Draft:Philip Field (musician)

Philip Field is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist, synth programmer, record producer and music educator. He was a member of the soul musical group Aurra, as well as a member of the R&B/Funk group Mtume.

Early life and education
Field was born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, where he studied classical piano under Alex Chiappinelli, making his Carnegie Hall debut at age 10 by winning first place in a Music Education Council competition. He attended The Pingry School and studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Career
After leaving Oberlin, Field turned his attentions to funk and disco, joining the musical group Aurra in 1981. He co-wrote six of the eight songs on the album, Send Your Love, including "Are You Single?," which peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Marshall Jefferson, a musician working in the house music subgenre, included the song as the first track on his Salsoul Records compilation, Foundations of House.

Field was a member of the musical group Mtume from 1983 to 1986, appearing as a writer, performer, and musical director. He co-wrote three songs for the band's 1983 album, Juicy Fruit, including "Green Light," which reached No. 66 on the Billboard US R&B charts. The Juicy Fruit album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. He also co-wrote three songs for the group's 1984 album, You, Me and He.

Field's music has been embraced by the Hip hop community. Co-writing the majority of songs on their debut albums, he co-produced two 80s Hip hop groups, Nu Romance Crew and Kiara. He co-wrote "You Are My Sunshine," (from the You, Me and He album) which was sampled extensively during the 90s and 2000s in songs featuring Jay-Z, The Lox, Nate Dogg and Warren G, Raekwon, Zhane' and Queen Latifah and others.

When Gavin Edwards of Rolling Stone asked Snoop Dogg and Dam Funk, "What's a funk record that doesn't exist, but you wish it did?", the response was, "A record with Junie Morrison and Mtume's band together: Philip Field on keyboards. Just imagine 'Juicy Fruit' mixed with 'Funky Worm'".

Field co-produced seven of the eight songs on Roy Ayers' 1985 Columbia Records album, You Might Be Surprised. The single, "Hot" from that album reached number 20 on the r&b charts and number 12 on the dance charts.

Field co-wrote "How Many Ways" from Toni Braxton's 1993 multi-platinum debut album. It was released as the album's final single on a double A-side, along with "I Belong to You", and it peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "The song is a romantic ballad with an instantly memorable chorus".

UK soul music writer Bill Buckley wrote, "(Field's) name might not be that familiar to you but his music will be!"

Field's film and television credits include the Soul Train Music Awards, feature films "Native Son," "Jason's Lyric" and "Panther (film)," Universal TV's "New York Undercover," and HBO's "Divorce."

For his work in music education, Field received the Congressman Donald M. Payne, Sr. Torchbearer For Education Award from the East Orange Education Foundation.