Christopher Brown is an acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, and educator who seeks to be a voice within the advocacy of Jazz and American culture. And through the expansive range of groups that he has assembled and/or performed with, which range from duos to larger ensembles across a spectrum of genres, each of these experiences help to influence the technical and emotional arc of all his performances.

The Early Years

Born and raised in Portland, OR Christopher’s life in music was cultivated early between his father Mel Brown and the healthy culture of Jazz that surrounded him between the late
1980’s and early 1990’s. As a consequence, his commitment towards musical excellence led him to garner numerous local, state, and national awards, one of which was having led a trio that won the top high school small-group award by Down Beat Magazine in 1995. Also, other memorable events included things such as sitting in on performances with people such as Wynton Marsalis when they’d come through town, in addition to having been cast as an extra in the 1993 movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” starring Richard Dreyfuss.

Military

Following high school, Christopher enlisted into the U.S. Marine Corps as a drummer for four years, followed by 16 years in the Army National Guard as a principle-saxophonist and drummer between two different units before his retirement in 2017.

Education

Christopher holds two degrees in Jazz Studies from Rutgers University, followed by a four-year appointment as a professor of Jazz Theory and history from his alma mater. He has
also had the pleasure of teaching as an artist in-residence within Wells Fargo’s “NJPAC Jazz For Teens” program (NJ), Mt. Hood Jazz Camp (OR), Mel Brown Jazz Camp (OR), Litchfield Jazz Camp (CT), Rutgers Summer Jazz Institute (NJ), Montclair Jazz Camp (NJ), and the International Summer Music Camp (Brno, Czech Republic). And lastly, he co-created a course that used to be offered through Portland State University’s MBA program entitled “Business Innovation Through Jazz Improvisation.” 

Currently he serves as the Jazz Drums instructor at Portland State University (OR), leads
the Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s (OR) Jazz program, and partners with Montavilla Jazz to host a monthly workshop that he created for younger musicians called “Behind the Scene,” as it seeks to prepare them for the rigors of the toughest Jazz scenes in the world (namely NYC).

Performances

Over the course of Christopher’s career, he has had the pleasure of performing and/or recording with many of the world’s top recording artists, such as: 

Beyonce, Esperanza Spalding, Shoshana Bean, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Ralph Bowen, Ralph Peterson Jr., Conrad Herwig, Steve Turre, Paquito D’Rivera, Claudio Roditi, Charles Fambrough, Benny Golson, Bobby Watson, Terry Gibbs, Buddy Defranco, Vincent Herring, Javon Jackson, Stanley Cowell, Antonio Hart, David Sanborn, Geoff Keezer, James Genus, Onaje Allen Gumbs, Don Alias, Don Braden, Victor Goines, Anthony Wonsey, John Lee, Delbert Felix, Vic Juris, Lonnie Plaxico, David Leibman, Sean Jones, Marquis Hill, Gerald Clayton, Arturo O’Farrill, Randy Brecker, Chuck Israels, George Colligan, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, John Patitucci, Cyrus Chestnut, Kamasi Washington, Orrin Evans, Samus Blake, Ben Williams, Aaron Goldberg, Sara Gazarek, and Mel Brown.

Aside from Christopher’s first big musical break coming in the form of a month-long European tour with Roy Hargrove’s Quintet in the summer of 2006, he has also spent some more time in front of the camera between commercials for Master Card and the History Channel, re-enactment scenes on the Maury Povich show, Beyonce’s “Count Down” video, and the big budget film “American Gangster,” starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

He’s a former Ambassador Council board member for Habitat for Humanity (Portland Region), a current steering committee member for “TASTE for Equity” (OR), a part of the 2025 class of TEDx presenters (OR), can be found performing several times a month at Portland’s famed 1905 Jazz club, has released a debut album entitled “Sole City” on the PJCE record label, and can be found periodically engaged in speaking engagements for businesses, academic settings, and non-profits.