Ten years ago on  (December 17), the world of music and smooth jazz in particular lost an icon with the passing of saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. Washington suffered a heart attack on December 17, 1999, after collapsing in his dressing room after taping a performance for the CBS Early Show.  He was survived by his wife Christine and two children, Grover III and Shana, and is buried at the West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwd, PA.

The legendary saxophonist, considered by many the most popular saxophonist of all time, left the world with more than 25 albums and a legacy for other aspiring musicians to follow. A few of his most memorable hits included “Mr. Magic,” “East River Drive,” “Soulful Strut” and the Bill Withers collaboration “Just The Two Us.” Although born in Buffalo, NY, Washington spent most of his adult life in Philadelphia. In his honor, the City of Brotherly Love constructed a school named after him - the Grover Washington Jr. Middle School.

Saxophonist Paul Taylor, who has performed on the Groovin’ For Grover smooth jazz tour, says Washington did things on his instrument contemporary jazz musicians just didn’t do. “He was smooth jazz back then, more than 30 years ago. When ‘Mister Magic’ came on, he was like outlining the song with his horn. Most people didn’t really do that on a contemporary level, and he was so soulful doing it. That was his thing.”

Meanwhile, a brand-new CD by the late saxophonist titled Grover Live, capturing a show in June 1997 at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill, NY, will be released in March by G Man Productions. The CD, produced by Jason Miles (who produced the CDs To Grover With Love and the sequel 2 Grover With Love), captures the consummate pro in concert and at the peak of his powers, blowing with unbridled conviction and a sense of risk-taking on a collection of his tunes spanning three decades.

Washington’s band on the CD are Adam Holzman and Donald Robinson on keyboards and synthesizers, Gerald Veasley on electric bass, Richard Lee on guitar, Pablo Batista on percussion and Steven Wolf on drums.

“Grover could go on stage and play jazz, and he could also go on stage and play soulful stuff and everything,” says Miles. “Grover honed his craft as he was becoming himself. And Grover had great individual character to his sound, and also such a natural flow to it. It seems like that everybody sounds like everybody else. Grover, I could tell him two feet away. I mean, I could tell Grover 50 feet away.”