Brian White

Addressing a gathering of black DJs in Atlanta in 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said: "In a real sense you have paved the way for social and political change by creating a powerful, cultural bridge between black and white…. You introduced youth to that music and created a language of soul and promoted the dances which now sweep across race, class and nation." "That music" was rhythm and blues, and Brian Ward uses King's quote to further the premise of his fascinating book, Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations: that the music moved not only the feet of listeners, but their hearts and minds as well.

A prolific keyboardist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, Brian Culbertson is known for his many crossover albums, which find him touching upon jazz, funk, pop, and new age. Culbertson first broke through with 1997's Secrets, which reached number 15 on the contemporary jazz chart. He has released a series of Top Five jazz albums, including 1999's Somethin' Bout Love, for Warner Bros. and 2001's Nice & Slow for Atlantic. He also topped the same chart with 2005's It's on Tonight, 2008's Bringing Back the Funk, and 2010's XII.

A prolific keyboardist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, Brian Culbertson is known for his many crossover albums, which find him touching upon jazz, funk, pop, and new age. Culbertson first broke through with 1997's Secrets, which reached number 15 on the contemporary jazz chart. He has released a series of Top Five jazz albums, including 1999's Somethin' Bout Love, for Warner Bros. and 2001's Nice & Slow for Atlantic. He also topped the same chart with 2005's It's on Tonight, 2008's Bringing Back the Funk, and 2010's XII.

I was born in Trinidad & Tobago and grew up in the Andes mountains in Mérida, Venezuela and Austria before arriving in Canada at the age of 11. My Mother was a professional visual artist and sculptor and most of my time was spent either in her workshop learning with her, travelling, or lost exploring the pristine Andean forests that surrounded us. I knew from an early age that music would be my path, and I quickly started absorbing the music and culture that surrounded me, having limited resources shaped me into teaching myself and even make my own instruments, and I was able to learn a variety of traditional South American music as well as classical piano and even Indian kirtan music while living in an ashram in Vienna. When I arrived in Hamilton, Ontario I very quickly gravitated towards both the live music scene and the nascent electronic music scene that was heavily influenced by Detroit during the early '90s, as a result I was so inspired that by the age of 14 I regularly performing both in clubs and underground warehouse parties using a combination of analog gear and self-made instruments.