Brian Chris Rogers is a local musician whose sound has evolved to become a hybrid of jazz and funk with influences from Prince, George Michael and Michael Jackson.

His unique sounds have kept him heavily involved in Sacramento’s music scene for over a decade while also touring internationally and further developing his talents.

What all started on a clarinet in middle school has resulted in Rogers winning four Sammie Awards for his performances in funk and jazz, being inducted into the Sammie Hall of Fame, landing a gig playing a private party for comedian Chris Tucker and even getting involved in helping artists in Nicaragua record their own music for the first time.

Ironically, there was period of time when Rogers didn’t like music at all.

“Well, I came onto the scene in 1983,” Rogers rhythmically recalled.

Growing up in the ‘80s, his biggest inspirations were some of the artists that were featured on MTV far more often than the others.

“That’s all I knew about music because my parents weren’t into it, and honestly, George Michael and MJ were also just dope on screen.”

As he got a little older, the channel’s focus shifted to different artists such as Def Leppard and Poison.

“I wasn’t really into music anymore,” he said. “I think it was because of the hair metal that MTV started to air at the time. Because it was on their station, I thought that genre was now synonymous with music. I thought ‘I don’t like music,’ just because that genre wasn’t for me.”

Fortunately for him, his mom forced him to take lessons in seventh grade and re-explore his passion for music.

“I picked up the clarinet at first,” he said. It was about as easy as it could get.”

According to Rogers, he eventually found himself drawn to the bass and learned from a man named Mike Kelly, a “badass blind bass guru” who taught him how to really feel the music.

From there, he went on to lead three award-winning bands here in Sacramento and has shared the bill with No Doubt, The Killers and Snoop Dogg.

In 2015, after his solo career had become his primary focus, he eventually got involved with A Real PURPOSE, a project spearheaded by some of his friends.

“My friend Joe Baker had invited me to get involved with what was just a baby project at the time,” he said.

The program had already gone to Haiti, Jamaica and northern Africa to provide recording equipment and backup for artists who wouldn’t normally have access to those.

“We practically brought a whole studio with us,” he said. “I had to perform a Bob Marley song for the airport security in Nicaragua because they didn’t believe that all of my gear was just for music.”

By the end of the 10-day trip, Rogers had helped 30 artists record 67 songs.

While he doesn’t have any similar trips planned at the moment, Rogers is preparing to release new music soon.

“I don’t know if it’ll be an album or just music for videos, but I’ll be definitely be recording a lot in the coming weeks”

Brian Chris Rogers will be playing in the Redwood Room in The Union at Noon on Jan. 24. You can check out his music on his official website and on Spotify.