Live at The Bijou

Summary

Live at the Bijou is a 1977 live album by jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. It was released via Kudu Records label.

Live at the Bijou
Live album by
ReleasedDecember 1977
RecordedMay 1977
VenueBijou Cafe, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
GenreJazz
Length76:25
LabelKudu Records
ProducerCreed Taylor
Grover Washington Jr. chronology
A Secret Place
(1976)
Live at the Bijou
(1977)
Reed Seed
(1978)

Reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide     [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings    [3]

Recorded live in May 1977 at the Bijou Cafe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Released as a double album in late 1977, this album would chart number one on the Jazz albums chart and number four on the Soul album charts. From the album the single "Summer Song" / "Juffure" was released on March 1, 1978, and reached #57 in the R&B charts.[4] This would be Grover's last album produced by Creed Taylor. A reviewer at Dusty Groove stated "A totally great Grover Washington record – and with 25 years behind us, we really now realize how fantastic all the early Kudu sessions really were! The record was recorded live at the Bijou, and is spread out over 2 long LPs, with lots of room for tasty open-ended solos by Grover and the group".[5]

Track listing edit

  1. "On The Cusp" (Richard Steacker) - 6:15
  2. "You Make Me Dance" (Tyrone Brown) - 5:41
  3. "Lock It in the Pocket" (Richard Steacker) - 6:50
  4. "Days in Our Lives" (James Simmons) - 7:44
  5. "Mr. Magic" (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter) - 12:24
  6. "Summer Song" (John Blake) - 7:30
  7. "Juffure" (Millard Vinson) - 9:30
  8. "Sausalito" (James Simmons, John Blake Jr., Leonard "Doc" Gibbs Jr., Leslie Burrs, Richard Steacker, Tyrone Brown) - 9:51
  9. "Funkfoot" (John Blake) - 8:31

Personnel edit

  • Grover Washington Jr. – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
  • James "Sid" Simmons – keyboards
  • Richard Lee Steacker – guitars
  • Tyrone Brown – bass
  • Millard "Pete" Vinson – drums
  • Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion
  • Leslie Burrs – flute
  • John Blake Jr.electric violin
  • Alan Blake – vocals
  • Lita Blake – vocals

Production edit

  • Creed Taylor – producer
  • Dale Ashby – recording
  • Dave Palmer – engineer
  • Joel Cohn – assistant engineer
  • Joe Gastwirt – mastering
  • Sib Chalawick – art direction, design
  • Bernie Block – photography
  • White Gate – photography

Studios

  • Additional recording by Dale Ashby and Father Mobile Recording Truck (Basking Ridge, NJ).
  • Mixed at Electric Lady Studios (New York, NY).
  • Mastered at Masterdisk (New York, NY).

Charts edit

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Billboard Pop Albums[6] 11
Billboard Top Soul Albums[6] 4
Billboard Top Jazz Albums[6] 1

Singles edit

Year Single Chart positions[7]
US
R&B
1978 "Summer Song" 57

References edit

  1. ^ Yanow, Scott. Grover Washington Jr.: Live At The Bijou > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  2. ^ Swenson, John (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. ISBN 9780679768739. Retrieved 23 September 2019. Grover Washington Jr.
  3. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1469. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  4. ^ "Grover Washington Jr. Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts".
  5. ^ "Grover Washington Jr.: Live At The Bijou". Dusty Groove. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Grover Washington Jr. US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
  7. ^ "Grover Washington Jr. US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-08-26.

External links edit

  • Grover Washington Jr. – Live At The Bijou at Discogs