Adam Hawley

Adam Hawley is a guitarist, producer and composer from Portland, Oregon. He moved to Los Angeles to study at the University of Southern California, staying on to complete a doctorate there, and became a busy sideman, playing for Dave Koz, Natalie Cole, Brian McKnight and Jennifer Lopez and in the American Idol house band. In 2015 Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White brought him to his label, Kalimba Music.

His 2016 debut, Just the Beginning, gave him three number-one singles, starting with “35th St.” featuring Eric Darius. Double Vision (2018) brought in Dave Koz, Jeff Lorber and Marcus Anderson, while Escape (2020), the first release on his own MBF Entertainment label, featured Rick Braun, Najee and Michael Lington. Risin’ Up followed in 2021. Billboard named him its Smooth Jazz Airplay Artist of the Year for 2025, a year that brought number ones such as “Automatic” with Dave Koz, which went on to appear on his seventh album, Electric, in 2026.