Long knowing how well the soul vocal duo works with his saxophone, Grover brought in Patti Labelle and gave one of her best performances, and believe me, she has many more of those. Another great creative touch: a little twitch on the mixing desk allows Patti's vocal scream to sound like it's bursting out of Grover's howling saxophone.
The album also features two quick ‘jams’. ‘Can You Dig It’ and, most importantly, “Mixty Motions,” with its cleverly mangled title, both really engage percussionist Ralph McDonald in the kind of jazz-funk groove that Grover did best: danceably soulful with a certain lightness and understatement from all involved.
Towards the end, you can also spot mid-tempo, soulful tracks like ‘Things Are Getting Better’ performed by Bobby McFerrin, as well as smooth funk with a Caribbean flavour such as ‘More Than Meets The Eye’, ‘Brazilian Memories’ with its low and energetic synth riffs and “Cassie's Theme” as even the somewhat lower tempo, with the same ease in the accompaniment, have even more of that “heavy on easy” power and strength than some of the faster tracks. It's not just that sometimes less is more, it's that you hear stronger individual musicians. The album closes with ‘I'll Be With You,’ another Philadelphia-style soul-jazz ballad performed by bassist Cedric Napoleon. This album showcases not only Grover's well-established easy-going but thoughtful saxophone writing, but also his spongy jazz-funk rhythm section. Those who enjoy Winelight's style, especially as a continuation of his late 70's recordings backed by Locksmith, should listen to this album.
