Are you hip to the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument)?
I’m just finishing a rather torrid month of simultaneously being on the road and moving, an exhausting combination that I can really recommend for encouraging one to surrender. Subsequently, this week’s song is from the archives.
This is the original version of a song featured on Saxual Healing. On this version, I play the whole first part of the tune on the EWI. For some unrecalled reason, I’ve always thought that this was the inferior of the two versions, but listening to it now, man I think I like it even better than the version on Saxual Healing. What do you think?
As on all the Saxual Healing tunes, I play all the instruments.
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(For those of you who were paying attention, this song was included in last week’s mailing as a “will probably never see the light of day so I’ll include it here” song. Lo and behold, it was requested that I offer it for sale; thus, it morphed rather conveniently into this week’s song.)
“I started by definitely being a copycat. That’s the way it was. I mean, I wanted to be the white Grover Washington Jr. and I think I became the white Grover Washington Jr.”
You know who said that? You might be surprised. It was Kenny G! Proof positive that Grover Washington Jr. was a smooth jazz saxophone pioneer: The best selling instrumentalist of all time (Kenny G) started off wanting to sound just like him.
I remember seeing Grover and his band at the Embassy Theatre in Fort Wayne, IN back in the late 70’s, me and 2,000 my black brothers and sisters. We were all on our feet the whole time. He grooved so hard, so deep. It was incredible!
There’s an excellent biography of Grover at musicianguide.com. Here’s a couple of interesting excerpts, the first being about his big music business “break”:
His first big musical break came quite by accident. Commercially-minded record producer Creed Taylor had put together a set of pop-funk tunes for alto saxophonist Hank Crawford. On the eve of the recording date, Crawford was arrested “on a two-year-old driving charge,” Washington told Rolling Stone. Taylor then called in the little-known Washington as a last-minute replacement and had him play the alto parts. The album, Inner City Blues, was released in 1971 under Washington’s name. It became a hit–an album, Palmer wrote in the New York Times, “that sold hundreds of thousands of copies and did much to break down barriers between jazz and pop.” As Washington admitted to Wansley, “My big break was blind luck.”
And this about his influence in the pre-smooth jazz music scene:
Washington developed what is called a jazz-pop or jazz-rock fusion musical style. It consists of jazz improvisation over a pop or rock beat. Although he came from a jazz background, influenced by such artists as John Coltrane, Joe Henderson, and Oliver Nelson, Washington’s wife got him interested in pop music. “I encouraged him to listen to more pop,” Christine told Rolling Stone. “His intent was to play jazz, but he started listening to both, and at one point he told me he just wanted to play what he felt, without giving it a label.”
The popularity of Washington’s brand of jazz-pop helped make jazz-pop music a success. Keyboardist Bob James told Wansley, “Grover was one of the main people to make this crossover movement happen. We had people intrigued by jazz, but a lot of it was so complex they didn’t relate to it. Grover maintained a very high level of musicianship and yet his playing was very melodic and direct.”
Smooth jazz poineer, indeed.
Grammy award winner, hit song writer, sax legend Grover Washington Jr. Truly a smooth jazz saxophone pioneer. Check this 1981 video of Grover and his band playing his hit, ‘Mister Magic.’ Enjoy!
Did you know I have a brother who is also a professional saxophonist?
Yes, it’s true. My younger brother, Phillip, is also a professional musician back in Indiana (the ancestral homeland), a very talented singer and guitar player, and a wailin’ sax blowin’ man!
A few years ago Phil came out to CA and spent a few days visiting his big brother. While he was here, I corralled him into the studio and recorded a version of “It’s Your Thing,” the great funk tune by the Isley Brothers.
Phil plays all the guitar parts and he and I sing the background vocals and play the background saxes together. I do the rest. Note that I sampled the intro of the original tune, lowered it a whole step and slowed it down a bit for this version. Cool, huh?
Here you go my brothers and sisters, our version of It’s Your Thing, this week’s Song-A-Week.
MARIO AGUILAR | GREEN VALLEY NEWS Pure entertainment
Saxophonist Mark Maxwell entertains in the streets of Tubac during the 49th Annual Tubac Festival of the Arts, which runs through today.
And my next-door neighbor on the right side, ceramic artist Casey Hankin:
For a couple of years now, one of the local elementary schools has been bringing a class of young ones by my booth so I can share some saxophonic fun with them. Aren’t they cute!
Mark Maxwell is a saxophonist and composer dedicated to the uplifting of the spirit of humankind through the judicious use of saxophones. His 17 CDs have sold over half a million copies worldwide.
