Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) – Black Frost (1975)
This epic jazz-funk jam off the great saxophonist's breakthrough Mister Magic LP was the first of his own compositions he ever recorded.
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The late great saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. helped lead the jazz-funk movement of the 1970s, with two of his albums crossing over to hit #1 R&B, and almost singlehandedly created the entire genre of smooth jazz.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Washington’s father and namesake played the saxophone and collected jazz records. He gave Grover Jr. his first sax when he was eight years old.
Washington was drafted into the Army in the 1960s, where he played in the 78th Army Band at Fort Dix in New Jersey and met drummer Billy Cobham. Once they were both out, Cobham introduced him to other musicians in New York’s jazz scene. He recorded as a sideman for the first time in 1970, appearing on albums by Boogaloo Joe Jones and Leon Spencer, both released in 1971 on the Prestige label.
His debut album Inner City Blues was recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey in September, 1971 and came out the following January on Kudu, the soul-jazz subsidiary of CTI Records. It was produced by label owner Creed Taylor.
The LP’s title track was a superb cover of Marvin Gaye’s recent hit, and the rest of the album consisted entirely of other covers, including Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers. He was backed by an all-star lineup including Richard Tee on organ, Ron Carter on bass, guitarist Eric Gale, Idris Muhammad on drums, Tasha Thomas along with three other backing vocalists, and Bob James on keyboards, who also arranged and conducted the LP.
It was arguably the very first smooth jazz album, and was an immediate commercial success, landing at #4 on the jazz charts and crossing over to peak at #8 on the R&B album charts and #62 on the Billboard 200. Taylor attempted to recreate the formula by releasing another two albums’ worth of Washington performing covers, All the King's Horses (1972) and Soul Box Vol.’s 1 & 2 (1973), but they did not sell as well, although both hit #1 Jazz.
One whole side of Soul Box Vol. 1 was taken up by Washington’s epic cover of Marvin Gaye’s title track to the 1972 Blaxploitation film Trouble Man, which starred Robert Hooks. The closing cut on Soul Box Vol. 2 was the stellar cosmic jazz workout “Taurian Matador,” a composition by Billy Cobham which showed Washington was just as capable of laying down spaced-out jazz-funk as he was playing soul-jazz covers.
In November, 1974, Washington entered Van Gelder Studio to record his fourth album for CTI. Mister Magic was produced by Taylor, arranged and conducted by Bob James, and hit stores in February, 1975.
The LP was released on Kudu, the subsidiary of CTI Records that showcased soul and R&B-flavored jazz. Its title track was issued as a single, reaching #16 R&B and #54 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Mister Magic was a huge commercial success, becoming one of the defining jazz-funk albums of the seventies. First it topped the jazz charts, then crossed over to hit #1 on the R&B album charts and #10 on the Billboard 200.
Its players included James on piano and electric piano, Gale on guitar, Phil Upchurch and Gary King on bass, percussionist Ralph MacDonald (who wrote the title track), and Harvey Mason on drums. The album also featured the epic jam “Black Frost,” which Washington co-wrote with James. It was the first time he recorded something he had a hand in writing, and was worth the wait.
Washington’s follow up album was Feels So Good, which he recorded in May and July, 1975, shortly after Mister Magic blew up. Released later that year, it exactly duplicated its predecessor’s chart success, peaking at #1 R&B and #10 on the Billboard 200.
He wrote three of its five tracks, including the tranquil smooth jazz cut “Moonstreams,” the funky, laid back closing cut “Hydra,” and its masterpiece, the cinematic jazz-funk jam “Knucklehead.” The album featured guest bassist Louis “Thunder Thumbs” Johnson of the Brothers Johnson on “Hydra” and its funky title track, which was co-written by Ralph MacDonald and William Salter. The rest of its lineup included James on keyboards, Gale on guitar, MacDonald on percussion, Gary King on bass, Sid Weinberg on oboe and English horn, and drummers Jimmy Madison, Kenneth “Spider Webb” Rice, and Steve Gadd.
For his 1979 album Paradise, his first released on Elektra Records, he produced and arranged the very funky closing cut “Feel It’ Comin’,” written by his guitarist Richard Steacker. Besides sax, Washington also played electric piano on the track.
Happy Heavenly 80th Birthday to the great Grover Washington Jr.
Further info:
“Grover Washington In Concert,” Shubert Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, June 27, 1981.
“Grover Washington Jr., 56, Versatile Jazz Saxophonist, Dies,” obituary, The New York Times, December 19, 1999.
“How Grover Washington Jr. Defined And Transcended 'Smooth Jazz',” NPR, November 17, 2017.
#jazz #funk #CTI #Kudu #GroverWashingtonJr