David Grusin

Night-Lines is an album by American pianist Dave Grusin released in 1984, recorded for the GRP label. The album reached #4 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart. The album's cover is from the November 1983 issue of Electronic Fun with Computers & Games.

Contemporary jazz pianist and composer David Benoit has chosen to forgo many of the tropes and methods of working he's employed for the past 30 years on Heroes. Simply put, this is a tribute record to a select group of musicians who have inspired him and shown him a way forward. Before getting to the music, it's worth noting that in his brief liner essay, Benoit spells out that this is by no means a complete list, and points to those he left off for justifiable reasons, which is a nice touch. The music he has chosen stays well within the parameters of contemporary jazz, but lends a deeper focus to Benoit's approach in general. How many recordings are there where you will see tunes by the Doors placed next to those by Clifton Davis, Horace Silver, Dave Brubeck, Dave Grusin, pianist Bill Evans, the Beatles, and the teams of John Bettis and Steve Porcaro, as well as Elton John and Bernie Taupin…

Should there be any doubt as to why over the course of a few short years in the mid- to late '80s David Benoit shot from relative obscurity to certifiable contemporary jazz superstardom, this diverse outing will quickly put it to rest. With Benoit's assistance, producer Don Grusin perfectly layers the many adventurous synthesizer riffs and lush orchestration here with Benoit's elegant acoustic piano. Grusin penned the most exciting track (if not one of the best cuts of Benoit's early career), the funky and melodic "Sailing Through the City," which features the high flying sax work of Eric Marienthal.

The selections included in this collection were chosen for the various uses of the orchestra: Cuba Libre, The Santa Clara Suite, The Suite From the Milagro Beanfield War, The Heart is A Lonely Hunter, and Condor, are all versions of movie themes, stretching over the last thirty years; Summer Sketches was commissioned and recorded live in 1982 at the Budokan in Tokyo; and the Three Cowboy Songs have been orchestrated, up-dated and recorded for this project. The Porgy & Bess Medley is included as an orchestral homage to the Gershwin talents.

Although Dave Grusin is best known as a soundtrack composer and for his jazz-pop recordings, he has always had a great admiration for jazz. This CD (released in a fairly deluxe package) gave Grusin an opportunity to pay tribute to Duke Ellington. He performs ten mostly familiar songs associated with Ellington and wisely features fluegelhornist Clark Terry on five of the selections. Other prominent soloists include tenor saxophonist Pete Christlieb, trombonist George Bohanon, tenor saxophonist Tom Scott (returning to his roots), clarinetist Eddie Daniels (on an orchestrated version of "Mood Indigo"), and pianist Grusin himself. This is a respectful and well-conceived tribute.

Don Grusin has truly immersed his musical skills in the growing popularity of world music, music indigenous to people of different cultures throughout the world. On Native Land, Grusin has crafted a sound of music that drifts from one corner of the world to the other. He is supported by such outstanding instrumentalists as Alex Acuna, drums and percussion; Abraham Laboriel, bass; Ricardo Silveira, guitar; and Judd Miller, with a variety of exotic instruments such as the pennywhistle, fletchorn, oboe, Astorian, tuben, and taegum.

The Best Smooth Jazz Ever is packed with smooth jazz radio hits and highlights the musicians who have brought depth and soul to the most successful contemporary jazz label in the world over the past 20 years. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of GRP Records, this two-CD set features some of the most respected names in the jazz style, including Al Jarreau, Lee Ritenour, Ramsey Lewis, and Patti Austin, as well a hot new rendition of Steve Winwood's "Roll With It," performed by David Benoit, Richard Elliot, and Jeff Golub under the group name Group 3.

As he proved in his production of David Benoit's 1989 smash Urban Daydreams, the younger brother of Dave Grusin is a master at texturing various synth textures with the acoustic piano. On his solo debut Grusin once again does a remarkable job of this, mixing up his styles along the way to include bits and pieces of funk, Brazilian and mainstream jazz, along with healthy doses of the obligatory pop jazz formulas. Though the ballads here, such as "Oracle," are likable, Grusin the player is most at home on funky and frisky numbers like the stealthy "Catwalk," which features some tasty acoustic improvisations layered sparingly amidst a contagious synth groove. The best cut is another funkfest, "Graffiti Bird," which features the very punchy solo chops of saxman Eric Marienthal.