[acid-jazz] So who in the hell is Leon Ware Anyhow???

From: Bob Davis (earthjuice_at_prodigy.net)
Date: 2005-12-17 13:39:08

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    He's one of the baddest mo' fo's in the history of BLACK MUSIC
    This bio is taken from his website...
    http://www.leonware.com/

    IF YOU ARE ANYWHERE NEAR BROOKLYN TONIGHT, YOU NEED TO BRING YO AZZ ON
    THRU....

    AT - FRANKS - 660 FULTON STREET, BROOKLYN
    12/17/2006

    ....and now it can be told
    We got something special for yall
    The past meets the future
    The REAL sh*t
    LIVE and IN "LIVING COLOR"

    IN BROOKLYN

    ONE NIGHT ONLY.....A SOUL MUSIC SPECTACULAR

    **SONNY-BOY - BRINGING THE PAST INTO THE FUTURE

    **LEON WARE - BRINING THE FUTURE TO THE PAST

    **ST. JUSTE

    and that is no misprint.....I SAID

    LEON WARE

    DAT'S RIGHT A TRIPLE PLAY OF...

    GREAT BLACK MUSIC
    FROM THE ANCIENT TO THE FUTURE

    IN BROOKLYN NY

    AT - FRANKS - 660 FULTON STREET, BROOKLYN

    IS TEN BUCKS TOO MUCH TO ASK TO BE A PART OF HISTORY??????

    me & "ISH" will MC this historic event that will...

    ROCK BROOKLYN TO IT'S VERY CORE
    --------------------------------------------

    "Can you cherish any place greater than where you come from?"
    - Leon Ware

    From the lips of songwriter/singer great Leon Ware, philosophy, sexuality
    and comedy often co-exist within the same statement. It is the signature
    characteristic of one devilishly evolved angel - a man deeply in touch with
    thewhisper-thin strands of synchronicity that cradle our existence on this
    earth like a weathered hammock in the breeze.

    Thus the title of Leon Ware's tenth album, A Kiss in the Sand, a seamless
    blending of the Detroit-native's jazz and soul roots with the ebullient
    melodies and rhythms of Brazil. 'Sand', a metaphor for the element from
    which all mankind was made. 'Kiss', a prayerful bestowment of affection on
    mankind in hopes that we get our act together for the sake of our future
    generations. In the title track, which he co-penned with Marcos Valle, a
    Brazilian friend of over 20 years, Ware writes:

    "Sweet kiss in the sand / This love in our hands / Goes on and on and
    on...."

    "I'm always considering all the possibilities of what I say," Leon states
    through laughter that comes easily, heartily and often. "I guess that's what
    makes me a bit of a writer. In the few more breaths I have on this planet, I
    am hungry to say some things that will be useful to the world - a world that
    deserves a lot better than it is giving itself."

    The 14-song A Kiss in the Sand, primarily co-produced by Leon Ware with
    Brazilian guitarist Sandro Albert, is a collection impeccably balanced
    between serenely sentimental soundscapes such as "Night In Brazil," "Away"
    and the breathtaking "Warm Inside" (co-written with Adrienne Anderson) with
    elegantly spiritual statements such as "Hearts Alive" (co-written with
    Japan's Kanafu Marie), "I Believe In Love" and the meditative "Live In My
    Love Forever." It is a concept Ware and Albert have dubbed "R & Bossa," also
    the name of Leon's new band.

    Citing two songs as examples, Mr. Ware explains, "'The Light' reflects my
    belief about what men should be to each other - a light that eventually
    becomes one. We are not moments in time, but timeless lights. 'Spirits
    Lovin'' (featuring singers James Ingram and Billy Valentine) is a
    continuation of 'The Light.' I see the people of the world as spirits - 5
    billion strong."

    If you assumed that A Kiss in the Sand was all about lovers on the beach,
    you're not far from the sandy path that leads to Leon's door. Intimacy has
    ever been a hallmark of Leon Ware's transcendental classics - from Marvin
    Gaye's "I Want You" and "After the Dance" to Minnie Riperton's "Inside My
    Love" and "Can You Feel What I'm Saying." It's been the crux on which
    destinies were determined from Michael Jackson's "I Wanna Be Where You Are"
    (1971) to Maxwell's "Sumthin' Sumthin'" (1996). So on the new album, when
    you hear a song like "Easy Mover" (co-penned with Guilherme Verguerio) and
    think it's about a woman, it is actually the ocean of which he speaks.
    Listen with your heart, mind and soul open wide. Even at his most fervent,
    it is as if Leon is whispering into your earlobe...vulnerably yet
    shamelessly serenading you from your soul to your toes.

    For Leon Ware, sensuality is the hook with which he reels you in from a
    rocky bluff just up yonder. But what he lays on you once he's got you goes
    deeper than the loins can feel and further than the eyes can see. Remember
    "Rolling Down A Mountainside" by The Main Ingredient? "Whether you're saints
    or sinners / Smile and share / Sunlight as well as shadows / While you learn
    that everyone cares / Everyone out there / Has a cross to bear." It touched
    Isaac Hayes so deeply that he sang it in the unforgettable concert film,
    Wattstax (released on DVD this year). And then there's Donny Hathaway
    singing Leon's "I Know It's You," a spiritual rewritten as a love song to be
    shopped to soul men by his publishers. It took an intuitive master like
    Hathaway only one listen to see through the lingerie of the lyric into the
    gospel at its very core.

