Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq will bring his blend of ‘old school’ 60s and 70s soul to London’s infamous Jazz Café on Monday 10th November where he will perform tracks from his forthcoming album ‘The Way I See It’.
Listening to Raphael, you can imagine his songs being recorded thirty years ago with tracks that are as musically cohesive as soul music was, recorded back in the day. It is as close to any record recorded in Detroit, Chicago, Memphis, Miami and New York by any number of super R&B hit makers to anything recorded since and Raphael brings with him real emotion, real feeling and production values that are simply, right on.
Born and raised in Oakland, California, Raphael learned to play guitar, drums and bass at the age of six. Singing with a professional gospel group by the time he was nine, his musical education encompassed classical music, ‘40’s spirituals, hymns, jazz and, of course, R&B.
As the lead vocalist and bass player with late ’80’s/early ‘90’s group Tony! Toni! Toné!, Raphael experienced his first taste of mega-success. After leaving the group he went on to create the supergroup Lucy Pearl with (with En Vogue’s Dawn Robinson and A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammed) and following that gained production credits for artists such as Macy Gray, TLC and The Roots along with a prestigious Grammy for the song ‘Untitled’ from D’Angelo’s ‘Voodoo’.
His much anticipated first solo album ‘Instant Vintage’ (released on his own Pookie Entertainment imprint) made history when Raphael became the first artist nominated for no less that five Grammy Awards without having a major record deal. He followed this with the live album ‘All Hits at the House of Blues’ and then with the critically acclaimed ‘Ray Ray’.
In demand as a producer, songwriter and musician, Raphael’s impressive list of credits include Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Anthony Hamilton, Kelis, Q-Tip and The Bee Gees to name a few. He was also the main producer and co-writer of seven songs for the ‘Introducing Joss Stone’ project; with Joss Stone also featuring on the track ‘Just One Kiss’ on his forthcoming album.
Influenced by a range of musical greats from Sam Cooke to The Temptations to The Four Tops to Al Green, Raphael’s third solo album, and first with Sony BMG, ‘The Way I See It’ is a masterful collection of new material that speaks to his love for rhythm and blues. It showcases the rich diversity of funky grooves and smooth balladry that is Saadiq’s calling card and is most definitely a present day potent ode to a bygone era.