Warren Hill

Saxophonist Warren Hill entered the world in Toronto as one of five siblings and first picked up the guitar at eight years old, later fronting a neighborhood rock band during his teenage years. He initially approached the saxophone merely as a requirement for his school ensemble, yet a summer jazz program at the Eastman School in Rochester, NY, prompted him to devote himself fully to the instrument. While absorbing the style of David Sanborn, Hill balanced weekend gigs with a local group against his physics coursework at the University of Toronto before leaving school to commit entirely to music. He next spent time at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where several featured solos on his 1988 graduation day caught the ear of producer Russ Titleman, who promptly booked him for a Chaka Khan session. Hill soon moved to Los Angeles, cut a demo that secured an RCA contract, and saw his first album, Kiss Under the Moon, arrive in 1991, after which he supported Natalie Cole on her Unforgettable tour. The 1993 single “The Passion Theme,” drawn from the film Body of Evidence, topped the NAC chart; Devotion appeared next, followed by Truth in 1995. Shelter, released in 1997, marked his first inclusion of vocals alongside his saxophone work, with Life Thru Rose Colored Glasses emerging the following year and Love Life issued in August 2000. A set of romantic selections titled Love Songs came out in 2002, and PopJazz arrived in 2005. In 2008 Hill signed with Koch and delivered La Dolce Vita.