Inner City Blues

Along with George Benson, Grover Washington, Jr. virtually invented smooth jazz. He\'s one of the chief architects who built the bridge between hard-core bebop and blistering R&B. He played both beautifully. In a recording date originally intended for Hank Crawford, Washington established his voice as a purveyor of deep-felt soul. He took Marvin Gaye\'s anthem of ghetto anguish and demonstrated that the ability to transform pain into poetry is a hallmark of African-American music.

The story behind Grover Washington, Jr.'s first session date as a leader revolves around a sheer coincidence of being in the right place at the right time.