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Sweet Motown grooving from Grover Washington – a set that has him working with slightly larger backings than his Kudu years, but in a way that still lets his soulful horn stand strongly out front! As always, Washington is a killer talent on the soprano sax – able to inflect the instrument with these soulful twists and turns that he virtually invented at the time, and which so many others have tried to copy over the years. Yet the set also has Grover on a bit of tenor and baritone sax, too – plus some flute – all over arrangements mostly handled by the man himself, with a bit of help from William Eaton. Titles include "Snake Eyes", "Bright Moments", "Easy Loving You", "Love", and "I Can't Help It".

One of the richest albums from the Kudu years of Grover Washington – a double-length set that shows the full range of his soul and imagination! The album was done in collaboration with Bob James – who arranged and conducted all tracks, and also plays keyboards on the date – and the style is kind of an added extension of other Washington work on Kudu, with added string and chorus bits to round out the sound! Things are still wonderfully soulful – thanks to James' sense of space and timing on the charts – and if anything, the added voices and orchestrations bring an almost soundtrack-like quality to the record – but one that still leaves plenty of room for Washington's solos on tenor, alto, and soprano sax! Most tracks are quite long – really stretching out with lots of room for fresh ideas – and titles include a 15 minute version of "Trouble Man", plus "Aubrey" and "Masterpiece"!

One of those records you see so much it's easy to forget how great it is! Grover's a real genius with the sax on this record – taking a "less is more" cue from Stanley Turrentine's 70s work, and toning down his playing to an even tighter style than on the Kudu albums of earlier years, to a level of ultimate economy that really leaves us breathless. Sure, the record's not a raw bit of funkety funk – but we're just as enthralled at pure commercial genius as we are at unbridled underground talent, and this album's a masterpiece of pacing, playing, and presentation that shows Washington still steeped in the soul jazz roots from whence he came, brilliantly focused on reaching a larger audience through economical use of his genius. He hits a rarified level here that we'd only reserve for a small few – like Steely Dan or The Crusaders, both groups who teeter on the same brink, and make it work perfectly. Titles include "Asia's Theme", "Tell Me About It Now", "Feel It Comin", "Icey", and "The Answer In Your Eyes".

One of the richest albums from the Kudu years of Grover Washington – a double-length set that shows the full range of his soul and imagination! The album was done in collaboration with Bob James – who arranged and conducted all tracks, and also plays keyboards on the date – and the style is kind of an added extension of other Washington work on Kudu, with added string and chorus bits to round out the sound! Things are still wonderfully soulful – thanks to James' sense of space and timing on the charts – and if anything, the added voices and orchestrations bring an almost soundtrack-like quality to the record – but one that still leaves plenty of room for Washington's solos on tenor, alto, and soprano sax! Most tracks are quite long – really stretching out with lots of room for fresh ideas – and titles include a 15 minute version of "Trouble Man", plus "Taurian Matador", "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Masterpiece", "Aubrey", and "Don't Explain".

Grover Washington Jr's first few albums for Columbia – Strawberry Moon, Then & Now and Time Out Of Mind – together in a 2CD set! Strawberry Moon has a number of laidback groovers, with some solid Washington originals such as the title track and some sweet covers. BB King plays and sings on "Caught A Touch Of Your Love", with Jean Carne guesting on "The Look Of Love". Grover's sax is soulful and sweet throughout, and the titles include "Strawberry Moon", "Summer Nights", "Keep In Touch", and "Maddie's Blues". Then And Now is a nice one that has Grover working in a straighter jazz mode for the most part, taking a break from the soul and R&B groover –- the most timeless of the 3 albums compiled here! Players include Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Grady Tate and Darryl Washington. Titles include "Just Enough", "French Connections", "Stolen Moments", "Stella By Starlight" and more. Time Out Of Mind's title track is a cover of the Steely Dan classic, circa Gaucho – and this album finds Grover embracing the 80s a lot more than his previous album for Columbia. A mix of moods, with some electric funky flourishes and fusiony keys and synths. Titles include "Jamaica", "Sacred Kind Of Love", "Fly Away", the title track and more. This trio of albums represents a wide stylistic range covered by Grover in just a 3 year period!

