Tenor and soprano saxophonist
Grover Washington, Jr. was faced with an almost impossible task in 1976: following up his two 1975 critically acclaimed and wildly successful commercial recordings
Mister Magic and
Feels So Good. Both recordings crossed over to R&B on the radio and on the charts.
A Secret Place was produced by
Creed Taylor and issued on his Kudu imprint, while the versatile
David Matthews arranged the horn section. The players include pianist
Dave Grusin, drummer
Harvey Mason,
Ralph MacDonald on percussion, bassist
Anthony Jackson, guitarist
Eric Gale, trumpeter
John Gatchell, and alto saxophonist
Gerry Niewood. Guests include bassist
George Mraz and guitarist
Steve Khan, who appear only on a reading of
Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance."
This lineup may not be surprising, but the scope of the recording is.
Washington could have gone the easy route and followed up his R&B chart success with a series of uptempo, rousing tracks that leaned heavier on funk -- in the style of the title tracks of both the previous albums. But he went in a different direction, at least partially. There are four cuts here, each between eight and nine minutes. The first two (which comprise side one of the LP), the title track, and
Hancock's tune, are a bit more laid-back and mysterious.
Washington takes his time letting them unfold, utilizing dynamics. "A Secret Place" does have a slippery funky backbeat, and a killer guitar line by
Gale (did he ever play anything else in the '70s?) but the groove is nocturnal, spacy, and soulful. His soprano sings over the backbeat as
Grusin's Rhodes piano plays down a vamp for the rhythm section, and fills in the painted backdrop beautifully. The tempo picks up with
Jackson's bassline becoming more prominent in the mix, but it never overpowers the easy groove established at the beginning. "Dolphin Dance" begins every bit as sparely and exotically spacious as
Hancock's own version, with beautiful soprano and alto work, gorgeous floating Rhodes piano, and lots of warmth. When it begins to swing near the middle, it does so in such a relaxed and languid manner that the shift from soul-jazz on the preceding tune to the straight up fingerpopping nightclub swing on this one is seamless. As usual,
Washington's own soloing and melodic improvising are stellar. "Not Yet" opens the second half of the set. It's a funky groove, but the easy, laid-back feel and chord changes in this
Washington original make it irresistibly sexy. Once more,
Gale's guitar pleases as it leads the horn section vamps that fill his sophisticated, soulful, bluesed-out solo. The lilt in
Grusin's Rhodes piano is the perfect tastemaker, since
Washington's tenor is so throaty and on the low-end growl.
Harvey Mason's straight up funky soul number "Love Makes It Better," takes the set out on a high note, with gorgeous guitar vamps by
Gale, the three-horn line playing a sparse but pronounced melody line, and
Grusin filling the middle with enough sweetness and light to offer the drums and percussion room to really pop.
Washington's tenor solo is sophisticated and utterly tasteful; its emotion ratchets up the dynamic in the entire tune. The bottom line on
A Secret Place is that while the set did well commercially, it got nowhere near the critical praise of its predecessors. That's a shame, because it is a truly fine album whose grooves and pleasures stand the test of time easily. It's ripe for reappraisal. ~ Thom Jurek