GROVER WASHINGTON JR.- “MESSAGE FROM THE METERS”
Saturday, October 17th, 2009
The late, great Grover Washington Jr. has always been one of my saxophone heroes. his playing, ever soulful and earthy, never fails to move me. i was so pleased to come across this cut from his early career as a sideman with Leon Spencer, before he shot to stardom with a string of hit records on the CTI/ Kudu label. “Message From The Meters” is a 12 bar funk blues from a record called SNEAK PREVIEW that features a raw, gritty rhythm section comprised of organ, electric bass and guitar, congas and tight, funky drums. Washington is right at home in the fat pocket and plays with a wide variety of staccato attacks, smears, slurs, etc. no notes are wasted. he uses space really well, plays phrases and responds to them, and generates so much of energy by playing repeated notes. most of his solo is based on an E minor blues scale but it never gets boring because he constantly changes his rhythmic approach. what really kills me is his sound- dark and thick but still agile and flexible…
