ABECK Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 I'm sure this performance of Dave Grusin and the GRP All stars from the Record Plant in 1985 is not new to many. But, every now and again, I like to dust it off and bask in the utter glossiness of the quintessential 80s LA studio jazz scene. The keys rig was my dream back in the 80s I count 2 original DX-7s, an Emulator II and tucked underneath, an Oberheim Expander. Honorable mention to Dave's Kawai EP-308 electric grand and DX-7. This era was when I first started getting hooked on all things keys and is forever burned in my brain as a special time in the music tech landscape. Among other things, Dave Grusin is responsible for some of my favorite 80s film and TV soundtracks. Who could forget St. Elsewhere? What a great show and iconic theme song. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Heard him many time back then. The music school I worked at was a few mile down the street from the Baked Potato and Tuesday nights had become guitar night in clubs in the Valley so I'd head to the Baked Potato to see Lee Ritenour or Larry Carlton. Lee was there most Tuesdays and always had a great band with Patrice Rushen on keys, Anthony Jackson or Abe Laboriel bass, Harvey Mason drums, Ernie Watts sax and others when in town. Later on Dave or Don Grusin would be playing keys. Also the other way down the street from the school was a restaurant/bar that had another studio guitar ace Pat Kelly and he always had great up and coming studio guys in his band. Then that was a bar I think it was in a bowling alley that one of the guy from Rufus ran a weekly jam at that attracted a lot of hot players. Great time to be a young musician. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 Damn - what a great time to be on the West Coast! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DroptopBroham Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Look up sell out in Webster's and you'll find a picture of Dave Grusin. Utterly banal and GRP Records is even worse. This "music" is best forgotten. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Had a GRP Allstars CD that I loved. Bought a few more and did not like any of them. The pure jazz was great. The fusion was not so great. Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberGene Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Count me in as a lover of GRP All Stars band although I’d say it’s more of a guilty pleasure thing since it’s cheesy, but the good cheesy of course 😀 The GRP-good cheesy, I mean. Although, there’s also David Benoit that I have tried hard to appreciate but… Never mind, I’m digressing. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tapes Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 This particular concert has always been a guilty pleasure. 😄 Who wouldn’t love that ”St. Elsewhere”? It has everything - including that sweet Electric Grand! It’s a bit bittersweet, though, because it features the late Carlos Vega - one of the greatest drummers in this style (along with guys like Jeff Porcaro, another gone hero). They did another one, this is the instrumental theme from ”Tootsie”. It’s SO beyond cheesy, a.ka fantastic. 😄 Tom Scott has his EWI, etc… Man, Ritenour was one the baddest rhythm gtr players too. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16251 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 1 1 Quote AvantGrand N2 | ES520 | Gallien-Krueger MK & MP | https://soundcloud.com/pete36251 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AROIOS Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Hating on Pop Jazz is as silly as highschoolers digging Nirvana and bashing Michael Bolton. And the word "guilty" is pretty indicative of how conformist we humans naturally are. Guilty of what? who got hurt? what morals were broken? Or is it more likely we felt "guilty" exactly the same way a highschooler gets peer-pressured into feeling not "cool" enough? And didn't Taylor Swift's kindergarden drivel get praised here by so-called "Jazz" players not so long ago? 😆 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHarrell Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Say what you will about Grusin's aesthetics of the time (John Williams even wrote a knockoff of "Mountain Dance" for the 1991 film Hook, titled "Yuppie Sounds"), the man had/s a really unique compositional voice with a great flair for harmony. He'll always have my respect for his excellent "Tribute to Duke" album, featuring some absolutely killer arrangements of his--including a woodwind heavy Take the A Train that interprets as the ballad Strayhorn originally intended it to be. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan May Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Dave Grusin also used a Yamaha GS1, if I'm not mistaken. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AROIOS Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 6 hours ago, ABECK said: I'm sure this performance of Dave Grusin and the GRP All stars from the Record Plant in 1985 is not new to many. But, every now and again, I like to dust it off and bask in the utter glossiness of the quintessential 80s LA studio jazz scene. The keys rig was my dream back in the 80s I count 2 original DX-7s, an Emulator II and tucked underneath, an Oberheim Expander. Honorable mention to Dave's Kawai EP-308 electric grand and DX-7. This era was when I first started getting hooked on all things keys and is forever burned in my brain as a special time in the music tech landscape. Among other things, Dave Grusin is responsible for some of my favorite 80s film and TV soundtracks. Who could forget St. Elsewhere? What a great show and iconic theme song. Larry Williams is an under-appreciated multi-instrumentalist. Dude was an important part of the West Coast sound. And Seawind's influence on WestCoast AOR is as prominent as The Time on R&B. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberGene Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 I'll get into a bar fight if someone says something bad about Dave Grusin! But I have to admit that besides his really unique and very own style and some great recordings under his name (as a musician), he's been also behind some rather cheesy records as a producer... But who cares 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AROIOS Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Funny how the Pop Jazz hating "cool" kids never picked on this utter piece of garbage of a cover 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberGene Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Hating on anything is really low stuff. There's no force on earth that would make me listen to Kenny G, however I still find that incident when Pat Metheny bashed Kenny G and commented on what musician Kenny G is, of very poor taste and embarrassing. Hope he learned it's not the way. