GROVER WASHINGTON JR – REED SEED LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 UK JAZZ FUNK SOUL

Grover Washington Jr – Reed Seed
(Motown Records  1978  STML12099)
Matrix No’s; A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Sleeve in Excellent+ condition
– some light ringwear

Grover Washington, Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He wrote some of his material and later became an arranger and producer.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Washington made some of the genre’s most memorable hits, including “Mister Magic,” “Reed Seed,” “Black Frost,” “Winelight,” “Inner City Blues” and “The Best is Yet to Come”. In addition, he performed very frequently with other artists, including Bill Withers on “Just the Two of Us” (still in regular rotation on radio today), Patti LaBelle on “The Best Is Yet to Come” and Phyllis Hyman on “A Sacred Kind of Love”. He is also remembered for his take on the Dave Brubeck classic “Take Five”, and for his 1996 version of “Soulful Strut“.

Washington had a preference for black nickel-plated saxophones made by Julius Keilwerth. These included a SX90R alto and SX90R tenor. He also played Selmer Mark VI alto in the early years. His main soprano was a black nickel plated H.Couf Superba II (also built by Keilwerth for Herbert Couf) and a Keilwerth SX90 in the last years of his life.

Reed Seed is a 1978 studio album by jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. released on the Motown label.

Track listing

1. “Do Dat” (John E. Blake Jr., Leonard “Doc” Gibbs Jr.) – 4:27
2. “Step’n’ Thru” (Richard Lee Steacker) – 6:15
3. “Reed Seed (Trio Tune)” (Grover Washington Jr.) – 4:54
4. “Maracas Beach” (James “Sid” Simmons) – 4:48
5. “Santa Cruzin” (John E. Blake Jr., Tyrone Brown, Leonard “Doc” Gibbs Jr., James “Sid” Simmons, Richard Lee Steacker, Millard “Pete” Vinson, Grover Washington Jr.) – 6:54
6. “Just the Way You Are” (Billy Joel) – 4:46
7. “Loran’s Dance” (Grover Washington Jr.) – 7:37

Personnel

• Grover Washington Jr. – soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute, arrangements (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7)
• James “Sid” Simmons – acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet, arrangements (4, 5)
• John Blake Jr. – Polymoog, ARP Omni, ARP String Ensemble, electric violin, acoustic piano (1), clavinet (1), Fender Rhodes (6), backing vocals, arrangements (1, 5)
• Richard Lee Steacker – electric guitars, backing vocals, arrangements (2)
• Tyrone Brown – acoustic bass, electric bass
• Millard “Pete” Vinson – drums
• Leonard “Doc” Gibbs – percussion, backing vocals, arrangements (1, 5)
• Derrick Graves – arrangements (2)
• Jeannine Otis – backing vocals
• Lita Boggs – backing vocals
• Rita Boggs – backing vocals, vocal arrangements (1)

Production

• Grover Washington Jr. – producer
• Nils Salminen – engineer
• Rodney Perry – assistant engineer
• Rudy Van Gelder – mastering at Van Gelder Studios (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey).
• Norm Ung – art direction, design
• Beverly Parker – photography