The Jazz Guitar of

Andy Brown

Biography

Andy Brown is a musician based in Chicago who specializes in what he calls “old-school jazz guitar.” Born in New York in 1975, he has played professionally for thirty years. He has had a varied performing career that has included stints in Cincinnati and New York City. He has been called a “superior mainstream guitarist” in Downbeat magazine.

Since coming to Chicago in 2003, Andy has been fortunate to work at many of the area's finest jazz venues with his own bands, as well as playing his unique brand of solo jazz guitar. He has... read more →

Press

"Inspiring music-making isn't necessarily loud, aggressive, self-aggrandizing or heavily promoted. Consider what happens early every Wednesday night at Andy's Jazz Club, where the superb but serenely understated Chicago guitarist Andy Brown leads a quartet. Like him, his band mates speak softly but poetically. Brown's pastel tones, softly stated melody lines and delicately rolled chords conveyed remarkable intimacy and the guitarist's solo on "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" made a strong, soulful case for melodic simplicity... read more →

News [updated August 2026]

I have some really cool gigs coming up that I wanted to let you know about...

Friday and Saturday August 7th and 8th - I'll be at doing a special weekend performance at Andy's Jazz Club. One of the world's great trumpet players Jon-Erik Kellso will be visiting from NYC and joining my quartet (with Jeremy Kahn on piano, Joe Policastro on bass and Phil Gratteau on drums) for two nights of swinging mainstream and traditional jazz. In case you're not familiar with Jon, here's a little about him: Since moving from Detroit to NYC in 1989 to join Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso has enjoyed performing with a wide array of musical stylists, including Catherine Russell, Dick Hyman, Levon Helm, Leon Redbone, and Wynton Marsalis. He can be heard leading the EarRegulars at the historic Ear Inn in NYC on Sunday nights. His sound is recognizable in television and movie soundtracks, such as “Ghost World,” "The Aviator," "Bessie," “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and "Boardwalk Empire" for which the Nighthawks won a Grammy, as well as over 100 recordings. He is truly one of the best and you don't want to miss this! Sets each night at 6pm and 8:15

Wednesday, August 12th - I will be back at one of Chicago's best music venues, Winters Jazz Club. I'll be there with my trio featuring Joe Policastro on bass and Phil Gratteau on drums. We'll be doing two sets of all Brazilian samba and bossa nova music, featuring songs by Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Joao Gilberto, and many others. Winter's is a great listening room and it's always a fun time doing this music with this marvelous trio! Sets at 6:30 and 8:30.

Wednesday, August 19th - I'll be playing with a fantastic trio at Fitzgerald's SideBar in Berwyn, IL. I'll have Greg Fishman on tenor saxophone and Jake Vinsel on bass with me as we enjoy the Wednesday jazz series at Fitzgerald's. Great food from Babygold Barbeque, adult beverages, and jazz guitar trio in this historic roadhouse. What's not to love? We're there from 8:30pm-10:30pm.

I'm also fortunate to play these Steady Gigs every week! Thanks to so many of you who come by and make them special!!

Thursday Solo Jazz Guitar - At Chicago's famed Green Mill Cocktail Lounge. I play behind the bar for the cocktail hour show from 5PM - 7:15PM. No cover, tasty drinks, and I take requests. So many great friends come every week!

Sundays Evening with Quartet at Andy's Jazz Club - Andy Brown Quartet at Andy's Jazz Club. Sets at 6PM and 8:15PM. With drummer Phil Gratteau, bassist Joe Policastro and pianist Jeremy Kahn. Celebrating 12 years together every week, come see how much fun the Swingin' Sundays are at this venerable club!

Info about these and many other gigs can be found on my website's schedule page.

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