GROVER WASHINGTON, JR.
Grover Washington, Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He wrote some of his material and later became an arranger and producer. (More from Wikipedia)
Winelight by Grover Washington, Jr. was Ernie Guyton's curve ball in his birthday present to me; I had only vaguely heard of him but later read that he is one of the nation's leading saxophone players. I liked the album so much that I picked up a two-album retrospective by another of the smooth-jazz pioneers, George Benson that I enjoyed just as much. There were other albums as well, but these are some highlights that I remember. And that is just the kind of eclectic mix of albums that I gather myself on the too-few occasions that I go out shopping for records.
(November 2012)
