Brian Culbertson at Winter Park Jazz Festival

2026 Winter Park Jazz Festival (Day 2) - Brian Culbertson Over the course of crafting a 29-album catalog and architecting 40 Billboard #1 singles as a keyboardist, songwriter and producer, Brian Culbertson has charted his own unique course in music. Label him jazz and he makes a funk record. Call him an R&B artist and he drops an acoustic jazz trio collection. Brand him pop and he creates a 32-minute New Age opus. And you’d be hard pressed to name another instrumentalist of his ilk who can mount an elaborately designed concert production that will keep him on the road for three consecutive months. Culbertson burst onto the scene in 1994 with a chart-topping album that he recorded in his college apartment featuring keyboard-led contemporary jazz tracks. “Long Night Out” landed him a lengthy record deal and signaled that a star was born. Flash forward to present day, Culbertson has been going back and listening more and more to music that inspired him as a young musician such as David Sanborn, The Brecker Bros, Chick Corea, Al Jarreau, Pat Metheny, and others in the jazz fusion world. “It instantly brought me back to the days of ‘no rules’ and the pure joy of music, something that I think a lot of albums today are lacking. With that said, I set out to write and produce a new album that would try to capture a little bit of that late 70’s and early 80’s spirit of music exploration, along with using only live musicians and real instruments. Similar in style to “Another Long Night Out”, “Day Trip” is the daytime version!” said Culbertson. Possessing style, panache, and a savvy business mind capable of moving the needle in music and beyond, Culbertson founded and curates the annual Napa Valley, New Orleans, and Chicago Jazz Getaways, which have attracted guests from all over the globe to experience his premier events. Whether you’re listening to music from “Day Trip” on record or live in concert, you’re hearing an eclectic, entertaining and engaging set from an artist at the peak of his power.