Mister Magic

Last updated

Mister Magic
Mister Magic.jpeg
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 7, 1975
RecordedNovember 1974
Studio Van Gelder, Englewood Cliffs
Genre Jazz funk [1]
Length32:51
Label Kudu
Producer Creed Taylor
Grover Washington Jr. chronology
Soul Box
(1973)
Mister Magic
(1975)
Feels So Good
(1975)
Alternative cover
Mister Magic2.jpg
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.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
Christgau's Record Guide B− [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [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 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

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Earth Tones" Bob James 12:20
2."Passion Flower" Billy Strayhorn, Milt Raskin 5:30
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mister Magic" Ralph MacDonald 8:58
2."Black Frost"Bob James, Grover Washington Jr.6:03
Total length:32:51

Personnel

Brass and reed section

String section

Production

Charts

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

Singles

YearSingleChart positions [8]
US
Pop
US
R&B
1975"Mister Magic"5416

References

  1. Maclaren, Trevor (July 13, 2004). "Grover Washington Jr.: Mister Magic". All About Jazz . Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Yanow, Scott. "Mister Magic – Grover Washington Jr". AllMusic . Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  3. 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.
  4. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1468. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  5. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 203. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  6. Christgau, Robert (June 16, 1975). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "Grover Washington Jr. US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  8. "Grover Washington Jr. US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 24, 2011.