r/CrossoverJazz

Al Jarreau: The Only Artist With Competitive Grammys in Jazz, Pop, and R&B

Al Jarreau, a jazz vocalist, born March 12, 1940, in Milwaukee, passed away February 12, 2017, in Los Angeles, at the age of 76. Jarreau earned a psychology degree from Ripon College in 1962 and a master's in vocational rehabilitation from the University of Iowa in 1964, and worked as a rehabilitation counselor in San Francisco while performing at night in a jazz trio led by George Duke. Surprisingly as it may be, music didn't become Jarreau's full-time job until years later.

Al Jarreau's commercial breakthrough came in 1981 with "Breakin' Away," built around the hit "We're in This Love Together," which won him the 1982 Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Two years later, "Jarreau" became his third consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard Jazz chart, and its lead single, "Mornin'," reached No. 21 on the Pop chart, No. 2 on Adult Contemporary, and No. 1 on Jazz at the same time, the kind of three-chart spread that is basically crossover jazz's whole argument compressed into one single. He also wrote the lyrics to and sang the theme song for the 1980s TV series "Moonlighting," and joined the all-star lineup on 1985's charity single "We Are the World."

In 2006 he made a full collaborative album, "Givin' It Up," with guitarist George Benson, previously profiled on r/CrossoverJazz. The thirteen-track record found each of them revisiting the other's signature hit, Benson taking on "Mornin'" and Jarreau taking on "Breezin'," a lovely bit of trading places. It paid off at the Grammys too: "Mornin'" won Best Pop Instrumental Performance, "God Bless the Child" (with guest Jill Scott) won Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, and "Breezin'" picked up a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. By the time he retired, Jarreau had won 10 Grammy Awards from 29 nominations across his career, and he remains the only vocalist in history to take home competitive Grammys in three different categories: jazz, pop, and R&B.

AJ didn't get much of a retirement. Jarreau announced he was stepping back from performing in early February 2017, and sadly passed away of respiratory failure two days later.

Where to start listening:

• His official platforms:
  • Al Jarreau's Official Site
  • Al Jarreau's YouTube Channel
  • Al Jarreau's Spotify Page
• "Breakin' Away" (1981) for the pop breakthrough, start with "We're in This Love Together"
• "Jarreau" (1983) for the three-chart run, start with "Mornin'"
• "Givin' It Up" (2006) for the crossover-generation summit meeting with George Benson

Hi all Jazz Crossover fans! I'm Erik, the founding moderator of r/CrossoverJazz. This is a home for a genre that gets talked about constantly and defined correctly almost never, so let's fix that up front.

What "Crossover" Actually Means Here

Crossover jazz isn't a vibe, it's a specific thing: real jazz musicians making records built to land on pop and R&B charts, without ditching the improvisation to get there. That's different from "fusion," which is jazz musically hybridized with rock and funk instrumentation, dense and demanding as often as not (Weather Report, Mahavishnu). And it's different from "smooth jazz," the radio format that kept only the least improvisational, least demanding pieces of the sound.

This sub is about Crossover: George Benson gigging with Jack McDuff's organ combo before "Breezin'" ever charted. Grover Washington Jr. coming out of Prestige and CTI hard-bop sessions before "Just the Two of Us." Bob James producing CTI dates for a decade before "Angela" became the theme to Taxi. Real jazz chops, aimed at a bigger room. That's the whole genre, and we're going to give it more respect than the "elevator jazz" label usually allows.

What to Post

Post anything you think the community would find interesting, helpful, or inspiring. Feel free to share:

• Recordings and live performances by crossover jazz artists (as long as not copyrighted or otherwise prohibited)
• News about gigs, festivals, and reissues
• Deep dives into legends like George Benson, Grover Washington Jr., or Bob James
• Discussions about the CTI/Kudu era, the producers and labels behind it, and how pop, R&B, funk, and soul shaped that "smooth, hook-forward" jazz sound
• Recommendations, questions, and gear talk
• Photos from shows you've attended

Community Vibe

We're all about being friendly, constructive, and inclusive. Whether you're a lifelong fan, a working musician, or just curious what "crossover" even means beyond the elevator-jazz stereotype, you belong here. Let's build a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing and connecting.

How to Get Started

1. Introduce yourself in the comments below, tell us how you found crossover jazz and who you're listening to right now.
2. Post something today! Even a simple question can spark a great conversation.
3. Know someone who'd love this community? Invite them to join.
4. Interested in helping out? We're always looking for new moderators, feel free to reach out.

Thanks for being part of the very first wave. Together, let's make r/CrossoverJazz amazing. 🎷

r/CrossoverJazz

George Benson: The Guitarist Whose One Vocal Track Won Record of the Year

If you read our posts on Bob James and Grover Washington Jr., here's a third name from the same family tree: George Benson, a jazz guitarist and vocalist, also came up through Creed Taylor's CTI Records in the early 1970s, the same label stable that shaped both of their breakthroughs. Benson's own CTI record, 1974's "Bad Benson," topped the Billboard jazz chart before he ever sang a note on tape.

Benson was working before he was a teenager. Born March 22, 1943, in Pittsburgh's Hill District, he sang in a contest at 4, played ukulele for tips in a neighborhood drugstore at 7, and cut his first sides for RCA Victor's Groove label at 9. His debut album as a leader, "The New Boss Guitar of George Benson" (1964), paired him with organist Jack McDuff, and by 1968 Miles Davis had him on guitar for "Miles in the Sky."

The turn that made him a crossover name came in 1976, when he signed to Warner Bros. and released "Breezin'." The album went triple-platinum and hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, but the moment that mattered most was its one vocal track: "This Masquerade," written by Leon Russell, with Benson singing lead for the first time on record. It won the Grammy for Record of the Year, jazz's biggest crossover-into-the-mainstream moment of the decade, for a guitarist nobody had signed to sing.

