Fans of Grover’s music will love this album, but if you’re one of those who have dismissed his playing in the past: give this recording a listen.
Lightyear Entertainment
Grover Washington Jr (alto, tenor, soprano, baritone saxophone); Donald Robinson (keyboards); Adam Holzman (keyboards); Richard Lee Steacker (guitar); Gerald Veasley (bass); Richie Morales (drums); Pablo Batista (percussion)
Recorded Albuquerque, New Mexico 1998
Everything has a price. Grover Washington Jr paid a price for creating music that was highly accessible, very melodic and commercially successful. Some jazz critics and so-called aficionados dismissed Grover’s music as ‘smooth jazz,’ as if his music belonged in the bargain basement of jazz, filed next to elevator music. Such criticism suggests that certain people hadn’t paid enough attention to Grover and his music.
First, there is no doubt that Grover had jazz chops – he had played with the likes of Hank Crawford, Dexter Gordon, Gerry Mulligan, Kenny Burrell and Eddie Henderson. But he was also inspired by music and artists beyond jazz – he once said that his musical influences included Stan Getz, Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone. Grover’s music embraced jazz, R&B, Funk, Latin, Caribbean, pop and soul.
Some of his songs even included vocalists, like Bill Withers, who sang on the international smash hit ‘Just The Two Of Us.’ This made some jazz critics suspicious, even hostile towards Grover’s music. Like Joe Farrell, Grover was highly proficient across the entire saxophone family, and on this album, he plays four types of horn – even switching between several on one track.
Grover Washington Jr died in 1999, aged just 56, and this album has been released to mark the 25th anniversary of his passing. It’s produced by keyboardist/producer Jason Miles, who has done much to keep Grover’s musical legacy alive. He has released a tribute album, To Grover, With Love (well worth a listen), organised tribute concerts, and in 2010, produced Grover Live, a new recording from a concert in New York in 1997.
This album is also from a newly discovered concert tape. The concert was recorded a year after the Grover Live set, with almost the same band (drummer Steven Wolf is replaced by Richie Morales). The set-list however, is quite different, with this release featuring a handful of songs previously unavailable on any live album. The new songs include: ‘Nature Boy’, ‘Moonstreams,’ ‘Headman Haunt,’ ‘Bordertown’, and ‘Can You Stop The Rain.’
If you’re a fan of physical media then I have some disappointing news for you – this album is (so far) only available on streaming platforms. With luck, it will appear later on CD and LP – I really hope so.
On a happier note, Grover is backed by a superb band that includes two keyboardists. Donald Robinson – who is also the band’s musical director – has worked with Chuck Loeb, Stevie Wonder and Kirk Whalum. Adam Holzman played with Miles Davis for almost five years, taking on the mantle of musical director. This concert starts in a mellow mood, with ‘East River Drive,’ a gentle mid-tempo, chugging number featuring Grover on soprano sax.
The fifteen-minute long cover of the jazz standard ‘Take Five’ builds on Gerald Veasley’s funk bass vamp and Batista’s clattering percussion, with Grover playing the melody on alto sax and the band laying down a deep groove. Three minutes into the tune, Grover picks up a mic and introduces the band. He was a superb MC – warm, witty, relaxed and very generous towards his band. Before each member is introduced, they play a short solo. Grover not only covers their achievements, but plugs their latest releases. This section takes almost ten minutes and not once does it become boring. Indeed, Grover sounds so alive, vibrant and happy, that it makes his early death even more affecting.
One thing that stood out for this listener is the number of great bass lines to be found on Grover’s tunes. This is not surprising when you consider the calibre of bassists who played on his albums including, Ron Carter, Gary King, Louis Johnson, Marcus Miller, and on this release, Gerald Veasley, who also played in The Zawinul Syndicate. ‘Knucklehead,’ has a creeping bass line, like a spider slowly approaching its prey; while the bass line on ‘Let It Flow (for Dr J)’ is as smooth and sleek as they come (Veasley also plays a slap bass solo on the latter). It’s also worth mentioning Grover’s intense playing and Donald Robinson’s rousing piano solo on ‘Knucklehead.’
‘Moonstreams’ is a beautiful ballad with a haunting melody, and my album favourite. Everyone plays with great subtlety and sensitivity. The keyboard players create a rushing wind effect and the sound of strings, while Grover’s soprano sax sings. More than a third of the eight-minute tune is taken up by Veasley’s splendid bass solo – his speed, articulation, touch and tone are first-rate, and it’s a moving performance.
‘Border Town’ is a midtempo tune which showcases the guitar playing of Richard Lee, who solos, and also engages in a call-and-response section with Grover’s sax. ‘Nature Boy’ begins slowly, with Grover’s growling baritone sax part of a duet with the piano. The song then shifts in tempo, as Veasley starts playing a walking bassline, over which Holzman plays an extended – and spirited – piano solo.
‘Can You Stop The Rain’ was originally a ballad sung by Peabo Bryson, whose melody caught Grover’s ear. It’s easy to see why: it’s a lovely song. On this version, his soprano sax takes on the role of lead vocalist, which he plays with aplomb. There are also uncredited background vocalists on this track, but it’s unclear if they are sampled or not (horn samples are heard on several tunes).
‘Headman’s Haunt’ is a heavy percussive tune with an African feel, and drummer Richie Morales and percussionist Pablo Batista play together on a long, energetic duet. Next up is a sixteen-minute melody in which Grover plays several different saxophones. It opens with ‘Black Forest’ before seamlessly moving onto many of Grover’s best-known tunes including, ‘Winelight,’ ‘Jamming,’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine,’ ‘Jamaica,’ ‘Just The Two Of Us,’ and ending on a high note with ‘Sausalito,’ with Batista given a long solo on conga drums.
The final two numbers are ‘Let it Flow’ and a very funky ‘Mister Magic.’ ‘Did everybody have a good time tonight?’ asks Grover, ‘I hope so.’ From the evidence of this recording, the answer was a resounding yes. Grover Washington Jr has left behind an impressive musical legacy and it’s a great shame that he never lived long enough to add to it. Fans of Grover’s music will love this album, but if you’re one of those who have dismissed his playing in the past: give this recording a listen. You could well find yourself radically changing your assessment of both the man and his music. Here’s hoping more new Grover concert tapes are unearthed in the future.
