Walter Beasley

Walter Beasley established himself as a leading saxophonist and vocalist whose mellow, R&B-inflected approach powered a thriving career across contemporary and smooth jazz. Emerging in the late 1980s, he maintained his faculty position at Boston’s Berklee College of Music while steadily releasing lyrical, groove-driven projects such as 1997’s Tonight We Love, 2002’s Rendezvous, and 2007’s Ready for Love, the last of which yielded three Billboard smooth jazz number-one singles, among them “I’m Back” and “Steady as She Goes.” He operates his own Affable Music imprint, which issued 2019’s Going Home.

Born in El Centro, California, in 1961, Beasley started on trumpet before taking up the saxophone near age nine. Drawing early inspiration from Grover Washington, Jr., he immersed himself in jazz and performed with ensembles throughout junior high and high school. After graduation he enrolled at Berklee, completing his studies at age 22 and joining the school’s teaching staff. His first solo album, the self-titled Walter Beasley, appeared on Verve in 1987; two years later Verve released Just Kickin’ It. Both recordings revealed his wide-ranging blend of jazz, funk, and R&B while highlighting his dual role as saxophonist and singer.

Throughout the 1990s he moved to Mercury for 1992’s Intimacy and 1995’s Private Time, then settled at Shanachie for an extended association that began with 1997’s Tonight We Love and continued through 1998’s For Your Pleasure and 2002’s Rendezvous. These releases integrated hip-hop elements and cultivated a pronounced quiet-storm atmosphere. Concurrently he recorded for Heads Up and his Affable Records label, delivering 2005’s For Her and 2007’s Ready for Love.

Shanachie welcomed him back in 2010 for Backatcha!, after which several live sets preceded the 2015 studio album I’m Back on Affable. He followed with the sensual Blackstreams in 2017. Going Home arrived in 2019 and featured contributions from Phil Davis, Derek Cannon, and Tres Gilbert. That same year he appeared on bassist Byron Miller’s Billboard smooth-jazz single “The B Spot,” which reached number two.