Adams grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and while attending Westmoor High School in Daly City he had already established a reputation as a musical prodigy.

[1] He had made plans to attend the Berklee School of Music in Boston, but instead accepted an invitation to join Tower of Power for their first album, East Bay Grease (1970).

In 1995 Adams recorded his first solo album, Hidden Agenda (Epic), which reached #1 on the U.S. smooth jazz charts.

Adams has recorded with and/or arranged for other artists, including Chicago, Heart, Elton John, Huey Lewis and the News, Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, and Carlos Santana.

In 1989 he was nominated (with Paul Shaffer) for an Emmy Award for his arrangements for the Late Night with David Letterman seventh anniversary special.