Rating:
Genre:
Jazz
Release Date: 01/10/2006
Compilations generally do not serve
jazz artists well, since they do not tend to have "hits" in the sense of "hits" in the
pop field. But saxophonist
Grover Washington, Jr. was a crossover artist who did have hits in the
pop and
R&B charts, due to his willingness to play over light
funk arrangements and use vocalists. He can be credited with virtually inventing the style of
smooth jazz that later became so prevalent, and in that way he has been highly influential. This two-CD collection, running more than two-and-a-half hours, demonstrates that
smooth jazz never got any better than it was when practiced by one of its founders. The set is practically flawless. A couple of minor
R&B chart entries (
"Tell Me About It Now" and
"Snake Eyes") are missing, but
Washington's best-known tracks are included, and the selections span his recordings from the early 1970s to his death in 1999, with material from 15 chart albums in addition to a late
rap collaboration with
Sylk 130, and a selection from the posthumously issued
classical album
Aria. The accomplishment of the compilers in creating such a thorough
Washington collection is notable particularly because he recorded for several different labels from which tracks had to be licensed. As a subsidiary of
Universal Music,
Hip-O had access to his
Kudu and
Motown recordings, making up more than half the material, but there were also tracks recorded for
Elektra that had to be licensed from
Warner (including selections from
Washington's best-selling
Winelight album), and from the mid-'80s he recorded for
Columbia, so that meant paying
Sony BMG for the later tunes. Actually,
"Look at This" from the
Columbia TV
soundtrack to
The Cosby Show, called
A House Full of Love, could have been omitted; the voice-over by
Bill Cosby is obnoxious. But with that exception,
Gold is an outstanding consideration of
Grover Washington, Jr.'s popular career.
~William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
;)
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