The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University is proud to be hosting a special discussion event with Grammy-winning Columbia Records artist, producer, songwriter and entrepreneur Raphael Saadiq
as the final event in our Motown U record label series.

Oakland’s Raphael Saadiq emerged in the 1980s as the front man for platinum selling r&b group Tony! Toni! Tone! before becoming one of the chief architects of today’s modern soul. He’s written and produced some of the seminal records of the last 20 years for artists like D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Q-Tip, Snoop Dogg, Macy Gray, TLC, the Roots, Joi, Mary J. Blige, Angie Stone, Bilal, Ginuwine, Kelis and many others.

A record label founder (and more recently a video game entrepreneur), Saadiq also fronted Grammy-nominated supergroup Lucy Pearl in the early 2000s, and his solo albums have included Instant Vintage, which earned five Grammy nominations in 2003, and 2004’s Ray-Ray.

His 2008 three-time Grammy nominated Motown-inspired album The Way I See It, featuring Stevie Wonder, Joss Stone and Jay-Z, is his most successful project to date. Entertainment Weekly’s A-grade review of The Way I See It says: ‘Backed by a 
 galvanizing ensemble of musicians that would make the Funk Brothers proud, Saadiq belts out effervescent love songs with infectious vigor.’

In this rare onstage conversation, Saadiq talks about his rich array of musical influences, his musicianship and his unique approach to producing and writing records that matter.

This is a FREE event but RSVP is required. Seats are limited, first-come first-served. No one will be admitted without a reservation. Because of the limited number of seats, there are no plus ones for this event; only unique RSVPs will be honored.
Unclaimed RSVPs will be reclaimed fifteen minutes prior to the start of the event. Please arrive early.

MAKING AN RSVP DOES NOT GUARANTEE ADMISSION. State or University issued i.d. is required for admittance.

CLICK HERE to MAKE AN RSVP.

There is no filming or photography of any sort allowed in the venue; failure to comply may mean removal from the venue.

Motown U Series curated by Clive Davis Department Artistic Director Jason King

The great Leon Ware and soul music star John Legend in rare conversation on the true meaning of sensuality in popular music, from a forthcoming documentary.

The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU is proud to have the great performer-songwriter-producer Leon Ware residing with us in the department this week, in conjunction with our ongoing Motown U conversation series.

For the uninitiated, the Detroit born Mr. Ware is one of the great under-appreciated songwriters and producers. He helped craft the sound of sensual soul music in the 70s and he’s best known for crafting Marvin Gaye’s classic 1976 I Want You – a deeply challenging and complex album of romantic melancholy. No study of Motown is complete without some attention to the work of Leon Ware.

The delicate, sensual Leon Ware sound rippled throughout the industry and artists like Todd Rundgren, Massive Attack, Madonna, and John Legend would later praise his work and cite it as a source of inspiration. In the 1990s, r&b artist Maxwell sought out Leon Ware to help him craft his groundbreaking Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite album.

Among Leon Ware’s many hits songs: “I Wanna Be Where You Are” for Michael Jackson, “Inside My Love” for Minnie Riperton, “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” for Quincy Jones/ The Average White Band, and “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” for Maxwell. A heavily sampled songwriter, he has had many solo projects for major labels and he is currently signed to Concord/Universal: his most recent album was 2008’s critically acclaimed Moon Ride.

Leon Ware will be visiting Recorded Music classes this week as a guest speaker. And on 10/9 he will headline a special event at the Audio Engineering Society convention to discuss the songwriting and producing behind Marvin Gaye’s classic album I Want You. We’ve also arranged a secret performance/discussion industry event while he’s here.

Check out Leon Ware on the web.

This Fall, The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University is proud to commemorate Motown’s 50th anniversary year with a FREE eclectic conversation series on the famous record label, open to students and the general public.

NYU students also get to attend private, closed Motown events, and they can enroll in accredited courses on the label.

ABOUT MOTOWN

Started in 1959 in Detroit by budding entrepreneur Berry Gordy, Motown was boldly named “Hitsville USA,” serving as a label home to such artists as Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, Mary Wells, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, The Jackson 5, the Four Tops, and many others. Motown changed the concept of the record label and redefined the very idea of entrepreneurship in recorded music, serving as core inspiration to artists from The Beatles to Beyoncé.

ABOUT THE SERIES

MOTOWN U kicked off on Thursday September 17th with REMEMBERING MICHAEL JACKSON, an exciting panel discussion celebrating the music and career of the pop superstar (who got his start on Motown in 1969 with The Jackson 5). The panel featured luminaries Spike Lee, Margo Jefferson and others.

The next event, held on October 9th and 10th: a rare conversation with Motown Artist Development co-founder MAXINE POWELL, now in her 90s. Ms. Powell will also perform a masterclass for NYU students demonstrating her artist training techniques. This event is produced in collaboration with NYU’s Gallatin School for Individualized Study.

The series will focus on lesser-known artists and executives associated with Motown, such as R&B superstar and Rick James protégée TEENA MARIE and songwriter-producer LEON WARE who famously penned the 1976 classic, I Want You album for Marvin Gaye.

MOTOWN COURSES

NYU students also have had the unique opportunity this Fall to enroll in a 14-week course, The Motown Legacy, taught by Harry Weinger, Grammy-winning reissue producer and Vice President at Universal Music Enterprises, where he helps oversee the Motown catalog. NYU Gallatin School professor and award-winning playwright Michael Dinwiddie is offering students a course entitled The Motown Matrix: Race, Gender and Class Identity in the Sound of Young America.

New York University’s Clive Davis Department Artistic Director Jason King, who is curating the MOTOWN U series, felt it was important for students to know more about the record label in its 50th Anniversary year. “Through brilliant music,” King remarked, “Motown helped integrate blacks and whites and rewrite the narrative of race and class in America. No serious student of music and the music business can afford not to know about Motown.”

RSVP AND SCHEDULING

The schedule and RSVP information for the rest of the series will be posted on this blog as the events unfold. Join our blog, Facebook and Twitter sites to be the first to find out about events.

Stay tuned!