Grover Washington Jr.

Grover Washington Jr.

Grover Washington Jr. is a saxophonist, songwriter and bandleader from Buffalo, United States, born in 1943 and active until his death in 1999. He is associated with contemporary jazz, jazz, jazz fusion, jazz-funk, smooth jazz and smooth soul, and is widely identified with the development of smooth jazz.

Early life and background

Washington grows up in a music-filled home. His mother sings in church and his father collects old jazz 78s and also plays saxophone. As a child he hears big band leaders such as Benny Goodman and Fletcher Henderson, and at the age of eight his father gives him a saxophone. He practises seriously and sneaks into clubs to hear Buffalo blues musicians.

He leaves Buffalo, performs with a Midwestern group called the Four Clefs, and is drafted into the US Army. There he meets drummer Billy Cobham, who later introduces him to a wider circle of New York musicians. After leaving the Army, Washington works as a freelancer in New York City and later moves to Philadelphia in 1967.

Recording career

Washington gets his first major break when he is brought in on a Prestige Records session in place of Hank Crawford, who is unable to attend. This leads to his first album, Inner City Blues. He plays soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, and his style brings him into the jazz mainstream.

His fifth album, Mister Magic from 1974, becomes a commercial success and brings guitarist Eric Gale into his regular line-up. During the 1970s and 1980s he records a run of notable tracks and albums, including “Mister Magic”, “Black Frost” and “The Best Is Yet to Come”, which features Patti LaBelle on guest vocals. He also records “Soulful Strut” and his version of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Another Five”.

Winelight, released in 1980, becomes the album most closely associated with Washington’s sound. It combines jazz with R&B and an easy-listening feel. The album includes “Let It Flow”, dedicated to Julius Erving, and “Just the Two of Us”, his collaboration with Bill Withers. Winelight later goes platinum and wins Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Jazz Fusion Performance, while also being nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Collaborations and style

Washington performs frequently with other artists, including Bill Withers on “Just the Two of Us” and Phyllis Hyman on “Sacred Kind of Love”. He works as a prominent figure in jazz-funk and smooth jazz, and his music connects jazz with R&B and soul. He is also linked with helping bring wider attention to later smooth jazz artists.

Later years and legacy

Washington dies in 1999 after collapsing in New York City following a taping at CBS Studios. He is taken to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, where he is pronounced dead after suffering a massive heart attack.

He is remembered as one of modern jazz’s major saxophonists and as a central figure in the emergence of smooth jazz.