In the world of jazz there has always been a channel of influence, a school of “thought” so to speak or a lineage.  These elements have shaped the development of composition, arranging, and most importantly in jazz, improvisation and stylistic approach.  Licks (improvised lines or phrases unique to a certain style or musician), along with ideas and sounds, have been passed down to generations and have helped influence musicians across the globe and across genres or even sub genres of music.  It’s almost like a family tree, where fathers teach sons, and sons teach or guide their sons and grandsons and so on.  In the world of contemporary jazz/fusion later called smooth jazz, there is one “godfather” of saxophone that blazed the trail, Grover Washington, Jr.

Grover Washington, Jr. was born on Dec 13, 1949, in Buffalo, NY to Grover Sr. and Lillian Washington.  Grover, Sr. was a sax player and an avid collector of gramophone records, featuring the sounds of Benny Golson and Flecther Henderson, just to name a few. His mother was a church chorister.  Music was always heard in the home.  At the early age of eight, Grover was given a saxophone and by age 12 he began sneaking into clubs to play with local blues and soul-jazz musicians.  Grover’s early influences were none other than the masters who were mentioned earlier as channels of influence in jazz. Artists like Don Byas, Stanley Turrentine, Coltrane, and Cannonball Adderley were heavily influential in Grover’s early development.  As early as 1959, he began to tour with a group called the Four Clefs as a woodwind player (he also played flute) and even subbed on bass and piano at times when needed.  Grover’s musical style was shaped by a stint studying classical music at Buffalo’s Wurlitzer School of Music, something that garnered the recording of his posthumously released album, Aria in 2000.  After a brief time as musician in the US Army, Grover met drum legend Billy Cobham and began freelancing throughout NYC playing with Cobham, soul-jazz organist Charles Earland, Leon Spencer, Boogaloo Joe Jones and Johnny “Hammond” Smith.  A move to Philadelphia firmly established Grover’s identity in the city and led to his reputation as a masterful sideman (backing musician on stage and studio).  In fact, a recording date with his future first record label KUDU/CTI records, a Motown subsidiary would seal his fate. Veteran sax man, Hank Crawford (also an influence on Grover’s playing) was absent from a session that Grover was scheduled to play backup horn. Due to this absence and the money already paid for the session, Grover, who was originally a tenor sax player picked up a rented alto sax and within 30 minutes of warm up time began recording his first date as a leader.  That unlikely scenario gave birth to his debut soul-jazz fusion album, Inner City Blues.  Thus, starting the journey and legacy of arguably the most widely imitated and influential saxophonist in contemporary jazz.  A few years later his mark on music would be firmly cemented with the release of the gold selling, “Mister Magic”, considered his most famous tune, established the “go-go” sound (a hybrid of funk, soul and jazz) in Washington, D.C.  After “Mister Magic”, Grover’s music continued to make its mark throughout the rest of the 1970’s with albums like It Feels So Good, Reed Seed, A Secret Place, Paradise, and Live at the Bijou —all top 10 Billboard albums with four reaching #1, and charting on both Billboard’s Top 100 Pop and R&B lists.  This reign on the charts, sales and the burgeoning contemporary jazz radio format continued into the 1980’s with landmark crossover jazz albums like Skylarking (1980), Winelight (his most popular to date and only platinum selling album, 1981), Come Morning (1981), and The Best Is Yet to Come, (1982).  These recordings set the tone and made an impact on not only black instrumental music at the time but also influenced several up-and-coming future stalwarts of the new idiom/radio format called smooth jazz.  Artists such as Gerald Albright, Walter Beasley, Najee, Kenny G., George Howard, Kirk Whalum, Kim Waters, Boney James and later new generation players like Mike Phillips, Eric Darius, Marqueal Jordan and yours truly were all influenced by Grover.  Grover’s sound was included the four main saxophones with a unique yet contemporaneous sound that made him easily identifiable when heard.  At times Grover extended his musical reach into straight ahead/traditional jazz with recordings like 1988’s, Then and Now, 1985’s, collaboration with the iconic guitarist Kenny Burrell entitled, Togethering and 1994’s, All My Tomorrow’s.  Dozens of other straight-ahead recordings with Mulgrew Miller, Randy Henton, Dexter Gordon, Gerry Mulligan, and Lonnie Smith displayed his virtuosic ability to be a musical chameleon.

As the late 1990’s began to unfold, Grover became somewhat of the OG as we call it today or godfather of what was then and is now known as smooth jazz.  This moniker wasn’t a favorite of his, but the radio format was in full swing at that time and more of the cats he influenced were on the major format radio stations than he was.  Grover continued his career recording a hit record in 1996 called Soulful Strut, the title cut being a remake of the Young Holt Unlimited class from the late 1960’s.  Grover toured infrequently throughout the 1990’s but helped established bands like the legends, Pieces of a Dream (who have recorded and released 25 albums and credit Grover as a producer and the one who put them on the international map). He also made frequent appearances in schools and was a staple in Philadelphia as a huge fan of the NBA Philadelphia 76ers often playing the national anthem for their games throughout the years.  While taping a live performance on Dec 17, 1999, five days after his 56th birthday, Grover Washington, Jr. collapsed backstage in his green room.  He was rushed to St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital and pronounced dead after suffering cardiac arrest.

His artistic legacy is present in so many ways, from the sounds of all the aforementioned saxophonists to his own posthumously named middle school, Grover Washington, Jr. Middle School located in the Olney Section of Philadelphia, PA. The school teaches 5^th– 8th grade performing arts and general education.  In 2001, the tribute album, To Grover With Love was released. Produced by longtime collaborator Jason Miles it featured performances by sax men Paul Taylor (another smooth jazz star influenced by Grover), Gerald Albright, Ronnie Laws (also a “godfather” of contemporary jazz), Everette Harp, Steve Cole, and Michael Brecker as well as George Duke, Jay Beckenstein of Spyro Gyra fame, Regina Belle, and many more.  Christian McBride known mainly as a young phenom in the early 1990’s also paid homage to Grover Washington, Jr. with his composition simply titled, “Grover” as part of his side project, The Philadelphia Experiment.  Grover’s biggest hit record and Grammy win featuring Bill Withers, Just the Two of Us has been sampled on many hip hop recordings including one by Will Smith with the same title.  Songs like “Hydra”, “Mister Magic”, and “Knucklehead” were used in many “Golden Age” hip hop records from the late 1980’s to early 1990’s.

Grover Washington, Jr. was a saxophonist’s saxophonist and left an undeniable impact on jazz music for generations to come.  Listen to Jazz 93.5 Tuesday nights during “Lagniappe” with me, Tony Exum, Jr. to hear this man’s amazing sound and those his influenced.

Grover Washington, Jr. (1943-1999), an American jazz Legend.