by Paula Edelstein
Paul Brown's talents as producer/engineer have earned him two Grammy Awards and an impressive string of more than 40 number one hits on Radio & Records' smooth jazz chart. In an illustrious career spanning over two decades, Brown has worked on projects for such influential artists as George Benson, Al Jarreau, Kirk Whalum, Patti Austin, Norman Brown, Luther Vandross, Larry Carlton, Euge Groove, Boney James, Rick Braun, and Peter White, among many others.
Brown was born and raised in Los Angeles, where his parents still live in his boyhood home. He started playing drums at age five and picked up his first guitar two years later. "My parents were studio musicians, and met when they both sang in Mel Tormé's band, the Mel-Tones," he has recalled. "They went on to sing with everybody from Sinatra to Streisand, even Elvis, and I grew up in the studio with them. I played in a lot of bands in high school and started as an assistant engineer in the studio when I was 15. I never really wanted to do anything else but music." After studying music and math at the University of Oregon, Brown returned to L.A. and began his rise to fame producing some of the biggest hits in contemporary jazz. In insider circles, Brown is known as "the Babyface of Smooth Jazz," and rightly so. In 2004, he finally stepped out from behind the producer's chair and released Up Front on GRP which was followed up by the City in 2005.