Maxwell Tickets

Short Biography
In an age of immediacy, the idea of waiting sounds hopelessly outdated. But that said, there is something to be said about anticipation. Such is the case with Maxwell's new album. Yes, after an extended hiatus, the sexy ambassador of soul has returned with a brand new look and a fresh yet deliciously vintage sound. The same artist who brought us classic songs like "Sumthin' Sumthin'," "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" and "Lifetime" (not to mention the unforgettably ethereal cover of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work") is back with a challenging, mature, sensual, courageous and emotionally open album entitled, BLACKsummers'night (Columbia). BLACKsummers'night, the first installment of a tri...

Short Biography
In an age of immediacy, the idea of waiting sounds hopelessly outdated. But that said, there is something to be said about anticipation. Such is the case with Maxwell's new album. Yes, after an extended hiatus, the sexy ambassador of soul has returned with a brand new look and a fresh yet deliciously vintage sound. The same artist who brought us classic songs like "Sumthin' Sumthin'," "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" and "Lifetime" (not to mention the unforgettably ethereal cover of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work") is back with a challenging, mature, sensual, courageous and emotionally open album entitled, BLACKsummers'night (Columbia). BLACKsummers'night, the first installment of a trilogy, is a collection well worth the wait.

His fourth studio album and first in eight years, BLACKsummers'night is the sound of an artist taking the commitment to his craft and the conversation with his audience that much further. Needless to say, it is a conversation that's been overdue; but as the soft-spoken, multi-platinum artist sees it, in order to come back it was necessary to step away. "I wanted to return to ‘what was the promise?'" Maxwell offers. "What did my music and creativity speak of to people? For me, coming back to that promise was kind of where my heart was really gravitating towards. I didn't intentionally step away from all of it, but I just wanted to...live my life a little bit, and then be able to make music with that pure experience again."

He might have been out of the spotlight, but Maxwell along with long time collaborator and friend Hod David, had begun crafting BLACKsummers'night several years ago. The album is the first installment of a trilogy entitled BLACKSUMMERS'NIGHT. BLACK is a much darker but soulful compilation, SUMMERS' leans more toward the gospel side and NIGHT is more a cool collection of slow jams. By late 2008, the process of polishing and shaping the album was full on. Though having much of his creative team on board, Maxwell still approached the creative process with extreme caution and the painstaking meticulousness of a true genius. "Every time I'd get in the studio it would be like am I trying to outdo this last record? I just wanted to make a really good record." Of course, what Maxwell's notoriously modest character failed to warn was that what he was creating was more than "good" but rather (like his other projects) a timeless piece of work.

On June 24th Maxwell galvanized an unsuspecting audience at the 2008 BET Awards with a live rendition of Al Green's classic song, "Simply Beautiful." It would be his first live performance in seven years. Without his signature afro or silk mono-chromatic suit, it was hard to tell if this six-foot tall body was merely a mirage or indeed the man that for so many years had left legions of devoted fans wanting more. But after uttering the first gentle lyric ("If I gave you my love...") everyone remembered and so did Maxwell. The unforgettable performance became one of the most talked about in 2008. It left each audience member (regular folk and superstar celebrities alike) rejoicing that unquestionably authentic soul sound that was denied to them for far too long. Overwhelmed and inspired by the ecstatically warm response, Maxwell decided to boldly hit the road, with no album, nor concrete plan to follow. Less than two months later the artist announced the launch of his much speculated 2008 BLACKSUMMERS'NIGHT tour. Maxwell initiated the tour with his first concert at South Africa's Macufe Music Festival. Maxwell sold out 10,000 seats and was given honorary South African citizenship. The show, which aired on "BET's Access Granted," was not only his first concert (as well as on-air interview) in seven years; it was his first show ever in South Africa.

In the U.S., all 144,000 tickets for the tour sold out within minutes of their onsale date. An overwhelming demand for Maxwell caused the original 26-date tour to be extended to 33 dates. He performed in all the major cities including New York; selling out the renowned Radio City Music Hall and uptown New York's 3,000 seat theater, The United Palace. New York Times writer Jon Caramanica asserts, "Maxwell has something that his emulators lack: complexity...some of the most potent moments [at Radio City] came in the pregnant spaces between notes, with Maxwell managing to hold a feeling even with his mouth shut."

For Maxwell the opportunity to get back on stage and receive such an enormous response, especially without an album to support, was revelatory and further inspired him to complete his oft delayed album. "That experience is something for which I am beyond grateful. To be able to take a risk and to have that genuine interest from people is so rare. It actually made making this record even more precious. It was that pure energy. It was like, ‘oh, this is why I do it.' It's because people care about real music and they'll wait for you."