A smooth smooth classic from Grover! Titles include "Winelight", "Let It Flow", "In The Name Of Love", "Take Me There", "Just The Two Of Us", and "Make Me A Memory (Sad Samba)".

A tasty 2LP set that brings together some of the best soul jazz tracks from Grover's years at the Kudu label! As is well remembered by beatheads, Grover had an amazing style at the time – a snakey electric groove that was perfect for the sounds of the early 70s – playing soprano sax in a spare yet funky way, working perfectly with arrangements by Bob James, and some killer bass and drum riffs that are forever being sampled and re-discovered today! The record picks a nice batch of hits and LP tracks, and all cuts are long and open-ended – in the tightly produced funky style that Grover pioneered. Tracks include "Mister Magic", "Feels So Good", "Trouble Man", "Snake Eyes", "Inner City Blues", "Mercy Mercy Me", and "Summer Song".

One of the richest albums from the Kudu years of Grover Washington – a double-length set that shows the full range of his soul and imagination! The album was done in collaboration with Bob James – who arranged and conducted all tracks, and also plays keyboards on the date – and the style is kind of an added extension of other Washington work on Kudu, with added string and chorus bits to round out the sound! Things are still wonderfully soulful – thanks to James' sense of space and timing on the charts – and if anything, the added voices and orchestrations bring an almost soundtrack-like quality to the record – but one that still leaves plenty of room for Washington's solos on tenor, alto, and soprano sax! Most tracks are quite long – really stretching out with lots of room for fresh ideas – and titles include a 15 minute version of "Trouble Man", plus "Taurian Matador", "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Masterpiece", "Aubrey", and "Don't Explain". Both volumes together – for the price of a single CD!

Pure dark magic from Grover Washington – a record that was a megahit back in the 70s, but which still sounds amazing many decades later! There's a sound here that's completely sublime – and the album is to Grover's career what the first 2 CTI sets by Bob James were to his – a stretched-out, masterpiece of sublime jazzy energy – served up with a really spacious sound overall! Grover's sharp-edged sax is at the lead of the set – but the album's also awash in electric piano work from Bob James – and backings that are as lean, clean, and soulful as the best on CTI from the time. Titles include the killer "Black Frost" – a track that we never tire of – plus the hit "Mister Magic", and the cuts "Earth Tones" and "Passion Flower".

Dedicated to Grover Washington Jr.

Forget the preview, because Leon Spencer is already the main attraction on this key early album for Prestige! The date may well be one of the organist's greatest – and is a lean, mean session cut with that stretched out funky style that Prestige was really laying down at the time – open-ended tunes that take off from the Lou Donaldson late 60s style at Blue Note, with plenty of room for all players to do their thing! Idris Muhammad plays plenty of funky drums on the record, alongside trumpet from Virgil Jones, tenor from Grover Washington Jr, and guitar from Melvin Sparks – plus some kicking conga at the bottom from Buddy Caldwell. Spencer's sound on the Hammond is full and mighty – burning up from the get-go with a round, wall of sound sort of approach. The vibe is quite similar to Melvin Sparks' albums from the same time for Prestige – and titles include "The Slide", "Sneak Preview", "Message From the Meters", and "First Gravy".

An unusual later album from Dexter Gordon – and one of his few sessions ever with Hammond organ! Shirley Scott handles the keys of the B-3 – and the group also features Grover Washington Jr on soprano sax, Kirk Lightsey on piano, and Eddie Gladden on drums. Titles include "Besame Mucho", "Skylark", "Sticky Wicket", and "For Soul Sister" – plus an interview with Dex!

