Paul Kahn

Paul Kahn was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1949. While an infant, Paul's family moved to New Jersey, where he grew up listening to radio of the 1950's. In high school Paul started playing guitar, while also performing in choral groups. After high school, Paul moved to the Midwest, attending the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he graduated in 1972 with a degree in History. Paul performed in a variety of string bands, playing old time country music, folk, and bluegrass, busking on the street.

Finding bands in need of bass players, Paul took up string bass, spending several years touring, recording, and writing songs. In the late 1970s, he played bass and sang with the bluegrass band, Tasty Licks, which featured teenage banjo sensation Bela Fleck. Rounder Records featured Paul’s original song, “Anchored To The Shore,” as the title track on the band’s 2nd album.

In 1979, Paul founded a boutique music booking agency, Concerted Efforts, where he represented legacy artists, including Rosanne Cash, Booker T. & The MGs, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Ali Farka Toure, Buckwheat Zydeco, and many others. The Blues Foundation in Memphis honored him with a W.C. Handy Award as Agent/Manager of the Year in 1994.

As a songwriter, Paul’s original songs and co-writes have been recorded by C.J. Chenier, Eddy Clearwater, Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson, The Holmes Brothers, Tasty Licks, Kenny Barron, and jazz/blues vocalist Catherine Russell.

In 2004, Paul and Catherine Russell were married. Since then, Paul has co-produced 9 Catherine Russell albums, garnering 3 Grammy® nominations. In 2018, Paul earned a Master's Degree in Jazz History and Research from Rutgers University. He is currently writing a biography of his father-in-law, legendary orchestra leader, pianist, composer, and arranger, the late Luis Russell. In 2025 Catherine Russell produced Paul Kahn's 6 song EP - Willingness, returning the favor.