Grover Washington Then And Now
Desiderato Merriwether
Special mention must be made of the superior sonics on the original vinyl release of this record. Rudy Van Gelder was a gifted record engineer and his studio had a legendary warmth that resulted in countless gold records. Today my own original copy of KU-03, Inner City Blues, continues to satisfy for its outstanding balance of natural sound, incredible dynamics and wide soundstage that combined warmth and detail.
The album went to Number 2 on the U.S. jazz charts and began a long and successful career for Grover Washington Jr. All in all he scored more than 20 Top 5 albums, 13 of them going to Number 1 on the Jazz charts.
Grover Washington Jr. died in 1999, a victim of a massive heart album suffered while preparing in the green room for a nationwide television appearance. He was still in demand at the time of his death, still making great music.
I wrote up a lot of detail back in December, including Rudy needing security to record at the Key Club in New Jersey for a Charles Earland session that Grover Washington Jr also stood in for. -born-day-grover-washington-jr/