Norman Brown (born December 18, 1970) is an American

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

guitarist and singer.

Career

Brown was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1970 and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. When he was eight years old, he was attracted to his brother's acoustic guitar. He was inspired by Jimi Hendrix and

the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

. When he heard

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

, he began to play jazz. He attended the

Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...

in Hollywood. After graduating in 1984, he joined the staff and was an instructor until 1998. In 1991 he signed with Mo Jazz, a division of Motown. In 1992 he released his debut album, ''Just Between Us''. Collaborators included Boyz II Men, Stevie Wonder, and Kenneth H. Williams. The album was produced by

Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is pos ...

, a jazz drummer and producer who discovered Brown. In 1994 Brown released the album ''After the Storm'', which gained critical success and was awarded jazz album of the year by Soul Train Music Awards. It also won a Gavin Radio Award by remaining on the charts for over two years. He followed this album with the 1996 release ''Better Days Ahead'', which earned him a broader audience and the American Jazz Award. In 1999, he returned from a three year hiatus and signed with

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, releasing ''Celebration'', which was produced by Norman Brown, Paul Brown, and Herman Jackson. In 2002, he formed BWB with saxophonist

Kirk Whalum Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk' ...

and trumpeter

Rick Braun Rick Braun (born July 6, 1955) is a smooth jazz trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone and keyboards player, vocalist, composer, and record producer. Career Braun was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and attended Dieruff High School. His mother was a se ...

, and they released the album ''Groovin' ''. During the summer of 2007, Brown had a No. 1 smooth jazz radio hit, "Let's Take a Ride", from the album ''Stay with Me'', according to ''

Radio and Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' magazine. In 2008, the Verve Music Group re-released ''Just Between Us'' as part of its "Verve Originals" series. Brown's music can be heard during

The Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather foreca ...

's ''Local on the 8s'' segments. His song "Lydian" is included in their 2008 compilation album, '' The Weather Channel Presents: Smooth Jazz II''. In 2011, Brown collaborated with Gerald Albright to record ''24/7'' which had a number one single, "In the Moment", and earned him a Grammy Award nomination.

Discography

as BWB (Braun-Whalum-Brown)

References

External links

Official WebsiteNorman Brown
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Norman 1970 births Living people Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri 20th-century African-American male singers American jazz singers American jazz guitarists Smooth jazz guitarists Soul-jazz guitarists Grammy Award winners Musicians Institute alumni Singers from Missouri Guitarists from Missouri Jazz musicians from Missouri 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American guitarists BWB (band) members African-American guitarists

Career

Discography

See also

References

External links