The Best Is Yet to Come (Grover Washington Jr. album)

The Best Is Yet to Come
Studio album by Grover Washington Jr.
Released	1982
Studio	Group IV Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Rosebud Recording Studio, New York, NY; Sigma Sound Studios-Starship One, Philadelphia, PA
Genre	Jazz
Length	39:59
Label	Elektra 60215
Producer	Grover Washington, Jr., Ralph MacDonald, Nathan Sassover, Dexter Wansel
Grover Washington Jr. chronology
Anthology (1981) The Best Is Yet to Come (1982) Inside Moves (1984)

The Best Is Yet to Come is a 1982 studio album by American jazz musician Grover Washington Jr., released via the Elektra label. The album includes his major hit "The Best Is Yet to Come" recorded with Patti LaBelle.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide	[3]

A reviewer of Billboard wrote "When a musician of unassailable integrity, honesty and commitment makes a bold, adventurous statement about his art, what do you do? You believe him". ^[4] Ron Wynn of AllMusic stated on "The Best Is Yet to Come", the title cut was a major R&B hit, with Patti Labelle doing vocals. The rest, unfortunately, is formulaic fusion". ^[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Can You Dig It"	Ralph MacDonald, William Salter	5:17
2.	"The Best Is Yet to Come"	Cynthia Biggs, Dexter Wansel	5:58
3.	"More Than Meets the Eye"	Grover Washington, Jr.	4:28
4.	"Things Are Getting Better"	Gerald H. Price	4:16
5.	"Mixty Motions"	William Eaton	5:17
6.	"Brazilian Memories"	William Eaton	6:08
7.	"I'll Be With You"	Grover Washington, Jr.	4:37
8.	"Cassie's Theme"	Grover Washington, Jr.	3:58
Total length:			39:59

Personnel

• Grover Washington, Jr. – alto saxophone (1), tenor saxophone (2, 6), arrangements (2–4, 7, 8), soprano saxophone (3, 7, 8), saxello (4, 5), synthesizers (7)
• Richard Tee – Fender Rhodes (1, 5, 6), clavinet (6), keyboards (8)
• Paul Griffin – Oberheim OB-Xa (1, 5), synthesizers (6)
• James K. Lloyd – keyboards (2–4, 7), acoustic piano (3, 4)
• Dexter Wansel – Oberheim OB-Xa (2–4), arrangements (2, 7), synthesizers (7)
• Teddi Schlossman – Rhodes electric piano (3)
• Billy Childs – acoustic piano (8), synthesizers (8)
• Eric Gale – guitars (1, 5, 6)
• Herb Smith – guitars (2)
• Richard Steacker – guitars (3, 4, 7)
• Lee Ritenour – guitars (8)
• Marcus Miller – bass (1, 5, 6)
• Cedric A. Napoleon – bass (2–4, 7), lead vocals (7)
• Abraham Laboriel – bass (8)
• Yogi Horton – drums (1, 5, 6)
• Darryl Washington – drums (2–4, 7)
• Harvey Mason – drums (8)
• Ralph MacDonald – percussion (1, 5, 6), bells (2), shaker (2)
• Leonard Gibbs – percussion (3, 4, 7)
• Victor Feldman – percussion (8)
• Kevin Johnson – percussion (8)
• Alex Foster – saxophones (1)
• Frank Wess – saxophones (1)
• Jon Faddis – trumpet (1)
• Mona Goldman-Yoskin – flute (3)
• William Eaton – arrangements (1, 5, 6)
• Cynthia Biggs – arrangements (7)
• Patti LaBelle – lead and backing vocals (2)
• Bobby McFerrin – lead and backing vocals (4)
• Carla L. Benson – backing vocals (7)
• Evette Benton – backing vocals (7)
• Lucille Jones – backing vocals (7)

Production

• Grover Washington, Jr. – executive producer, producer, mixing
• Ralph MacDonald – producer (1, 5, 6), mixing
• Dexter Wansel – producer (2, 3, 4, 7)
• Nathan Sassover – producer (8)
• Richard Alderson – engineer (1, 5, 6), mixing
• Kendall Brown – engineer (1, 5, 6), mixing
• Peter Humphreys – engineer (2–4, 7), mixing
• Dennis Sands – engineer (8)
• Eddie Heath – assistant engineer (1, 5, 6)
• Lamont Moreno – assistant engineer (1, 5, 6)
• Barry Craig – assistant engineer (2–4, 7)
• Scott E. MacMinn – assistant engineer (2–4, 7)
• John Wisner – assistant engineer (2–4, 7)
• Greg Orloff – assistant engineer (8)
• Vlado Meller – mastering at CBS Studios (New York, NY).
• Janaire Boger – production coordinator
• Paul Silverthorn – production coordinator
• Ron Coro – art direction, design
• Denise Minobe – art direction, design
• Jim Shea – photography

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [5]	100
US Billboard Pop Albums [6]	50

In popular culture

The first track "Can You Dig It" can be heard on the sign-off for Vancouver-based CBC station CBUT in 1986.

References

1. Wynn, Ron. "The Best Is Yet to Come – Grover Washington Jr". AllMusic . Retrieved January 18, 2019.
2. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1468. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
3. Swenson, John (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide . Random House. Retrieved September 23, 2019. Grover Washington Jr.
4. "The Best Is Yet to Come". Billboard. December 25, 1982. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 333. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
6. "The Best Is Yet to Come". Billboard . Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.