Mister_Magic Knowpia

Mister Magic
Mister Magic
Studio album by Grover Washington Jr.
Released	February 7, 1975
Recorded	November 1974
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs
Genre	Jazz funk
Length	32:51
Label	Kudu Records
Producer	Creed Taylor
Grover Washington Jr. chronology
Alternative cover
	Motown Jazz reissue

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.

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	B−^[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	^[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	^[5]

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."^[6]

In a retrospective review for Allmusic, Scott Yanow gave the album five out of five stars and 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".^[2]

Track listing edit

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Earth Tones"	Bob James	12:20
2.	"Passion Flower"	Billy Strayhorn, Milt Raskin	5:30

Side two
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

Personnel edit

Grover Washington Jr. – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
Bob James – acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, arrangements and conductor
Eric Gale – guitars
Phil Upchurch – bass (1)
Gary King – bass (2, 3, 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 edit

Creed Taylor – producer
Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
Bob Ciano – album design
Alen MacWeeney – photography
Doug Ramsey – liner notes

Charts edit

Chart (1975)	Peak position
Billboard Pop Albums^[7]	10
Billboard Top Soul Albums^[7]	1
Billboard Top Jazz Albums^[7]	1

Singles edit

Year	Single	Chart positions^[8]
Year	Single	US Pop	US R&B
1975	"Mister Magic"	54	16

References edit

^ Maclaren, Trevor (July 13, 2004). "Grover Washington Jr.: Mister Magic". All About Jazz. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Yanow, Scott. "Mister Magic – Grover Washington Jr". Allmusic. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 22, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 203. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1468. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
^ Christgau, Robert (June 16, 1975). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Grover Washington Jr. US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
^ "Grover Washington Jr. US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-24.