Artist: Grover Washington

Grover Washington Jr. was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz  saxophonist and Grammy Award winner. Along with Wes Montgomery  and George Benson, 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", "Let it Flow (For 'Dr. J')" 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", 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". 

Pittsburgh, Penssylvannia, Washington played with a Midwest  group called the Four Clefs and then the Mark III Trio from Mansfield, Ohio. Shortly thereafter, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he met drummer  Billy Cobham. A music mainstay in New York City, Cobham introduced Washington to many New York musicians. After leaving the Army, Washington freelanced his talents around New York City, eventually landing in Philadelphia in 1967. In 1970 and 1971, he appeared on Leon Spencer's first two albums on Prestige Records, together with Idris Muhammad and  Melvin Sparks. 

Washington's big break came when alto sax man  Hank Crawford was unable to make a recording date with Creed Taylor's Kudu Records, and Washington took his place. This led to his first solo album, Inner City Blues. He was talented and displayed heart and soul with soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. Refreshing for his time, he made headway into the jazz mainstream. 

While his first three albums established him as a force in jazz and soul music, it was his fourth album in 1974, Mister Magic, that proved a major commercial success. The album climbed to number 1 on Billboard's R&B album chart and number 10 on Billboard's Top 40 album chart. His follow-up on Kudu in 1975, Feels So Good, also made No. 1 on Billboard's R&B album chart and No. 10 on the pop album chart. Both albums were major parts of the jazz-funk movement of the mid-1970s. 

A string of acclaimed records brought Washington through the 1970s, culminating in the signature piece for everything he would do from then on.the album Winelight (1980).

Washington's love of basketball, especially the  Philadelphia 76ers, led him to dedicate the second track, "Let It Flow", to Julius Erving (Dr. J). The highlight of the album was his collaboration with soul artist Bill Withers, "Just the Two of Us", a hit on radio during the spring and summer of 1981, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album went  platinum in 1981, and also won Grammy Awards in 1982 for Best R&B Song ("Just The Two of Us"), and Best Jazz Fusion Performance ("Winelight"). "Winelight" was also nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.