Stuart Matthewman

Last updated

Stuart Matthewman
Stuart Matthewman.jpg
Background information
Also known asCottonbelly
Born (1960-08-18) 18 August 1960 (age 64)
Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Songwriter
  • record producer
  • musician
Instruments
  • Saxophone
  • guitar
  • keyboards
Years active1982–present
Spouse(s)
Syrie Moskowitz
​
(m. 2020)​

Michele Matthewman
​
​
(m. 1990⁠–⁠2012)​
Website stuartmatthewman.com

Stuart Colin Matthewman (born 18 August 1960), also known as Cottonbelly, is an English songwriter, record producer and musician. [1] He is best known as the guitarist and saxophonist of the band Sade. His work as a member of Sade has earned him four Grammy Awards and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination in 2024. [2] Matthewman has also worked extensively with Maxwell, co-producing the majority of his albums. [3] Additionally, he is also a member of Sweetback.

Contents

Early life and career

Matthewman was born on 18 August 1960 in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. [4] In 1982, he relocated to London.

Joining Latin funk band Pride, Matthewman met singer Sade Adu and they began writing songs together. Teaming with bassist Paul S. Denman and keyboardist Andrew Hale, they formed the band Sade. Sade signed with Epic Records in 1984. In addition to songwriting, Matthewman can be heard on saxophone, guitar, keyboards, and programming. He appeared on all of Sade's tours and albums: Diamond Life , Promise , Stronger Than Pride , Love Deluxe, Lovers Rock , and Soldier of Love all of which went triple platinum in the U.S. and have totalled sales over 40 million albums worldwide.

In 1995, percussionist Karl Vanden Bossche introduced Matthewman to then unknown singer Maxwell. [5] Matthewman co-produced, co-wrote, and played saxophone and guitar on Maxwell's albums: Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (Columbia, 1996), [6] Embrya (Columbia, 1998), Now (Columbia, 2001) and blackSUMMERS'night (Columbia, 2016).

In 1996, Matthewman along with Andrew Hale and Paul Spencer Denman formed the studio band Sweetback. Their work featured instrumental songs and songs with guest vocalists. They released two albums, Sweetback (1996) and Stage 2 (2004). [7]

Matthewman co-wrote, performed, and produced tracks on Santessa's 2000 trip-hop album, Delirium, released on Sony.

Using the pseudonym Cottonbelly, Matthewman released the dub/electronic album, X Amounts of Niceness in 2010 [8] and produced remixes for artists.

Working with Paloma Faith on her third studio album, Matthewman co-wrote two songs on her album A Perfect Contradiction released March 2014. [9] In an interview with Pete Lewis for Blues and Soul print magazine, issue 1098, Paloma Faith discusses working with songwriters: "another person I really clicked with was Stuart Matthewman, who is Sade's co-writer. Basically I found him very easy to work with because to me he is really like a beautiful facilitator. In that I could just hum something to him and, though it could seem like a really shoddy idea, he would somehow immediately just play the right chords that would make it sound like something really special. So yeah, I think working with Stuart was actually one of the best co-writing experiences I've ever HAD - just because he works in very simple ways".

Matthewman was also a member of the group Twin Danger, formed in 2011 with singer/writer Vanessa Bley, daughter of late jazz pianist Paul Bley and pioneer video artist Carol Goss. In 2014, Twin Danger signed to Decca Classics/Universal records and released [10] their eponymously titled album in spring 2015. [11] Vanessa Bley was killed in a car crash on 25 October 2019 in California. [12]

In 1996, Matthewman composed the music the short movie Bajo del Perro by Los Angeles based film makers Mike Polish and Mark Polish. He went on to compose the music scores for various films; [13] with Maxwell the music for the short film To Be A Black Man (1997), [14] and Twin Falls Idaho (1999), [15] Jackpot (2001), Northfork (2003), The Double (2005), [16] The Astronaut Farmer (2006), Life Support (2007), The Smell of Success (2009), Nona (2017) [17] and short Erotic Dreams of the Chelsea Hotel (2017). [18]

Matthewman has discussed diverse musical influences [19] including Junior Walker, King Curtis, Art Pepper, Ernie Isley, Steve Jones, Wah Wah Watson, Issac Hayes, Bill Withers, Lee Perry, Tony Iommi and Gustav Mahler. [20]

Personal life

Married 1990 to Michele Matthewman and separated in 2012. They have one son, Clay Matthewman. Stuart married actor Syrie Moskowitz in September 2020. He is an avid cyclist, and raced with the New York race team, RBNY.

Discography

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<i>The Best of Sade</i> 1994 greatest hits album by Sade

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<i>Diamond Life</i> 1984 studio album by Sade

Diamond Life is the debut studio album by English band Sade, released in the United Kingdom on 16 July 1984 by Epic Records and in the United States on 27 February 1985 by Portrait Records. After studying fashion design, and later modelling, Sade Adu began backup-singing with British band Pride. During this time Adu and three of the original members of "Pride"—Paul Anthony Cook, Paul Denman and Stuart Matthewman—left the group to form their own band called Sade. After various demos and performances, Sade received interest from record labels and signed to Epic.