    This delicious dichotomy has resulted in Leon Ware being ordained "The
    Sensual Minister." He even has a business card to back it up. "My mother was
    a Baptist," Ware begins by way of an explanation. "I went to church almost 7
    days a week up until I was 10. She played piano and I sang. I went from that
    to living with Jewish friends, Buddhists and experiencing other cultures.
    I've come to see that all religions lead to the same door."

    "My religion is Sensualism," Leon muses, "and I'm as sincere as any rabbi or
    priest. I'm proud to be one of the initiaries reminding people to recognize
    that we, ourselves, are a part of God, yet man still has not learned to
    respect his differences. Insecurity has been our nemesis, but that will be
    overcome! Then man will realize his true purpose - men waking up each
    morning to magnify each other. All obstacles in opposition to the joining of
    the spirits will have their day."

    Arriving at the apex of his message, Ware continues, "Not many men have
    understood what real power is. Most men that attain power surround
    themselves with palaces or pyramids, money and gold. Most men want to
    oppress others, but a true intellect never seeks to be above. It yearns to
    be within. Power is what the sun does. It gives life and magnifies. True
    Power is when you make everything around you as powerful as you."

    This message rings throughout A Kiss in the Sand. The album had its
    beginnings twelve years ago as Night in Brazil. It was the passing of Leon's
    daughter, Laura - following a lengthy bout with cancer - that crystallized
    its current incarnation. Leon co-wrote "Straight To My Soul" with her and
    dedicates A Kiss in the Sand to her memory. "My daughter's dying - what I
    prefer to call her point of arrival - was a lesson," Leon says softly.
    "Through it, I have not lost, but gained another dimension. I carry for her
    the same love as if she was physically here...ever growing. I'm learning to
    respect death as a transition - as a growing place. We must cherish every
    second."

    Leon Ware's legacy is already sealed. Hits such as "If I Ever Lose This
    Heaven" and "I Wanna Be Where You Are" have been covered within the last two
    years by veteran Will Downing and newcomer Lisa Deveaux, respectively. "The
    Door," a contemporary Ware collaboration with blues man Keb Mo, was
    nominated for a Grammy. His songs have been sung "all around the world" in
    languages ranging from Portugese to Japanese. His music has been sampled by
    young artists ranging from The Artist (Prince), Aaliyah and Brandy to A
    Tribe Called Quest, 2Pac and 50 Cent's G-Unit. 2004 also found Ware in the
    studio coaxing the muse with Raphael Saadiq. And he's already at work
    diligently chiseling his next R&B masterpiece. "I'm always doing something,"
    Ware assures. "I'm either in the studio or on my way to it!"

    With the release of A Kiss in The Sand, Leon Ware will now aggressively
    pursue a dream that has been tugging at his soul all his life - that of
    becoming an international touring performer. He has already graced the
    stages of the North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival and Vienna
    Jazz Festival, as well as London's intimate Jazz Café. The Dutch Public
    Broadcasting company videotaped his career retrospective at the swank
    Paradiso venue in Amsterdam for the television special, ParadisoLife. Now he
    plans to take his musical massage everywhere he can and give the people a
    more literal, soulful kiss they can really feel - up close and personal.

    "I've been more of a behind the scenes individual," Ware admits, "even
    though I'm in a field that calls for me to be just the opposite. I simply
    prefer writing and producing. My nature is low profile, but I'm going to
    appreciate being high profile. It's time.and I'm excited! I have several
    views that I'm looking forward to sharing and clarifying with my public."
    A. Scott Galloway September 2004
    -----------------------------------
    He's one of the baddest mo' fo's in the history of BLACK MUSIC
    This bio is taken from his website...
    http://www.leonware.com/

    IF YOU ARE ANYWHERE NEAR BROOKLYN TONIGHT, YOU NEED TO BRING YO AZZ ON
    THRU....

    AT - FRANKS - 660 FULTON STREET, BROOKLYN
    12/17/2006

    ....and now it can be told
    We got something special for yall
    The past meets the future
    The REAL sh*t
    LIVE and IN "LIVING COLOR"

    IN BROOKLYN

    ONE NIGHT ONLY.....A SOUL MUSIC SPECTACULAR

    **SONNY-BOY - BRINGING THE PAST INTO THE FUTURE

    **LEON WARE - BRINING THE FUTURE TO THE PAST

    **ST. JUSTE

    and that is no misprint.....I SAID

    LEON WARE

    DAT'S RIGHT A TRIPLE PLAY OF...

    GREAT BLACK MUSIC
    FROM THE ANCIENT TO THE FUTURE

    IN BROOKLYN NY

    AT - FRANKS - 660 FULTON STREET, BROOKLYN

    IS TEN BUCKS TOO MUCH TO ASK TO BE A PART OF HISTORY??????

    me & "ISH" will MC this historic event that will...

    ROCK BROOKLYN TO IT'S VERY CORE
    ----------------------------------------
    Bob Davis
    earthjuice_at_prodigy.net
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