Up Close & Personal welcomes back Guitarist/Composer/Producer "Paul Brown"

Paul Brown Biography
The term “Renaissance Man” dates back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci, who was described as a man of “unquenchable curiosity” and “feverishly inventive imagination.” Paul Brown’s four decade journey through the worlds of pop, R&B and jazz is the modern day musical equivalent. Starting as a drummer, he became an engineer for R&B legends (Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin) before evolving into a two time Grammy winning urban jazz producer (with over 60 #1 radio airplay hits) and finally a popular guitarist, artist and performer in his own right. 

In the remarkable 12 years since he released his debut album Up Front, Brown has released six albums (including three that hit the Top Ten on the Billboard Albums chart), scored countless hit singles, and done thousands of performances across the U.S. and internationally, including gigs with fellow guitarists Larry Carlton, Chris Standring and current labelmate Marc Antoine (with whom he recorded the 2009 album Foreign Exchange). And yet, as he releases One Way Back, his third collection on Woodward Avenue Records after The Funky Joint (2012) and Truth B Told (2014), Brown freely admits he is still trying to find himself as an artist. 

While keeping his trademark deep funk and cool urban vibes flowing, Brown taps deeper than ever before into his lifelong blues influences, which includes a foundational passion for greats like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Little Feat and B.B. King. This edge is immediately apparent on the album’s lead single, a bold and fiery re-imagining of The Crusaders’ soul-jazz classic “Put It Where You Want It,” which he describes as a “combination of Wes Montgomery and Larry Carlton,” the latter who played on the original recording of the tune.