Weekend Song – Grover Washington Jr.

Here’s a saxophonist who was often overlooked by jazz and soul fans, because he was neither all of either, but for me there was no ignoring Grover Washington Jr when I was a kid, because he peaked in Philadelphia in the late seventies/early eighties. Whether I did or not remains to be seen, but as a kid learning the sax, he was a local hero and was on the radio a lot.

He was a prolific session musician – he played the sax solo on Just The Two Of Us by Bill Withers – but he released many albums of his own. This is from one of his on the Motown label and I think it was the first cassette I ever owned.

It shows his confidence but not showmanship, which is sometimes just as good a thing.

Listen: Snake Eyes

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Related pages
Weekend Song archive