Draft:Kris Brownlee

Kris Brownlee (born July 9, 1978) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist and music producer.

Biography
Kris Brownlee was born July 9, 1978 in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He started playing classical alto saxophone in 4th grade. Brownlee attended Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana where he performed in the concert and jazz bands. He later graduated from Manchester University in North Manchester, Indiana with two Bachelor's degrees in 2000. One in music performance and the other in psychology.

After college Kris co-founded his smooth jazz, funk group, The Grooveside. Under the Grooveside, Kris released two albums, Bitten by the Jazz Bug in 2001 and Gettin' Down in 2006. The Grooveside became his alias for the next 11 years until he signed with Megawave Records in 2012, after which he started using and promoting his music under his own name, Kris Brownlee. His debut album under Megawave Records, Sincerely Yours, released in 2013, features 4 songs that were produced by Grammy Award Winning Producer, Michael Broening. Other special guests on the album include guitarist, Jay Soto, Argentine vocalist, Gabriela Anders, and female trumpeter, Cindy Bradley. In June 2013, The full Sincerely Yours album found it's way into the top 50 smooth jazz albums on SmoothJazz.com. The album also produced 2 singles that were among the most added to American smooth jazz radio stations. According to BDS radio, Up Front featuring Cindy Bradley was the 9th most added song in September 2013 and Solstice was the 17th most added song earlier that year in February 2013.

Brownlee performs regularly across the United States at venues and festivals including the Blue Note Napa, Elkhart Jazz Festival, Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Scottish Rite Auditorium, Murat Center, Nugget Casino and Resort and has had the opportunity to take his talents overseas to play in Jamaica. Kris' music is distributed all over the world by MVD Entertainment in North America, Membran Media GmbH in Europe, and by BounDEE in Japan.

Kris has performed with other top, well-named artists such as Mindi Abair, Grace Kelly, Stephen Foster (former Duke Ellington saxophonist), international trombone legend, Jiggs Whigham, and Chicago blues legend, Willie Kent. Most recently Kris shared the stage with Swedish- born chart topper, Jonathan Fritzen in 2018, Billboard Smooth Jazz chart topper, Carol Albert, and drummer Sofia Goodman at the 2021 Elkhart Jazz Festival.

Kris recently joined NAACP Image award winning saxophonist for best jazz album, Jazmin Ghent, as a guest performer on her 2022 U.S. Domestic Tour.

In 2013, Kris was featured on WANE-TV in Fort Wayne, IN. Also in that year, Kris opened up for the legendary smooth jazz/fusion group, The Rippingtons. In 2014, Kris became one of the very few American saxophonists endorsed by the Japanese company, Aizen of Japan.

In 2018, Kris re-signed with Megawave Records to promote and distribute his upcoming album, Breathe: Night Sessions, which was released on June 8th, 2018. In June 2018, Kris Brownlee was featured in the popular lifestyle magazine, Style Quarterly. The first single off the album, "Meet Me There" is currently #58 on Smooth Jazz Network's top 100. In July 2018 Kris made his Radiowave Smooth Jazz Top 100 Chart debut at #88. In November 2018, Kris' Breathe: Night Sessions Album reached #36 on the Smoothjazz.com Radar Chart.

In 2019, Kris traveled to Seattle Washington to study under Emmy Award Winning Film Composer, Hummie Mann, best known for his soundtrack on the Mel Brooks classic film Robin Hood Men In Tights. Kris also joined Emmy Award Winning indie rock band, The Bergamot, for their 2021 Christmas special, A South Shore Christmas. The filming for the Christmas special actually took place in December 2020. Since that filming, Kris has become a regular special-guest performer on saxophone with The Bergamot.

According to Lila Fierek of the Goshen News, Kris currently serves as the Talent Coordinator for the Elkhart Jazz Festival in Elkhart, Indiana where he books national and international talent for the festival. He also continues to perform at this festival on a regular basis.