Leon Ware’s personal Fender Rhodes Piano
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We’re working with Leon Ware’s family in auctioning the Fender Rhodes Suitcase Piano owned and used by the artists from the late 1970s through to his passing. It served as a central instrument in his songwriting process.
Acquired at the height of his career, following his collaborations with Marvin Gaye on ‘I Want You’ (1976), the instrument later became a constant in his studio for decades, evolving with him as his compositions became more layered and expressive.
Fitted with a period Gulbransen MIDI, adaptor it encapsulates the changing studio technologies of the time, bridging analogue tradition with digital expansion.
Much of Ware’s music from this period was composed on this piano, whose warm, immersive tone became a defining part of his sound. It features prominently on ‘Taste the Love’ (1995), a Rhodes-driven bodies of work that reflect his unique creative direction.
👉 Bidding now live on waxpoetics.com
Wax Poetics Selects…
Curated drops of rare, culturally significant music artefacts, sourced directly from the artists, producers and figures behind the records.
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This first edition features: The original multitrack reel from the first recording of Mos Def’s ‘Brooklyn’
Leon Ware’s Fender Rhodes Piano
Large Professor’s signed Akai S950 and J Dilla Vinyl bundle
The official gold sales plaque for Mos Def’s ‘Black on Both Sides’
Four artefacts. Four different entries to music history: the session, the machine, the instrument, and the award.
👉Bidding live now on waxpoetics.com
What makes this Rhodes more than just a keyboard?
For Leon Ware, this was the very instrument that carried his ideas from feeling to form, remaining by his side from the late 1970s until his passing.
During one of the most defining stretches of his career, it became a central voice in his creative world. By then, Ware had already cemented his place as one of soul music’s most influential architects. His work on I Want You(1976) with Marvin Gaye helped reshape the sonic landscape of modern soul into lush, sensual, and emotionally immersive compositions.
It takes center stage on Taste the Love, a project that captures Ware’s evolving artistry, where his writing became richer, more intricate, and emotionally resonant.
His reach extended even further, writing and producing for icons like Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and Minnie Riperton, threading a lineage that stretches from Motown’s golden era into the future of neo-soul.
Built as a Suitcase model, complete with integrated amplifier and speaker cabinet, the instrument reflects the premium studio setups of its time. Later, it was modified with a Gulbransen KS20 MIDI adaptor, a detail that mirrors the shifting landscape of music production and Ware’s willingness to evolve with it.
Played across decades of writing and recording, this Rhodes was the glue behind much of Leon Ware’s musical outputs.
👉Bid on this Rhodes on waxpoetics.com
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Happy 50th Anniversary of I Want You — one of the greatest albums ever made and my personal favorite 👑
Thank you Uncle Leon and Uncle Marvin for blessing us with your genius and for opening the door for artists like myself who love jazz, R&B, soul, pop & funk.
And thank you to Lizz Wright, China Moses & Célia Kameni, who will be joining me this year performing the full album live 🖤
Marvin Gaye’s – I Want You was released 50 years ago today March 16, 1976.
As a huge Marvin fan, his catalog is out of this world, but his three album run from “What’s Going On to Let’s Get it On to I Want You is a masterpiece trilogy. Marvin wasn’t just a singer, he was a storyteller and these three albums feel like a movie. His legendary release “I Want You” produced by Leon Ware turns 50 today and still continues to inspire artists and producers today. I couldn’t pick just one song from this album because it’s a masterpiece body of work.
@officialmarvingayemusic@leon_ware
Is it a favorite of yours?
#MarvinGaye #Soul #IWantYou #Turntable #RecordCollection
Today marks the 50th anniversary of @officialmarvingayemusic ’s iconic album ‘I Want You,’ co-written & produced by @leon_ware 💙 To honor and celebrate the legacy, Reservoir’s own @therealmarclo covered the title track off the album on Leon’s old piano
Spending this rainy morning revisiting the amazing and extended discography by the late great, unsung hero Leon Ware (1940–2017), singer, songwriter, composer and producer known for his smooth, sensual style. Though he was most famous for co-writing and producing songs for artists like Marvin Gaye—especially on the album I Want You—his own 1976 album Musical Massage later became a cult classic later on and his 70s output is basically unmatched if you ask me.
In his later career, renewed interest from neo-soul artists and international audiences led to new releases and collaborations, including albums like A Kiss in the Sand (2004), Moon Ride (2008) and my favorite, his last, posthumous release “Rainbow Deux” (2019) released by @bewithrecords , what a way to go out. Ware continued performing and recording until his later years. He died in 2017 in Marina del Rey, California, after battling prostate cancer, leaving a lasting influence on modern soul and R&B. RIP 🕊️
#leonware #marvingaye #iwantyou #soulmusic #raregroove
In 2012, Leon teamed up with @robinhannibal and @cocoowino to create “Orchids for the Sun” and “Hold Tight,” released through QUIERES CIRCLE Records, courtesy of @mathieuschreyer . @toddsimonmusic also contributed by arranging and recording the horn sections for the tracks.
During this period, Leon was incredibly prolific, writing and producing music daily while collaborating with some of the era's most exciting new artists. His work with Quadron perfectly complemented his evolving sound at the time.
#leonware #quadron #soulmusic
4 NEW RELEASE 4 In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Brazilian maestro Marcos Valle, in self-imposed LA exile, teamed up with soul legend Leon Ware. Their hits like “Rockin’ You Eternally” and “Estrelar” became iconic.
In 1979, together in an LA Studio, Marcos Valle and Leon Ware recorded a demo which would remain unfinished for 44 years, until Marcos found the tape sitting there on his shelf.
Enlisting the help of producer @danmaunick , Valle was able to restore and sampled the original demo track, adding Portuguese lyrics alongside Leon’s vocal hook, as well as extra keyboards and percussion.
With the original music treated with the care and reverence it deserves, this stirring soul masterpiece, conceived over four decades prior, retains all the visceral sensuality and authenticity of the golden era from which it emerged.
@marcosvalle_oficial & Leon Ware - Feels So Good will be available as a limited edition (500 UNITS ONLY), vinyl-only 7” release, exclusively from Far Out Recordings from the 2nd August 2024.
Pre-order @farout_recordings
Today @applemusic launched SAMPLED, a playlist to highlight many of the wonderful songs that sample Leon’s music
Check it out, link in bio 💕
Cc @reservoirmedia
#BehindTheSongs #LeonWare
