Inner City Blues (Grover Washington Jr. album)

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Inner City Blues
Inner City Blues (Grover Washington, Jr. album).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 3, 1972
RecordedSeptember 1971
StudioVan Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
GenreJazz fusion, smooth jazz
Length35:07
LabelKudu Records
KU-03
ProducerCreed Taylor
Grover Washington Jr. chronology
Inner City Blues
(1972)
All the King's Horses
(1972)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic4/5 stars[1]
Record Collector4/5 stars[2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide2/5 stars[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings3.5/4 stars[4]

Inner City Blues is the debut studio album by saxophonist Grover Washington Jr.[5] It was recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in September 1971 and released in 1972 via Kudu Records label.[6]

Background[]

The title track was a cover of the recent hit by Marvin Gaye released in June 1971. The album also includes a cover of Bill Withers' hit "Ain't No Sunshine", released shortly before recording this album. In 2008, it was reissued on CD by Verve Records.

Reception[]

Thom Jurek of AllMusic stated "This is an amazing debut in so many ways, and it was followed by a run of albums for the label through the end of the '70s when Washington left for Elektra. Inner City Blues remains standing today as a landmark and a turning point in jazz".[1]

Track listing[]

  1. "Inner City Blues" (Marvin Gaye, James Nyx Jr.) – 7:10
  2. "Georgia on My Mind" (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) – 4:38
  3. "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (Gaye) – 5:07
  4. "Ain't No Sunshine" (Bill Withers)/"Theme from Man and Boy" (AKA "Better Days") (J.J. Johnson) – 8:32
  5. "Until It's Time for You to Go" (Buffy Saint-Marie) – 4:35
  6. "I Loves You Porgy" (Gershwin, Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) – 5:05

Personnel[]

String Section

  • Maurice Brown, Charles McCracken, Alan Shulman and Anthony Sophos – cello
  • Julius Brand, Paul Gershman, Julius Held, Leo Kahn, Harry Katzman, Raoul Poliakin, Max Pollikoff and Paul Winter – violin

Production[]

  • Creed Taylor – producer
  • Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
  • Bob Ciano – album design
  • Steve Salmieri – photography

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Inner City Blues at AllMusic
  2. ^ Waring, Charles. "Inner City Blues - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  3. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 203. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  4. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1468. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  5. ^ "Grover Washington, Jr. – Inner City Blues". Discogs. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  6. ^ Payne, Doug. "Kudu Records Catalogue". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
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