Mister Magic

For other uses of "Mister Magic", see Mister Magic (disambiguation).
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
Soul Box
(1973)
Mister Magic
(1975)
Feels So Good
(1975)
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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[2]

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."[3]

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".[4]

Track listing

  1. "Earth Tones" (Bob James) - 12:20
  2. "Passion Flower" (Billy Strayhorn) - 5:30
  3. "Mister Magic" (Ralph MacDonald) - 8:58
  4. "Black Frost" (Bob James, Grover Washington, Jr.) - 6:03

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1975) Peak
position
Billboard Pop Albums[5] 10
Billboard Top Soul Albums[5] 1
Billboard Top Jazz Albums[5] 1

Singles

Year Single Chart positions[6]
US
Pop
US
R&B
1975 "Mister Magic" 54 16

References

  1. Maclaren, Trevor (July 13, 2004). "Grover Washington, Jr.: Mister Magic". All About Jazz. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  2. Swenson, J. (Editor) (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 203. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  3. Christgau, Robert (June 16, 1975). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  4. Yanow, Scott. "Mister Magic - Grover Washington, Jr.". Allmusic. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "Grover Washington, Jr. US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
  6. "Grover Washington, Jr. US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-24.

External links

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