GRAMMY® Award winner Norman Brown, for almost two decades, has been an engaging composer and singer offering tasty sonic tidbits of classic R&B and contemporary jazz. For this special holiday concert, he will be joined by R&B and standards singer/songwriter Bobby Caldwell and Marion Meadows, a staple of contemporary jazz.
NORMAN BROWN
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and raised in Kansas City, Kansas, GRAMMY® Award winner Norman Brown first picked up a guitar at the age of eight. Inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s mind-bending rock sounds, Brown soon discovered his father’s favorite artist, Wes Montgomery, and found his stylistic holy grail. After high school, Brown moved to Los Angeles to pursue his musical career, attending the Musicians Institute where he also taught for a time. While playing with his own group in local clubs, and drawing comparisons to George Benson, Brown was discovered and signed to the MoJazz label, a division of Motown.
He delivered his 1992 debut, Just Between Us, and followed with the gold-certified After The Storm and 1996’s Better Days Ahead.
With critical acclaim and sales behind him, the talented musician made the leap to Warner Bros. and released Celebration, which first teamed him with producer Paul Brown. The 2003 followup, Just Chillin’, earned Brown much-deserved recognition with a GRAMMY® Award in the best pop instrumental category. That project was followed by his 2005 release West Coast Coolin’, where Brown tested out his skills as a vocalist, a move that was welcomed by the urban AC radio market.
In addition, his 2005 compilation The Very Best Of Norman Brown was one of the best-selling smooth jazz albums of that year.
Brown made the leap to the Peak Records label, a division of Concord Music Group, in 2007 for his smash CD Stay With Me, which yielded the R&B vocal hit “Stay With Me” and the smooth instrumental favorites “Let’s Take A Ride” and “Pop’s Cool Groove.” The guitarist kept the good vibes going on his long-awaited June 2010 release, Sending My Love.
With the release of Let It Go in 2017, Norman Brown not only delivers an uplifting musical tribute to life but he reminds us of our own instinctive divine light. Brown also affirms that the innovation, virtuosity and musical vision that we fell in love with years ago is full throttle ahead He concludes, “Our being is two parts and the only way for success in life is through the proper balance of the two.” So sit back, listen, open your heart, mind and soul and Let It Go.
BOBBY CALDWELL
From blue-eyed soul to pop, R&B and standards singer/songwriter, Bobby Caldwell is truly one of the most respected members of the music industry. Bobby Caldwell's live performances are always electrifying! Drawing from his vast repertoire of rousing R&B, intimate smooth jazz stylings, and big band songs, Bobby has the ability to entertain at any venue, for fans of all ages. As a singer, he has a successful career with numerous solo releases, which have earned accolades far and wide. His songwriting skills have earned hits not only for himself, but also for well-known artists like Chicago, Boz Scaggs, Peter Cetera and Amy Grant, Neil Diamond and Al Jarreau.
Bobby's timeless classic, "What You Won't Do For Love" has been recorded and sampled by more than 100 artists, including rendition by Boys II Men. A sample of Bobby's song "Open Your Eyes" appeared in the Grammy nominated platinum rap hit "The Light" by Common. All combined, Bobby's songs and samples have contributed to over 40 million sales, while artists as diverse as Tupac Shakur, Michael Bolton, Roberta Flack, Go West, Vanessa Williams and Notorious B.I.G. have all paid tribute to the blue-eyed singer in the slouch hat.
Bobby chose a career in music at the tender age of 17. He has devoted his entire life to song writing, recording, performing and most of all making people happy. Bobby has toured the USA and the globe for 40 years, bringing his music to fans of all ages and backgrounds, and he continues to do so.
MARION MEADOWS
Smooth jazz-styled soprano saxophonist Marion Meadows was born in West Virginia and raised primarily in Connecticut; after adopting the classical clarinet at age nine, he moved to the saxophone as a teen, last studying composition and arranging at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. A protégé of Joe Henerdson and Eddie Daniels, Meadows later served a long stint as a member of Norman Conorrs’ Starship Orchestra; after a series of session dates and sideman gigs, he made his solo debut in 1990 with the release of For Lovers Only. The album was a huge success and was followed by his ground breaking album Keep it Right There. He became a staple of the contemporary jazz format with his subsequent recordings, which include Body Rhythm (1994) and Forbidden Fruit (1996), Passion (1997), Another Side Of Midnight (1999), Next To You (2000), In Deep (2002), Players Club (2004), Dressed To Chill (2006), Secrets (2009) Whisper (2013) and Soul Traveler (2015).