserving folks (like me), has to have lived a life full of care and concern for others, has to have made more people smile and laugh than the average person... and has to have a zest for life that is unparalleled. And the winner is... MY AUNT ROSALIE OF AUSTIN, TX!!! I love her and will always be grateful for her prayers and encouragement through the years. This year she will celebrate 92 years of service to just regular folks. Happy Birthday Aunt Rosalie! You raise the bar on REAL BEAUTY. [PS] Much love and thanks to the anonymous Austin police officer as well as my friend Debe Brown who check in on her weekly.

Life On Fast Forward

Kirk Whalum — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:32:59 -0400

Life on Fast Forward

Wayman Tisdale lived life on fast-forward...

To accomplish so much in such little time

To touch so many lives, definitely mine

There was something sinister about that huge smile!

A "knowing" that he would be gone in a while

A super-hyper gusto that was always on ten

I think of it now, but I noticed it then

Wayman was on roller-blades, skating through problems

While the rest of us dragged around trying to solve them

His children, his family, even his wife

Seemed all but tethered to so BIG a life

Thank God it’s contagious, cause now we see it in them

Their faces are radiant, not hopeless or grim

God loved Wayman enough to prepare him a place

With super huge chairs in a super huge space!

His humor was BIG, but so was his pain

Now we'll need that laughter... seems so insane

We’re missing the jokester, the forward, the clown

Seems that Daddy came calling, and just made him lie down

The big kid Wayman was, God prob'ly called twice!

But to think of Tis' chillin... I tell you... that's nice

Life on fast-forward

He was a fast forward

Olympic Gold Medal forward

All-Star forward

Then he moved music forward

And the song had just started when God moved Wayman forward

And the game is in overtime

For endless time

But Wayman’s not sweating

Or striving or suffering

No more suffering

He’s in the zone, face to Face

The fast forward is with the Savior

And it’s hang time!

Memoirs for my friend

Kirk Whalum — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:24:04 -0400

The sad memory is the last time I saw my friend, in Memphis along with George Duke three weeks ago. I hugged him and told he and Regina that Ruby and I were continuing to pray. He was so obviously weak and had lost so much weight. But man that smile! It was like a moonbeam! Make that a sun ray! It was heavenly. And for good reason, Wayman probably had a good idea he wouldn't be here under the sun too much longer. He and Regina have a lovely ranch there in Oklahoma... but nothing compared to the mansion he's in now! I have so many wonderful memories of hanging with Wayman and Jonathan Butler––we toured together as the Rendezvous All Stars. 90% of those memories involve Wayman either clowning, joking, doing impersonations, or just being silly! It was non-stop. And those laughs were like fuel for us on the hard travel days and when the show didn't go like we wanted.

I'll miss him. Jonathan told me he spoke with him two days ago and rather than talking about what he was going through, he was asking about JB's family! That's the quality of human being Wayman was. "The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21

Kirk Whalum