<i>Lovers Rock</i> (Sade album) 2000 studio album by Sade

Lovers Rock is the fifth studio album by English band Sade, released on 13 November 2000 by Epic Records. The album was titled after a style of reggae music known as lovers rock, noted for its romantic sound and content, which frontwoman Sade Adu listened to in her youth. Lovers Rock was seen as a departure from the band's previous use of jazz elements, opting instead for a wider use of musical elements from soul music, R&B, soft rock, folk music, dub, reggae, neo soul and lovers rock. The album's production has been characterised as spare, with simple arrangements and reggae flourishes. A concept album, the lyrics focus on both the positive and the negative sides of love; the album's lyrical content also touches upon political themes.

<i>Promise</i> (Sade album) 1985 studio album by Sade

Promise is the second studio album by English band Sade, released in the United Kingdom on 4 November 1985 by Epic Records and in the United States on 15 November 1985 by Portrait Records. Recording for the album began in February and lasted until August 1985. The band co-produced the album with the same team of producers they worked with on their debut album, Diamond Life, including Robin Millar, Mike Pela and Ben Rogan. The album's title comes from a letter from Sade Adu's father where he refers to the "promise of hope" to recover from cancer.

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<i>Lovers Live</i> 2002 live album by Sade

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<i>Embrya</i> 1998 studio album by Maxwell

Embrya is the second studio album by American recording artist Maxwell, released on June 30, 1998, by Columbia Records. As on his 1996 debut album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite, he collaborated with record producer and Sade member Stuart Matthewman. A neo soul album, Embrya features heavy basslines, string arrangements, and an emphasis on groove over melodies. It has themes of love and spirituality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiss of Life (Sade song)</span> 1993 single by Sade

"Kiss of Life" is a song by English band Sade from their fourth studio album, Love Deluxe (1992). It was written by Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale and Paul S. Denman, and produced by the band and Mike Pela. The song was released as the album's third single in 1993 by Epic Records. It reached number 44 on the UK Singles Chart and number 78 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while becoming Sade's seventh top-10 single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number 10. It also received significant airplay on smooth jazz radio stations. Albert Watson directed the music video for the song.

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<i>Now</i> (Maxwell album) 2001 studio album by Maxwell

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<i>Maxwells Urban Hang Suite</i> 1996 studio album by Maxwell

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite is the debut album by American R&B singer-songwriter Maxwell. It was recorded in 1994 and 1995, then released on April 2, 1996, by Columbia Records.

Sweetback is an English band composed of members from the band Sade, not including the frontwoman Sade Adu. They are a jazz/funk band with R&B overtones. Stuart Matthewman, Paul Denman and Andrew Hale had been recording with female vocalist Sade Adu since 1984.

<i>Soldier of Love</i> (album) 2010 studio album by Sade

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<i>Bring Me Home: Live 2011</i> 2012 video by Sade

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Denman</span> Musical artist

Paul Spencer Denman is an English songwriter and bass guitarist. With Sade Adu, Andrew Hale, and Stuart Matthewman, Denman gained worldwide fame as the bass guitarist of the English band Sade. He is also a member of the English band Sweetback. In 2024, Denman, along with the rest of the band was nominated for the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

References

  1. ↑ "STUART MATTHEWMAN". Threee.com. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ↑ "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces 2024 induction nominees: See who made the list". wkyc.com. 10 February 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  3. ↑ Garrity, Brian (22 August 2018). "Certified Classics To Rerelease Maxwell's Embrya In Celebration Of The Album's 20th Anniversary September 28th - Sony Music". Sony Music Entertainment. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  4. ↑ "Stuart Matthewman". Stuartmatthewman.com. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Leight, Elias (1 April 2021). "Maxwell Wasn't Sure He Wanted to Be a Star. 'Urban Hang Suite' Left Him No Choice". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "How Maxwell Captured the Sounds of Timeless Soul on 'Urban Hang Suite': 25 Years Later". Ratedrnb.com. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Gunnar Homdrum. "SADE - The Band". Homdrum.net. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Cottonbelly: X Amounts of Niceness, PopMatters". Popmatters.com. 8 August 2004.
  9. ↑ "Paloma Faith: You gotta have faith". Bluesandsoul.com. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Grammy Pro Interview With Twin Danger" . Retrieved 21 April 2021– via YouTube.
  11. ↑ "Twin Danger - Twin Danger". Discogs.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Hayden, Tyler (29 October 2019). "Driver in Fatal 154 Crash Was a Ticking Time Bomb". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "Stuart Matthewman". BFI. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Watch A Throwback: 'To Be A Black Man' By Nelson George Ft. Chris Rock + More". Okayplayer.com.
  15. ↑ "Twin Falls Idaho". Sonyclassics.com. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "The Double". IMDb.com. 15 June 2005.
  17. ↑ Harvey, Dennis (15 December 2018). "Film Review: 'Nona'". Variety.com.
  18. ↑ "The Erotic Dreams of the Chelsea Hotel Trailer". 24 August 2018 – via YouTube.
  19. ↑ [ dead link ]
  20. ↑ "The Couch Sessions". Couchsessions-frontend.netlify.org. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
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