R&B singer/songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Brian McKnight performed at Amoeba Hollywood recently to promote his latest record, Genesis. Before the show we had a chance to sit down with McKnight and chat with him about his musical choices, which leaned heavily toward jazz. "To me, one of the greatest, iconic musical figures of the twentieth century is Miles Davis," McKnight said of the legendary trumpeter. He was particularly impressed with Davis' version of "My Funny Valentine," saying, "when you hear a recording of that, you realize what he has meant to the American musical landscape."
McKnight began his musical endeavors early, singing with his brothers in the church choir. In 1990, Warner Brothers signed his older brother, Claude McKnight III, and his band Take 6 to a record deal, inspiring the younger McKnight to shop his own demos around. He signed his first label deal when he was nineteen, working with Mercury Records subsidiary Wing Records. His self-titled debut was released in 1992, topping out at #52 on the Billboard Top 200 charts and yielding the top twenty single, "One Last Cry." McKnight recorded two more albums for the label, I Remember You (1995) and Always (1997), garnering his first solo GRAMMY nomination for the latter LP.