Raphael saadiq ask of you piano portable#

When I gave it to Andra, she started flowing so hard over it.” I was sitting there playing not knowing how it would sound, and it just oozed out of me really fast. “I’d just gotten out of COVID myself, and I had all of these different emotions in me anyway. The multi-instrumentalist knew that retreating to that piano in his mom’s living room could be therapeutic. Not able to visit her in the hospital because of the pandemic, Saadiq would casually chat about jazz with both the film’s director Lee Daniels and Day. Last year, he watched his mother get treated for a stroke, heart attack, and memory loss.

Raphael saadiq ask of you piano portable#

26.Ī distorted but swingin’ melody underneath Day’s syrupy vocals, “Tigress & Tweed” was created after Saadiq set up his portable studio by his barely touched, slightly out-of-tune piano at his mom’s house that he learned to play as a kid. Saadiq, an Oakland native born Charlie Ray Wiggins, recently earned another Golden Globe nomination for singer/actress Andra Day’s “Tigress & Tweed” from the Hulu feature also starring her, The United States vs. “Barry said to me nicely, ‘We could get a better take.’ We just looked at each other and smiled, and that moment was golden for me because it let me know that’s why I was there.” “Whitney was such a sweet lady who made you feel like you were working with your sister,” the “Ask of You” and “Still Ray” singer remembers. Moments like explaining to Bee Gees member Barry Gibb that he gave a bad take during a session in 1997 and producing “Fine” with rapper Q-Tip for vocalist Whitney Houston in 2000 are some of what Saadiq says are the “fun” parts of his storied career. Performing live ignites Saadiq, but the Grammy-winning producer responsible for Solange’s “Cranes in the Sky,” Erykah Badu’s “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop),” Bilal’s “Soul Sista, Total’s “Kissing You,” and D’Angelo’s “Untitled (How Does It Feel?)” prefers lending his ear to bring an artist’s vision to life on wax. I just try to take notes from my peers to see how we can get things accomplished.” “I guess I’ve been around it my whole life and just have this huge memory bank. “I remain a fan of great music, and that’s what keeps me relevant,” Saadiq, now 54, said.

The founding member of R&B outfit Tony! Toni! Tone! and ensemble trio Lucy Pearl has performed with Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, John Mellencamp, Stevie Wonder, Ludacris, Nile Rodgers, Elton John, and Snoop Dogg.

He’s a sought-after recording artist, musician, composer and producer that’s cool not being in the limelight. Thirty-five years later, Saadiq’s attention to detail paid off nicely.