Grover Washington Jr. - Winelight (1980/2013) [HDTracks]

Winelight is a smooth, well produced groove, that flows together nicely. It is an album good for waking up to on a Sunday morning, or playing while enjoying a bottle of wine late Saturday night. The songs feature enough tempo changes to keep things interesting, and Grover extends several of his solos, often playing beyond the context of the song. Ralph MacDonald’s percussion is particularly effective throughout the album.

Grover Washington, Jr., has long been one of the leaders in what could be called rhythm & jazz, essentially R&B-influenced jazz. Winelight is one of his finest albums, and not primarily because of the Bill Withers hit "Just the Two of Us." It is the five instrumentals that find Washington (on soprano, alto, and tenor) really stretching out. If he had been only interested in sales, Washington's solos could have been half as long and he would have stuck closely to the melody. Instead he really pushes himself on some of these selections, particularly the title cut. A memorable set of high-quality and danceable soul-jazz.