Grover Washington, Jr.

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如同吉他手喬治班森(George Benson)一樣，Gover Washington, Jr.的音樂深受爵士樂及流行樂界的歡迎。他所擁有的豐富精湛的演奏技巧，不論是tenor、alto 或是soprano saxophones在這位人稱「魔術(shù)先生」的手上游刃有余。他的演奏風(fēng)格包容了Jazz、R&B、Pop，不但在商業(yè)上獲得成功，同時(shí)更為日后所謂的「Smooth Jazz」一流設(shè)下了基礎(chǔ)。許多Smooth Jazz的后輩大將如Najee、Kenny G等，都不諱言的對(duì)外表示小格羅佛對(duì)他們深遠(yuǎn)的影響。
Grover Washington, Jr.是爵士樂史上在商業(yè)巿場(chǎng)上最有新斬獲的一位薩克斯風(fēng)手，擅長(zhǎng)吹奏各類型的薩克斯風(fēng)，雖然他在流行爵士的名氣遠(yuǎn)大于他在正統(tǒng)爵士樂界的地位，但是Washington一直是一位擁有這份條件與能力的樂手.80年代之后，Grover Washington, Jr延續(xù)此一路線，陸續(xù)在Columbia推出了包括「 Strawberry Moon」、「Next Exit」、「Soulful Strut」等專輯。一九九九年十二月，Grover Washington, Jr卻在參加電視錄像后心臟病發(fā)身亡.
by Scott YanowOne of the most popular saxophonists of all time (even his off records had impressive sales), Grover Washington, Jr. was long the pacesetter in his field. His roots were in R&B and soul-jazz organ combos, but he also fared very well on the infrequent occasions when he played straight-ahead jazz. A highly influential player, Washington was sometimes blamed for the faults of his followers; Kenny G. largely based his soprano sound on Grovers tone. However, most of the time (except when relying on long hit medleys), Washington pushed himself with the spontaneity and chance taking of a masterful jazz musician. Grover Washington, Jr., whose father also played saxophone, started playing music when he was ten and within two years was working in clubs. He picked up experience touring with the Four Clefs from 1959-1963 and freelancing during the next two years, before spending a couple years in the Army. He moved to Philadelphia in 1967, becoming closely identified with the city from then on, and worked with several organists, including Charles Earland and Johnny Hammond Smith, recording as a sideman for the Prestige label. His biggest break occurred in 1971, when Hank Crawford could not make it to a recording date; Washington was picked as his replacement, and the result was Inner City Blues, a big seller. From then on he became a major name, particularly after recording 1975s Mister Magic and 1980s Winelight; the latter included the Bill Withers hit Just the Two of Us. Although some of his recordings since then found him coasting a bit, Washington usually stretched himself in concert, being almost overqualified for the R&B-ish music that he performed. He developed his own personal voices on soprano, tenor, alto, and even his infrequently-used baritone. Grover Washington Jr. recorded as a leader for Kudu, Motown, Elektra, and Columbia and made notable guest appearances on dozens of records ranging from pop to straightforward jazz. He died of a sudden heart attack on December 17, 1999 while taping an appearance on CBS televisions The Saturday Early Show; Washington was 56. The posthumous Aria was issued early the following year.