Inner City Blues (Grover Washington Jr. album)

Inner City Blues is the debut studio album by saxophonist Grover Washington Jr.[6] It was recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in September 1971 and released in 1972 via Kudu Records label.[7]

Inner City Blues
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 25, 1972[1]
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
Allmusic[2]
Record Collector[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[5]

Background edit

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 edit

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".[2]

Track listing edit

  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" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) – 5:05

Personnel edit

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 edit

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

References edit

  1. ^ https://www.dougpayne.com/ctid7072.htm#innercity
  2. ^ a b Inner City Blues at AllMusic
  3. ^ Waring, Charles. "Inner City Blues - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  4. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 203. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  5. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1468. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  6. ^ "Grover Washington, Jr. – Inner City Blues". Discogs. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  7. ^ Payne, Doug. "Kudu Records Catalogue". Retrieved 30 October 2018.