In Memoriam Grover Washington,Jr.1999 "Mister Magic" (1975)

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.

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."

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".

A1 Earth Tone 12:23
A2 Passion Flower  5:34
B1 Mister Magic  9:11 
B2 Black Frost   6:07

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