Mister Magic
| Mister Magic | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||
| Studio album by Grover Washington, Jr. | ||||||||||
| Released | February 7, 1975 | |||||||||
| Recorded | November 1974; Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs | |||||||||
| Genre | Smooth jazz[1] | |||||||||
| Length | 32:51 | |||||||||
| Label | Kudu Records | |||||||||
| Producer | Creed Taylor | |||||||||
| Grover Washington, Jr. chronology | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
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
In a contemporary review, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave Mister Magic a "B–" and found it "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."[2]
In a retrospective review for Allmusic, Scott Yanow gave the album four-and-a-half 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".[3]
Track listing
- "Earth Tones" (Bob James) - 12:20
- "Passion Flower" (Billy Strayhorn) - 5:30
- "Mister Magic" (Ralph MacDonald) - 8:58
- "Black Frost" (Bob James, Grover Washington, Jr.) - 6:03
Personnel
- Grover Washington, Jr. - tenor, alto and soprano saxophones
- Bob James - arranged by, conductor, Fender Rhodes electric piano, piano
- Gary King, Phil Upchurch - bass
- Harvey Mason - drums
- Eric Gale - guitar
- Ralph MacDonald - percussion
- Jon Faddis, Marvin Stamm - trumpet, flugelhorn
- Phil Bodner - baritone saxophone
- Wayne Andre - trombone
- Tony Studd - bass trombone
- Jerry Dodgion - tenor saxophone
- Alan Shulman, Charles McCracken - cello
- Al Brown, Manny Vardi - viola
- David Nadien, Harold Kohon, Harry Glickman, Harry Lookofsky, Joe Malin, Matthew Raimondi, Max Ellen, Paul Gershman - violin
- Rudy Van Gelder - engineer
Charts
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Pop Albums[4] | 10 |
| Billboard Top Soul Albums[4] | 1 |
| Billboard Top Jazz Albums[4] | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions[5] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop |
US R&B | ||
| 1975 | "Mister Magic" | 54 | 16 |
References
- ↑ Maclaren, Trevor (July 13, 2004). "Grover Washington, Jr.: Mister Magic". All About Jazz. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (June 16, 1975). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- ↑ Yanow, Scott. "Mister Magic - Grover Washington, Jr.". Allmusic. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "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.
External links
- Mister Magic at Discogs (list of releases)