Biography

Guitarist, producer, and engineer, Paul Brown is an award-winning artist known for his hooky blend of instrumental jazz, R&B, and blues. A gifted instrumentalist, Brown has scored a number of Top Ten Billboard Jazz albums, including 2004's Up Front, 2007's White Sand, 2009's Foreign Xchange with Marc Antoine, and 2014's Truth Be Told. In 2018, he landed in the Top 20 on both the jazz and blues charts with Uptown Blues. Behind the scenes, Brown's talents earned him a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album for his work on Norman Brown's Just Chillin'. In a career spanning multiple decades, Brown has worked on projects for such influential artists as George Benson, Al Jarreau, Kirk Whalum, and many others. Born in Los Angeles to musician parents who sang with Mel Tormé, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and many others, Brown started playing drums at age five and picked up his first guitar two years later. During high school, he played in various bands and first began working as an assistant engineer in a studio when he was 15. After studying music and math at the University of Oregon, Brown returned to L.A. and began his rise to fame producing, composing, and engineering for a bevy of artists from across the R&B, pop, and contemporary jazz spectrum, including Luther Vandross, George Benson, Diana Ross, Boney James, and more. In 2002, he shared the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album for his production and engineering work on guitarist Norman Brown's Just Chillin'. In 2004, Brown finally stepped out from behind the producer's chair and released Up Front on GRP. The album hit number nine on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart, paving the way for 2005' The City. He then recorded two albums for Concord, White Sand and Foreign Xchange, the latter with Marc Antoine. Both albums also cracked the Top Ten of the jazz chart. Signing with Woodward Avenue Records, Brown again hit the Top Ten on the jazz chart wtih 2012's Funky Joint and 2014's Truth B Told. In 2016, he delivered the bluesy One Way Back, featuring guest appearances from Darren Rahn, Chris Standring, Chuck Loeb, and others. Released in 2018, Uptown Blues offered another mix of blues and horn-led jazz with guest spots from Kenny Rankin and Jacqui Brown. It charted in the Top 20 of both the jazz and blues album charts. Soul Searchin', a collaboration with fellow guitarist Larry Carlton, arrived in 2021. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi