Mister Magic
1975 studio album by Grover Washington Jr.
Mister Magic is the fourth album by jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr., released in February 1975. The album topped both the soul and jazz albums chart and peaked at number ten on the pop chart.
01Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B− |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | |
Reviewing for The Village Voice in 1975, Robert Christgau found the album "functional" and satisfactory for a commercially successful jazz album: "Washington plays a warm tenor in the pop jazz tradition of Gene Ammons, but the rhythm section percolates danceably, and the result is sexy background music only superficially marred by Bob James's strings."
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow said that it is "one of Grover Washington Jr.'s best-loved recordings and considered a classic of r&bish jazz." He found Washington to be in "particularly creative form" and called James' arrangements "colorful if somewhat commercial".
02Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Earth Tones" | Bob James | 12:20 |
| 2. | "Passion Flower" | Billy Strayhorn, Milt Raskin | 5:30 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mister Magic" | Ralph MacDonald | 8:58 |
| 2. | "Black Frost" | Bob James, Grover Washington Jr. | 6:03 |
| Total length: | 32:51 | ||
03Personnel
- Grover Washington Jr., soprano, alto and tenor saxophones
- Bob James, piano, Fender Rhodes, arrangements and conductor
- Eric Gale, guitars
- Phil Upchurch, bass (1)
- Gary King, bass (2-4)
- Harvey Mason, drums
- Ralph MacDonald, percussion
Brass and reed section
- Phil Bodner, baritone saxophone
- Jerry Dodgion, tenor saxophone
- Tony Studd, bass trombone
- Wayne Andre, trombone
- Jon Faddis and Marvin Stamm, trumpet, flugelhorn
String section
- Charles McCracken and Alan Shulman, cello
- Alfred Brown and Emanuel Vardi, viola
- Max Ellen, Paul Gershman, Harry Glickman, Harold Kohon, Harry Lookofsky, Joe Malin, David Nadien and Matthew Raimondi, violin
Production
- Creed Taylor, producer
- Rudy Van Gelder, engineer
- Bob Ciano, album design
- Alen MacWeeney, photography
- Doug Ramsey, liner notes
04Charts
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Pop Albums | 10 |
| Billboard Top Soul Albums | 1 |
| Billboard Top Jazz Albums | 1 |
Singles
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mister Magic”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Mister Magic.jpeg by Unknown author, Fair use
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.