Killer funkiness from Boogaloo Joe Jones! Grover Washington Jr makes an incredible appearance here – sounding much harder and heavier than on some of his Kudu recordings – more of a gritty soul jazz player, working beautifully alongside the sharp guitar of Boogaloo Joe Jones, and the sweet organ of Sonny Phillips! The groove is lean, clean, and a bit laidback – not as frenetic as some of Jones' other jams, but in a great way that shows a new sense of space and timing in his groove! Other players include Bernard Purdie on drums and Jimmy Lewis on Fender bass – and titles include "Inside Job", "Fadin", "What It Is", and a nice cover of "Ain't No Sunshine". Amazing guitar work throughout – and a very tight batch of funky jazz!

Smooth modern duets from one of our favorite ladies in soul music! Jean Carne's a heck of a singer – with a career that stretches back to early soul jazz recordings with (then) husband Doug Carn, to solo recordings on Philly International in the late 70s, to appearances on records by other artists – sessions from the 70s, 80s, and 90s in which Jean lent her vocals to a wealth of great recordings! This great collection focuses on work in that category – uncollected sides from a three decade period, brought together in one album that shows just how great Jean can sound when she's singing with other artists. Many of these titles are quite hard to find otherwise, and haven't even shown up on other collections of Jean's work – and tracks include "Good Thng Goin On" with Billy Paul, "Holdin On" and "Dreams Of Tomorrow" with Dexter Wansel, "Keep In Touch" and "The Look Of Love" with Grover Washington Jr, "Lean On Me" with Nathan Heathman, "If You Don't Know Me By Now" with The Temptations, "Love Is Beautiful" with Universe, "Star Flower" with Lonnie Liston Smith, "Let's Stay Together" with Bobby M, "I'm Back For More" with Al Johnson, "You Might Be Surprised" with Roy Ayers, "Mother Of The Future" with Norman Connors, and "Valentine Love" with Michael Henderson. Also features the bonus solo track "Trust Me" – never on CD before!

Killer funkiness from Boogaloo Joe Jones! Grover Washington Jr makes an incredible appearance here – sounding much harder and heavier than on some of his Kudu recordings – more of a gritty soul jazz player, working beautifully alongside the sharp guitar of Boogaloo Joe Jones, and the sweet organ of Sonny Phillips! The groove is lean, clean, and a bit laidback – not as frenetic as some of Jones' other jams, but in a great way that shows a new sense of space and timing in his groove! Other players include Bernard Purdie on drums and Jimmy Lewis on Fender bass – and titles include "Inside Job", "Fadin", "What It Is", and a nice cover of "Ain't No Sunshine". Amazing guitar work throughout – and a very tight batch of funky jazz!

Jazz loves Marvin Gaye – and we do too! Guess that makes us the perfect folks to rave about how wonderful this set is – a killer collection of 70s jazz funk numbers that pays homage to the great one – offering up instrumental versions of grooves originally recorded by Marvin for Motown – taking the tunes way past their original renderings with loads of sweet instrumental touches! There's still plenty of soul in the mix – given that most numbers here are done in an electrified fusion mode – and a few even feature some slight chorus vocals, too. Titles include "You Sure Love To Ball" by The JBs, "What's Going On" by Quincy Jones, "I Want You" by Gato Barbieri, "Distant Lover" by David Newman, "Don't Mess With Mr T" by Regina Carter, "When Did You Stop Loving Me" by Mongo Santamaria, "Inner City Blues" by Phil Upchurch, and "Trouble Man" by Grover Washington Jr.

A stone cold live date from Charles Earland – recorded in Newark, at just the sort of club where he got his start! The tracks are quite long and openly grooving – even more so than Charles' killer studio sets from the time – and there's a bit of a harder edge here too, thanks partly to the live setting – and to the amazing young tenor work of Grover Washington Jr, who really sounds incredible here – much harder than in his later Kudu years! Other members of the group include trumpeter Gary Chandler – playing with a sound that's right up there with his landmark date on Eastbound Records – plus Maynard Parker on guitar, Jesse Kilpatrick on drums, and Buddy Caldwell on congas. As usual, Charles doesn't need a bassist to help him find a nice chunky bottom on the tunes – and he really sails out majestically throughout, with those famous long-running solo lines of his on the Hammond! Titles include "Killer Joe", "Milestones", and "Key Club Cookout".