After eleven inspired albums that have passionately surveyed a broad spectrum of musical styles and prominently featured many of music’s finest players, R&B/Jazz multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson decided to keep conceptualism to a minimum and simply title his twelfth album XII (the Roman numeral for twelve). Packed with astounding guest performances from the likes of renowned R&B singer Avant (on the first scheduled AC/Urban AC single “Skies Wide Open”), Brian McKnight, Faith Evans, Kenny Lattimore and Ray Parker Jr. to Go-Go music pioneer Chuck Brown and acoustic guitar legend Earl Klugh (on the first smooth jazz-radio single “That’s Life”), Brian’s latest GRP Records CD is 12 fresh offerings from the man for whom exciting ideas and combinations flow faithfully…like water.

“I was just noticing that there are a lot of ‘12s’ in my life,” Brian muses… “I was born on January 12, I’ve been living in Los Angeles for 12 years now and have been married to my beautiful wife Michelle for 12 years. There are 12 notes on the piano…and it was at the age of 12 that I knew I was going to be a professional musician. Also over the years, 1s and 2s have been in the addresses of all the places I’ve lived.” As he started working on the album, Brian thought of yet another way to make his fans a part of the creative process in a brilliant extension of the DVD he created last year, Live From The Inside. “I decided to create a video blog to give fans a chance to watch me make the album from start to finish. Almost daily, they could watch me execute and explain every step of the process, including seeing me in sessions with all of my amazingly talented friends. The response has been phenomenal with many people tuning in every day to see what I’m up to. To ‘Twitter’ about the project, I labeled the topic #BCXII. Someone said that would be a great title for the album, so it stuck.”

XII kicks off with a blast as Brian drops down into a style of funk music indigenous to the Washington, D.C., area known as Go-Go music with the party starter “Feelin’ It.” To do it up right, he called upon the king of Go-Go, Chuck Brown, leader of the band the Soul Searchers who are world-renowned for the ‘70s smash "Bustin’ Loose," the song that put Go-Go on the map. “I met Chuck last year when I played on the Capitol Jazz Super Cruise,” Brian enthuses. “I went to see his show and was blown away – two hours of non-stop funk. And I was right there in the middle of the dance floor with everybody else…gettin’ down! When I got back, I called him to be on my record…’cuz I had to have a taste of that.” “Feelin’ It” features Chuck playing guitar and singing, and comedian Sinbad (a one-time drummer) adding live hi-hat, a rhythm guitar lick…and a lil’ “funny business.” The result plays like a sequel to the song “Funkin’ Like My Father” that Brian cut with Bootsy Collins on Bringin’ Back The Funk.

Half a dozen of XII’s numbers are vocal showcases. “Out on the Floor” features multi-platinum Grammy-winner Brian McKnight on a Chicago Steppers groove— a dancer’s delight and a change of pace from the ballads for which he is primarily known. “He and I had met a few times before,” Culbertson explains of the other Brian, “but it was L.A. radio morning show host Pat Prescott that put us together when I told her my idea of mixing his smooth approach on top of a dance groove.” Culbertson takes that concept a notch higher with vocalist supreme Kenny Lattimore who brings even more edge to the strings-kissed dance jam “Another Love.” Kenny graced Brian’s 2001 CD Nice & Slow singing and co-writing the futuristic love ballad “Someone.” Brian brings him back almost a decade later to flex his skills on a more fiery showcase.

R&B powerhouse Faith Evans is a pleasant surprise within these proceedings on the attitude jam “Don’t U Know Me By Now” – a piece that features colorful arrangement flourishes such as tubular bells, harp and strings. “Faith being on this project kind of happened out of nowhere,” Brian laughs. “When Chuck Brown came to cut ‘Feelin’ It,’ he came with producer Chucky Thompson who insisted I meet ‘a friend’ of his. All of a sudden, Faith comes strolling in and we proceeded to hang and party—for, like, eight hours! She asked what I was up to and I told her I was looking for a female vocalist for one of my tunes. She replied, ‘Well, I’m a female vocalist’— just like that — so I played her the demo and she assured me she could nail it…which she did.”

Then there’s Ray Parker Jr., Brian’s legendary friend and neighbor who has previously appeared on his albums with smokin’ signature guitar licks. This time, Brian also tapped Ray for his songwriting and coolly distinctive vocal style as well as a taste of rapturous guitar on the sexy Isley Brothers-esque, blue-lights-in-the-basement throwback “I Wanna Love You.” [Note: “I wanna love you” is the opening line of one of the Isley’s most beloved ballads, “Don’t Say Goodnight (It’s Time For Love).”] The cherry on top: Brian adding a Moog synthesizer solo in the spirit of Isley’s keyboardist Chris Jasper. As if all that vocal magic isn’t enough, Brian is truly going to tug upon heartstrings with the picturesque “Skies Wide Open,” a love lyric overflowing with vivid metaphors penned and sung by R&B stalwart Avant—brought in by the song’s prolific co-producer Rex Rideout (who worked with Avant on last year’s acclaimed Silky Soul Music…An All-Star Tribute to Maze featuring Frankie Beverly project).

The instrumentals on XII hold just as many wonderful musical moments as well. On the soft side is the Suzanne Ciani-like “Waiting For You.” The origin of this dreamscape ironically stems from Brian’s longtime collaborator Stephen Lu coming up with the initial idea, demoing it and sending it to Brian to get his opinion–all while waiting on phone-hold with his insurance company (a most productive use of time). Brian’s friend Sheldon Reynolds, along with his wife, layered their vocals on this to sound like a choir. Sheldon, also a guitarist, additionally co-wrote “Forever,” which opens as a solo piano meditation then blossoms into a soaring rhapsody featuring churchy organ and a guitar solo by Michael Thompson.

Of course, Culbertson continues to bring the funk…though this time with the new twist of strings, as evidenced on the feel-good instrumental “It’s Time” as well as the aforementioned vocal tracks “Another Love” and “Don’t U Know Me By Now.” Is Brian experiencing a Giorgio Moroder/Chic strings flashback? “I’ve always loved strings,” he shrugs. “When it comes to the arrangements I hear in my head, anything that comes to mind I go with and never question it. My mind was screaming strings, so I brought in several players and layered them to make the sound rich and full.” “It’s Time” comes complete with two other Brian signatures – killin’ horns…and a bass break! Speaking of bass, Brian utilizes live bass and synth bass masterfully on “Stay Wid It,” which his mind-in-overdrive insisted could use a Mini-Moog solo, a la the great Chick Corea. “I was just messin’ around with the Moog, but it sounded so good I kept it,” he says. “It’s a first take which is why the solo sounds so spontaneous, but it works in a weird sort of way.”

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