Kansas City's Julian Vaughn is an adept, soulful bassist who makes his own brand of gospel-influenced smooth jazz and instrumental R&B. Growing up the grandson and son of preachers, Vaughn first became interested in music while playing in his church band. Starting out on drums, Vaughn eventually discovered his love of bass, and by age 19 was teaching himself how to improvise. Influenced by such artists as Wayman Tisdale and Marcus Miller, Vaughn began catching the ears of local musicians. Gigs followed, and in 2006 he released his independent debut album, Behind the Scenes. Three years later Vaughn returned with his sophomore independent release, The Purpose Project, which featured contributions from bassist Mel Brown and saxophonist Darren Rahn. Brown and Rahn were also on board for Vaughn's third studio album, 2012's Breakthrough, on Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records. In 2015, Vaughn delivered his fourth album (and second for Trippin 'N' Rhythm Records), Limitless, which featured appearances by saxophonists Rahn and Elan Trotman, flutist Althea Rene, and others. The studio effort Bona Fide, featuring contributions from saxophonist Steve Cole, keyboardist Nicholas Cole, and trumpeter Lin Rountree, followed in 2017. Vaughn returned two years later with the silky and melodic Supreme, his sixth LP. ~ Matt Collar