He went bigger in 1980. "Give Me the Night," produced by Quincy Jones and written by Rod Temperton (the same songwriter behind Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" and "Thriller"), hit No. 1 on Billboard's Soul Singles chart and No. 4 on the Hot 100, Benson's highest pop chart peak. He has ten Grammy Awards total and was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2009. He is still releasing music: July 2024 brought "Dreams Do Come True: When George Benson Meets Robert Farnon," a set of previously lost 1989 recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Where to start listening:

• His official platforms:
  • George Benson's Official Site
  • George Benson's YouTube Channel
  • George Benson's Spotify Page
• "Breezin'" (1976) for the crossover breakthrough, start with "This Masquerade"
• "Give Me the Night" (1980) for the Quincy Jones-produced pop peak, start with the official music video

Also check out our sister community, r/IsraelJazz

r/CrossoverJazz

Introducing Grover Washington Jr.

If you read our post on Bob James, here's a direct link between our first two spotlights: James arranged and conducted Washington's breakthrough album, "Mister Magic," playing piano and Fender Rhodes on it himself. Before that album, Washington was a saxophonist out of Philadelphia who got his shot in 1971 when Creed Taylor needed a replacement for Hank Crawford on a Kudu Records session. That single substitution became Washington's debut, "Inner City Blues," recorded that September at Van Gelder Studio and released in 1972, its title track a cover of Marvin Gaye's own recent hit.

Washington was born December 12, 1943, in Buffalo, New York. His father collected jazz records and played saxophone, and put a horn in Grover's hands at age 8. He toured with the Four Clefs from 1959 to 1963, then spent time in the Army, where he met drummer Billy Cobham, who plugged him into New York's jazz scene before he settled in Philadelphia in 1967.

"Mister Magic," released February 7, 1975, is the number that proves crossover jazz actually crossed over: it topped both Billboard's R&B and jazz album charts and reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200. Bob James's arrangements sat alongside a band that included drummer Harvey Mason and guitarist Eric Gale. Five years later came "Winelight" (1980, Elektra), which went platinum in 1981 and won the 1982 Grammy for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. Its single, "Just the Two of Us," a duet with Bill Withers, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1981 and won its own Grammy, Best R&B Song, for songwriters Withers, Ralph MacDonald, and William Salter, on top of a Song of the Year nomination.

He didn't do it on one horn. Washington played soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, professionally, not as a novelty. He also worked with Patti LaBelle, Phyllis Hyman, and later Kenny G, and picked up inductions into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame (1992) and the Atlantic City Walk of Fame (2023). He died December 17, 1999, at 56, of a heart attack after collapsing backstage at CBS Studios in New York, midway through a still-active touring career, not a comeback attempt.

Where to start listening:

• His catalog:
  • "Inner City Blues" (1972)) for the Creed Taylor debut that started it
  • "Mister Magic" (1975) for where Bob James and Grover Washington Jr. built the breakthrough together
  • "Winelight" (1980) for the Grammy-winning peak, sample "Just the Two of Us" with Bill Withers

r/CrossoverJazz

Introducing Bob James

Bob James, a jazz keyboardist, composer, arranger, and producer, was born on Christmas Day, 1939, in Marshall, Missouri. He started on piano at 4, and his teacher discovered his perfect pitch the same year. By 8 he had his first professional gig. In 1962, his college trio entered a jazz competition judged by Henry Mancini and Quincy Jones. They won, and Jones signed him on the spot, producing and releasing his 1963 debut, "Bold Conceptions." James moved to New York not long after, working as arranger and pianist for Sarah Vaughan and recording alongside Chet Baker and Hubert Laws.

The turn that made him a crossover name came through CTI Records, the influential jazz label built by producer Creed Taylor around a polished, radio-friendly sound. Taylor hired James as a producer, arranger, and studio musician, and through the 1970s James worked CTI sessions for Milt Jackson, Stanley Turrentine, Maynard Ferguson, and Grover Washington Jr. Taylor then handed James his own record: "One" (1974), whose closing track "Nautilus" would go on to become one of the most sampled recordings in hip-hop history, pulled into over 410 songs including Run-DMC's "Beats to the Rhyme," A Tribe Called Quest's "Clap Your Hands," Naughty by Nature's "O.P.P.," and Warren G and Nate Dogg's "Regulate," a reach WhoSampled's own catalog documents track by track.

By 1978, James had gone properly mainstream: "Angela," from his album "Touchdown," became the theme song for the hit TV sitcom Taxi, putting a jazz instrumental into millions of living rooms every week. Two years later, "One on One," his collaboration with guitarist Earl Klugh, won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and sold over a million copies; a separate Grammy, for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, came for "Double Vision" with David Sanborn. In 1991, James co-founded Fourplay with drummer Harvey Mason, guitarist Lee Ritenour, and bassist Nathan East. He also ran his own label, Tappan Zee Records, founded in 1977 and named for the bridge he crossed commuting home from New York recording sessions.

He is still doing it at 85. In 2025, James released "Just Us," a GRAMMY-nominated duet album with saxophonist Dave Koz, recorded mostly in the living room of James's own home in Traverse City, Michigan, Koz's horn mic'd right next to his grand piano.

Where to start listening:

• His official platforms:
  • Bob James's Official Site
  • Bob James's YouTube Channel
  • Bob James's Spotify Page
• "One" (1974) for where the crossover sound crystallized, start with the official audio of "Nautilus"
• "Touchdown" (1978) for the mainstream breakthrough, start with "Angela (Theme From Taxi)"
• "Just Us" (2025) for where he is right now, recorded with Dave Koz in his own living room

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