''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

Reviewing for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' in 1975,

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

found the album "functional" and satisfactory for a commercially successful jazz album: "Washington plays a warm tenor in the

pop jazz Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...

tradition of

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and ...

, 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 AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles a ...

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".

Track listing

Personnel

* Grover Washington Jr. – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone * Bob James – acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, arrangements and conductor *

Eric Gale Eric Gale (September 20, 1938 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. ''Early life and career'' Born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, Gale grew up in a diverse household. His paternal grandfather was from Yorks ...

– guitars * Phil Upchurch – bass (1) * Gary King – bass (2, 3, 4) *

Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. Mason, who attended Berklee in the 1960s, received an Honorary Doctorate at Berklee's 2015 Commencement Ceremony ...

– drums *

Ralph MacDonald Ralph Anthony MacDonald (March 15, 1944 – December 18, 2011) was a Trinbagonian-American percussionist, songwriter, musical arranger, record producer, steelpan virtuoso and philanthropist. His compositions include "Where Is the Love", a Gramm ...

– percussion Brass and Reed Section * Phil Bodner – baritone saxophone *

Jerry Dodgion Jerry Dodgion (born August 29, 1932) is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. Dodgion was born in Richmond, California. He played alto sax in middle school and began working locally in the San Francisco area in the 1950s. He played in bands w ...

– tenor saxophone * Tony Studd – bass trombone * Wayne Andre – trombone *

Jon Faddis Jon Faddis (born July 24, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known ...

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 Harry Lookofsky (1 October 1913 – 8 June 1998) was an American jazz violinist. He was also the father of keyboardist-songwriter Michael Brown, who most notably was a founding member of The Left Banke and Stories. History Harry Lookofsky w ...

, 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

Charts

Singles

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1975 albums Grover Washington Jr. albums Kudu Records albums Albums produced by Creed Taylor Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Smooth jazz albums