A TRIBUTE TO GROVER WASHINGTON JR

The late Mr Grover Washington Jr who passed away on December 17, 1999 of a massive heart attack, was to me one of the greatest, if not the greatest jazz musician to have ever walked on Earth.  He was undoubtedly one of the founders of the Fusion Jazz genre.  In fact, his signature album "Winelight" released in 1980 practically launched the new musical category.  It was a great commercial success, with the album going platinum in 1981 and peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Album chart in 1980, and at No.2 and No.5 on the Soul and Pop Album charts respectively.  The great single "Just the Two of Us" peaked at No. 2 on the US Pop chart in 1981.  He won critical acclaim by winning Grammy Awards in 1982 for Best R&B Song for "Just The Two of Us" and Best Jazz Fusion Performance for "Winelight". "Winelight" was also nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
  

All these praises would count for nothing if his innovative masterpieces had not evoked such delight in their melodic warmth, creative rhythms and cool mellowness.  Only rarely have such acoustic excellence been replicated since.

Thank you, Mr Washington, for making our lives so much richer!

                                                       1. "Winelight"

                                                 2. "Let It Flow (For "Dr. J")"

                                                             

                                                   3. "In the Name of Love"

 

                                                     4. "Take Me There"

 

                                                   5. "Just the Two Of Us"

 

                                                   6. "Make Me a Memory"