Bio

Paul Perez began playing the saxophone in 1974 wile a sophomore at Porterville High School in California. In 1976 as a senior, he was voted Outstanding Bandsman and garnered the Outstanding Soloist Awart at the local Wasco Jazz Festival. By graduation he had performed throughout the central San Joaquin Valley club circuit and toured cross country with performances as far north as “Blood alley” in Vancouver, Canada and east to the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

In 1977, he began formal saxophone studies with friend and mentor Roy Meder. While performing in the Bay Area, an opportunity to play with the R&B band Cold Blood arose and the decision to pursue a professional music career was made. This led Mr. Perez to enroll at the L.A. Jazz Workshop under the tutelage of Bill Yeager. While there Mr. Perez studied under many notable saxophonists including: Don Menza, Pete Christlieb (Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show Band), Bill Green, Lanny Morgan, Matt Cattinbug, Jackie Kelso, and Don Rafael. The workshop environment provided invaluable experience playing in a variety of music settings ranging from jazz quartets to big band ensembles, involving music as diverse as Count Basie to Tower of Power. This led to several years of “wood-sheding” and “payin’ dues” as Mr. Perez performed throughout the L.A. area.