"I started by definitely being a copycat. That's the way it was. I mean, I wanted to be the white Grover Washington Jr. and I think I became the white Grover Washington Jr."
You know who said that? You might be surprised. It was Kenny G! To me, that's proof positive that Grover Washington Jr. was a true smooth jazz saxophone pioneer: The best selling smooth jazz saxophonist of all time (Kenny G) started off wanting to sound just like Grover!
I remember seeing Grover and his band at the Embassy Theater in Fort Wayne, IN back in the late 70's, me and 2,000 of my (mainly) black brothers and sisters. We were all on our feet the whole time. He grooved so hard, so deep. It was incredible! There's an excellent biography of Grover at musicianguide.com. Here's a couple of interesting excerpts, the first being about his big music business "break":
Enjoy!
You know who said that? You might be surprised. It was Kenny G! To me, that's proof positive that Grover Washington Jr. was a true smooth jazz saxophone pioneer: The best selling smooth jazz saxophonist of all time (Kenny G) started off wanting to sound just like Grover!
I remember seeing Grover and his band at the Embassy Theater in Fort Wayne, IN back in the late 70's, me and 2,000 of my (mainly) black brothers and sisters. We were all on our feet the whole time. He grooved so hard, so deep. It was incredible! There's an excellent biography of Grover at musicianguide.com. Here's a couple of interesting excerpts, the first being about his big music business "break":
His first big musical break came quite by accident. Commercially-minded record producer Creed Taylor had put together a set of pop-funk tunes for alto saxophonist Hank Crawford. On the eve of the recording date, Crawford was arrested "on a two-year-old driving charge," Washington told Rolling Stone. Taylor then called in the little-known Washington as a last-minute replacement and had him play the alto parts. The album, Inner City Blues, was released in 1971 under Washington's name. It became a hit--an album, Palmer wrote in the New York Times, "that sold hundreds of thousands of copies and did much to break down barriers between jazz and pop." As Washington admitted to Wansley, "My big break was blind luck."And this about his influence in the pre-smooth jazz music scene:
"Washington developed what is called a jazz-pop or jazz-rock fusion musical style. It consists of jazz improvisation over a pop or rock beat. Although he came from a jazz background, influenced by such artists as John Coltrane, Joe Henderson, and Oliver Nelson, Washington's wife got him interested in pop music. "I encouraged him to listen to more pop," Christine told Rolling Stone. "His intent was to play jazz, but he started listening to both, and at one point he told me he just wanted to play what he felt, without giving it a label." The popularity of Washington's brand of jazz-pop helped make jazz-pop music a success. Keyboardist Bob James told Wansley, "Grover was one of the main people to make this crossover movement happen. We had people intrigued by jazz, but a lot of it was so complex they didn't relate to it. Grover maintained a very high level of musicianship and yet his playing was very melodic and direct."Smooth jazz pioneer, indeed. Grammy award winner, hit song writer, sax legend Grover Washington Jr. Truly a smooth jazz saxophone pioneer. Check this 1981 video of Grover and his band playing his hit, 'Mister Magic' live in Philadelphia. Awesome!
Enjoy!