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHarrell Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 8 minutes ago, AROIOS said: Funny how the Pop Jazz hating "cool" kids never picked on this utter piece of garbage of a cover All the "serious" peeps in the 80s hated Davis' contemporary stuff outside of maybe Aura. Great song and great cover, stop it. 😭 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AROIOS Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 2 minutes ago, CHarrell said: All the "serious" peeps in the 80s hated Davis' contemporary stuff outside of maybe Aura. Great song and great cover, stop it. 😭 All that live "jazzy" stuff sprinkled on top of a horrible arrangement, is just lipstick on a pig. Miles' greatness needs no words, and the original song was excellent. Why he chose to do this garbage, repeatedly, is beyond me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AROIOS Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Here's my favorite tune from the same concert. This is sonic paradise. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reezekeys Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 1 hour ago, DroptopBroham said: Look up sell out in Webster's and you'll find a picture of Dave Grusin. Utterly banal and GRP Records is even worse. This "music" is best forgotten. How I wish I could sell out like Dave Grusin! Even if you don't follow his work, it's hard to fathom how anyone could discount the talent this man has after watching this excellent documentary on him: https://www.pbs.org/video/dave-grusin-not-enough-time-3jnyac/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan May Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 I actually liked Thankful and Thoughtful, the song Dave Grusin did in 1984 with Phoebe Snow. Be careful: there are lots of Simmons electronic drums on this track! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 Cheezy or not, this gets me every time. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 I need to dig into these examples. His Mountain Dance is one of my favorites from that era. I think that’s what it’s called. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reezekeys Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 The writing. A movie soundtrack, instrumentation: a piano. How’s that for “sellout”? 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motif88 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 hmm…is it an age thing? Maybe the youngsters under 50 don’t appreciate what did or did exist in the 1980’s….just like they like to assume history started from the day they were born. Yet somehow, bad poetry spoken with a drum machine track passes as music. Everyone of those players are top notch and played on lots of other gigs. If you were playing in the 80’s you would have killed to be on that call list. You do know who the “G” in GRP records is along with the catalog, correct? 1 Quote Using: Yamaha: Montage M8x| Spectrasonics: Omnisphere, Keyscape | uhe: Diva, Hive2, Zebra2| Roland: Cloud Pro | Arturia: V Collection | NI: Komplete 14 | VPS: Avenger | Cherry: GX80 | G-Force: OB-E | Korg: Triton, MS-20 Sold/Traded: Yamaha: Motif XS8, Motif ES8, Motif8, KX-88, TX7 | ASM: Hydrasynth Deluxe| Roland: RD-2000, D50, MKS-20| Korg: Kronos 88, T3, MS-20 | Oberheim: OB8, OBXa, Modular 8 Voice | Rhodes: Dyno-My-Piano| Crumar: T2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motif88 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 5 hours ago, DroptopBroham said: Look up sell out in Webster's and you'll find a picture of Dave Grusin. Utterly banal and GRP Records is even worse. This "music" is best forgotten. and where can we find your discography, credits and the record company that you founded? 3 1 Quote Using: Yamaha: Montage M8x| Spectrasonics: Omnisphere, Keyscape | uhe: Diva, Hive2, Zebra2| Roland: Cloud Pro | Arturia: V Collection | NI: Komplete 14 | VPS: Avenger | Cherry: GX80 | G-Force: OB-E | Korg: Triton, MS-20 Sold/Traded: Yamaha: Motif XS8, Motif ES8, Motif8, KX-88, TX7 | ASM: Hydrasynth Deluxe| Roland: RD-2000, D50, MKS-20| Korg: Kronos 88, T3, MS-20 | Oberheim: OB8, OBXa, Modular 8 Voice | Rhodes: Dyno-My-Piano| Crumar: T2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reezekeys Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 3 minutes ago, Motif88 said: hmm…is an age thing? Maybe the youngsters under 50 don’t appreciate what did or did exist in the 1980’s….just like they like to assume history started from the day they were born. Yet somehow, bad poetry spoken with a drum machine track passes as music. Exactly. They hear a DX7 so it’s cheese - notwithstanding that was the current sound of the day. Here’s another example of Dave’s work - no DX here! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motif88 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 3 hours ago, CyberGene said: Hating on anything is really low stuff. There's no force on earth that would make me listen to Kenny G, however I still find that incident when Pat Metheny bashed Kenny G and commented on what musician Kenny G is, of very poor taste and embarrassing. Hope he learned it's not the way. hmm…I assume that you listened to the Jeff Lorber albums from 1977 - 1982 that included Kenny Gorelick and didn’t complain then. 1 Quote Using: Yamaha: Montage M8x| Spectrasonics: Omnisphere, Keyscape | uhe: Diva, Hive2, Zebra2| Roland: Cloud Pro | Arturia: V Collection | NI: Komplete 14 | VPS: Avenger | Cherry: GX80 | G-Force: OB-E | Korg: Triton, MS-20 Sold/Traded: Yamaha: Motif XS8, Motif ES8, Motif8, KX-88, TX7 | ASM: Hydrasynth Deluxe| Roland: RD-2000, D50, MKS-20| Korg: Kronos 88, T3, MS-20 | Oberheim: OB8, OBXa, Modular 8 Voice | Rhodes: Dyno-My-Piano| Crumar: T2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 The music produced by GRP allowed many musicians to earn a living and led to a sub-genre...Smooth Jazz. I appreciate the fact that keyboards had a prominent role in 1980s Jazz. It was great that KB players were welcomed into the band and they weren't hidden off-stage or otherwise obscured.😁😎 2 1 Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reezekeys Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Just now, ProfD said: The music produced by GRP allowed many musicians to earn a living and led to a sub-genre...Smooth Jazz. And a few Chick Corea albums that were pretty far away from smooth jazz. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHarrell Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 4 hours ago, Reezekeys said: The writing. A movie soundtrack, instrumentation: a piano. How’s that for “sellout”? 🙂 It's funny, I mentioned how John Williams ripped him off in a score, and here Grusin returns the favor I don't say this to denigrate either of them, this is very common in the industry, a practice pushed on composers by director, producer, etc. Both men are imaginative enough to take the mandated template and transform it into something unique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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