INSTANT VINTAGE

Personnel includes: Raphael Saadiq (vocals, guitar, bass); D'Angelo, Angie Stone, Calvin Richardson, T-Boz. INSTANT VINTAGE was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album. "Be Here" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Personnel: Raphael Saadiq (vocals, guitar); Kelvin Wooten (vocals, guitar, tuba, piano, organ, keyboards, drums, percussion); Leslie Wilson (vocals); Charles Veal (violin, strings); The South Central Chamber Orchestra (strings); Brandon Fields (tenor saxophone); Greg Adams, Lee Thornburg (trumpet); Nick Lane (trombone); Marvin "Chanz" Parkman (keyboards); Jake & the Phatman (drums, percussion, scratches); Battlecat (drums); Randall Wiggins, Traci Nelson (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Gerry "The Gov" Brown; Glenn Standridge; Daniel Romero; Tony Maserati . Recording information: Blakeslee Recording Company, North Hollywood, CA; Cello Recording Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Darp Studios, Atlanta, GA; Enterprise Recording Studio, Burbank, CA; Larabee Sound Studio East, Los Angeles, CA; Larrabee West Recording Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Musty Attic Studio, Huntsville, AL; O'Henry Sound Studio, Burbank, CA; Tek Lab, Cincinnati, OH; The House Of Blues Recording Studio, Encino, CA; The Mint Recording Studio, Oakland, CA; The Pookie Lab, Sacramento, CA; The Record Plant Recording Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Track Record Studio, North Hollywood, CA. Unknown Contributor Role: DJ Hi-Tek. Though Raphael Saadiq kicked around for much of the '90s, working as bassist, guitarist, and producer for everyone from D'Angelo to the Bee Gees and contributing his own cuts to the soundtracks of such films as RIDE, BABY BOY, and HIGHER LEARNING, 2002's INSTANT VINTAGE is--incredibly enough--his first full-length solo album. The title of the album--and the involvement of such luminaries as Angie Stone and the aforementioned D'Angelo--should be a clue as to the sound here. While Saadiq fully avails himself of cutting-edge production and technology, he's more interested in Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye than in R. Kelly. While he doesn't wave his history-conscious tendencies like a flag, there's more melodicism and good old-fashioned soul to these tunes than you'll find of many contemporaneous R&B recordings.