Mister Magic

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."

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".

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