Review of Brian Culbertson’s Album Another Long Night Out

More and more artists are shifting from the traditional album release model, opting to go the independent route rather than work with a label, turning to crowd funding as a viable way to fund and produce an album. So it’s no surprise that Brian Culberston chose to do just that with his latest release “Another Long Night Out.”

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Culbertson’s newfound creative and musical freedom are apparent in each of the tracks from the record, and there’s no doubt that more artists will continue to redefine the album recording process as they continue to take artistic control of their projects and releases in ways that were not possible in the past. It’s an exciting new era in music for previously signed and independent artists alike (as well as for fans who can now get involved in ways previously not available to them) and “Another Long Night Out” is a great example of what we can soon expect from our favorite performers.

“Another Long Night Out” is a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the pianist’s debut album “Long Night Out” from February 1994 and his continued evolution as a producer, recording artist, and songwriter over the past two decades. While Culbertson recorded the majority of the instruments himself on his debut album, his latest release features a line-up of some of the top contemporary jazz artists in the industry including Russ Freeman, Eric Marienthal, Candy Dulfer, Steve Lukather, Paul Jackson Jr, Chuck Loeb, Nathan East, Jimmy Haslip, Will Kennedy, the late Ricky Lawson, Michael Thompson, Lenny Castro, Michael Bland, Patches Stewart, and even a 38-piece orchestra.

The opening track “City Lights” starts out with a piano introduction that dives into a slow, funky groove with Lee Ritenour accompanying Culbertson on guitar. “Fullerton Ave.” featuring Chuck Loeb is another exciting arrangement that’s followed by “Beyond the Frontier,” slowing the album down without losing the energy of the previous tunes. It just keeps moving from there on out.

There’s something refreshing about the tracks as you move through the album; the ways in which they hint at the artist’s roots while maintaining a modern sound with intricately orchestrated arrangements certainly keeps you on your toes. I love that Brian Culbertson celebrated his twentieth anniversary as a recording artist by completely revamping his debut album. I think that’s something that most of us as artists have thought about doing and I think it’s pretty cool that he took it upon himself to do just that. It’s impressive to think he made his debut as a signed recording artist with “Long Night Out” and is now making his debut as an independent recording artist with an updated version of the same project.

“Another Long Night Out” is Brian Culbertson’s fourteenth release as an artist. He was born and raised in Decateur, Illinois where he took up the piano, trombone, bass and euphonium. He attended DePaul University in Chicago, and it was in the apartment where he lived while attending school that he began to work on his debut album. He has written and produced over 25 #1 singles on the Billboard, R&R, and Gavin charts.

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Title: Another Long Night Out
Artist: Brian Culbertson
Date: February 25, 2014
Genre: Smooth Jazz
Label: BCM Entertainment

Tracks:

01 City Lights feat. Lee Ritenour
02 Fullerton Ave feat. Chuck Loeb
03 Beyond the Frontier
04 Heroes of the Dawn feat. Eric Marienthal and Rick Braun
05 Beautiful Liar feat. Steve Lukather
06 Double Exposure feat. Russ Freeman
07 Twilight feat. Eric Marienthal
08 Horizon feat. “Patches” Stewart
10 Long Night Out feat. Candy Dulfer
11 Changing Tides feat. Jonathan Butler

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Published by Shannon Kennedy

Shannon Kennedy is a vocalist and saxophonist living in Southern California. She is author of "The Album Checklist" and the founder of Teen Jazz. She has been contributing articles to music magaizines and websites since 2004.