In 1996, a then 23-year old Brooklyn born phenomenon took the music world by storm with his debut, Urban Hang Suite. (He signed to Columbia Records at the tender age of 21, already having composed more than 300 songs before signing on to the major label.) The critically acclaimed CD received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album and went on to achieve double platinum status. Maxwell's MTV: Unplugged (1997) achieved gold status with his live rendition of "This Woman's Work." He was heralded as the future of soul music and proved his staying power when he followed up with 1998's platinum seller Embrya. In 1999 Maxwell's single, "Fortunate" (off of the LIFE soundtrack) became Billboard magazine's number one hit of the year. Maxwell's third album, Now (2001) debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart; selling 300,000 copies its maiden week and eventually also reaching double platinum status. The album was appropriately described by Entertainment Weekly as "A velvetined gauntlet thrown at the feet of today's bling-bling-obsessed R&B pack."

To hear Maxwell explain it, as much as his fans were waiting for him, he was waiting for them--and in the process of finding himself. "Sometimes I can't believe I do this because you're living your life. Going to the corner store, taking out the garbage and the next thing you know you're on stage at Radio City Music Hall. It's such a humbling thing and you'd think it would make my ego go out of control but I feel humility. Like this is why I need to do this. It's not about your ego. It's about celebrating your opportunity and the blessing to work and the joy you can possibly bring to people. That's how it all resonated with me."

In-depth Biography
Along with fellow founders D'Angelo and Erykah Badu, Maxwell was enormously important in defining and shaping the neo-soul movement that rose to prominence over the latter half of the '90s. Drawing his greatest inspiration from the concept of the R&B auteur (looking to artists like Prince, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, etc.), Maxwell recorded some of the most ambitious R&B of his time, becoming wildly popular and often earning critical raves in the process. What was more, his recurring theme of romantic monogamy set him apart from the vast majority of his bump'n'grind lover-man contemporaries.

Maxwell was born May 23, 1973, in Brooklyn, NY; he adopted his middle name as his stage moniker, keeping his real identity a closely guarded secret out of concern for his family's privacy. Born of Puerto Rican and black Caribbean stock, Maxwell suffered the loss of his father (in a plane crash) when he was just three years old. The experience made him a deeply religious child, and he first began singing in his Baptist church. Still, he didn't really get serious about music until age 17, when he began writing his own songs using a cheap Casio keyboard given to him by a friend. Initially influenced by early-'80s urban R&B, he progressed rapidly, and by 1991 he was performing on the New York club scene, despite ridicule from classmates who couldn't imagine the shy, awkward teenager doing anything of the sort. After making a name for himself, he signed a recording contract with Columbia in 1994.

Maxwell recorded his debut album that year, working extensively with several collaborators: songwriter Leon Ware (who'd co-written much of the material on Marvin Gaye's I Want You album in 1976), guitarist Wah Wah Watson (who'd also worked with Gaye), and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Matthewman (a longtime cohort of Sade). Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite was a romantic concept album in the vein of Gaye's greatest '70s work, with a more modern flavor courtesy of Prince's influence; inspired by a brief but intense affair, the record's giddy celebration of committed monogamy could have come off as old-fashioned as its classic influences, given the marketplace dominance of hip-hop soul at the time. Partly for those fears, it wasn't released right away, although a series of shake-ups in Columbia's management played a bigger role in the delay. It wasn't until the spring of 1996 that Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite finally appeared. Sales were slow to take off at first, even though Maxwell scored some airplay with "...Til the Cops Come Knockin'." The gold-selling second single "Ascension (Never Wonder)" lit the fuse, however, and Urban Hang Suite went platinum before a year had passed, also earning a Grammy nomination.

Now elevated to sex-symbol status, Maxwell capitalized on his breakthrough with the MTV Unplugged EP, taken from his live MTV performance. It attracted attention and acclaim outside the R&B community with the left-field cover choices "This Woman's Work" (by art rocker Kate Bush) and "Closer" (the Nine Inch Nails hit). Additionally, the Unplugged version of "Whenever, Wherever, Whatever" earned him another Grammy nomination (for Best Male Pop Vocal). Anticipation for his second full-length album was high, and when Embrya was released in 1998, it entered the charts at number three. Reviews were more mixed this time around, with some critics charging that Maxwell's ambition had crossed the line into indulgence; still, the record duplicated its predecessor's platinum sales. In 1999, Maxwell scored his biggest hit to date with the single "Fortunate," an R. Kelly composition he recorded for the soundtrack of the film Life; it was a mammoth success, ranking as the number one R&B hit of the year in Billboard magazine. Later that year, he also cut two songs for the soundtrack of The Best Man.

In August 2001, Maxwell returned with his third full-length album, Now, which was touted as a return to the more straightforwardly romantic atmosphere of his debut. It entered the album charts at number one and quickly launched a hit single in "Lifetime." Maxwell didn't resurface until 2008, when he performed Al Green's "Simply Beautiful" as part of the 2008 BET Awards. A handful of intimate performances prefaced his fourth studio album, BLACKsummers'night (the first installment in a promised trilogy of albums), released in July 2009. "Pretty Wings," its lead single, was in the Top 20 of the R&B/Hip-Hop chart within three weeks of its May release. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi