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Mister Magic
''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'' in 1975, Robert Christgau found the album "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 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 J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grover Washington Jr
Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist and Grammy Award winner. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders and legends of the smooth jazz genre. He wrote some of his material and later became an arranger and producer. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Washington made some of the genre's most memorable hits, including "Mister Magic", "Reed Seed", "Black Frost", "Winelight", "Inner City Blues", "Let it Flow (For 'Dr. J')", and "The Best is Yet to Come". In addition, he performed very frequently with other artists, including Bill Withers on " Just the Two of Us", Patti LaBelle on " The Best Is Yet to Come", and Phyllis Hyman on "A Sacred Kind of Love". Early life Washington was born in Buffalo, New York, on December 12, 1943. His mother was a church chorister, and his father was a collector of old jazz gramophone records and a saxophonist as well, so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became an early proponent of musical movements such as hip hop, riot grrrl, and the import of African popular music in the West. He was the chief music critic and senior editor for ''The Village Voice'' for 37 years, during which time he created and oversaw the annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. He has also covered popular music for '' Esquire'', '' Creem'', '' Newsday'', '' Playboy'', ''Rolling Stone'', '' Billboard'', NPR, '' Blender'', and '' MSN Music;'' he was a visiting arts teacher at New York University. CNN senior writer Jamie Allen has called Christgau "the E. F. Hutton of the music world—when he talks, people listen." Christgau is best known for his terse, letter-graded capsule album reviews, composed in a concentrated, fragmente ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvey Mason
Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. He was the original drummer for Herbie Hancock's band The Headhunters. Life and career Mason was born and grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States, and attended Atlantic City High School. He began playing drums at the age of four with the support of his father, a drummer in the army band. He was the original drummer for The Headhunters, the jazz fusion band led by Herbie Hancock. After leaving Headhunters in the early 1970s, Mason co-founded the jazz quartet Fourplay. They are on an indefinite hiatus as of 2017. Mason has played as a sideman with Bill Withers, George Benson, and Lee Ritenour. Mason, who attended Berklee for a year and a half in the 1960s eventually transferred to New England Conservatory where he studied with Vic Firth. Mason received an Honorary Doctorate at Berklee's 2015 Commencement Ceremony for his achievemen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary King (bass Player)
Gary W King (September 5, 1947 – July 23, 2003) was an American jazz bassist, songwriter, composer, and arranger. He was born in Middletown, New York. King appeared on many albums released by CTI Records, especially those by Bob James, and later on James' own album label, Tappan Zee Records. He also played bass on a number of albums by Gato Barbieri, Roberta Flack, Grover Washington Jr., and on The Jacksons' album ''Destiny'', notably the track " Blame It on the Boogie". Discography With Gato Barbieri * ''Caliente!'' (A&M 1976) * ''Ruby Ruby'' (A&M, 1977) * ''Passion and Fire'' (A&M 1984) With Kenny Barron * ''Innocence'' (Wolf, 1978) With George Benson * '' Bodytalk'' (CTI, 1973) * '' Pacific Fire'' (CTI, 1983) * '' Benson & Farrell'' (CTI, 1976) With Luiz Bonfá * ''Manhattan Strut'' (Paddle Wheel, 1974) With John Blair * ''We Belong Together'' (CTI, 1977) With Merry Clayton * '' Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow'' (Ode, 1975) With Marc Colby * ''Serpentine Fire'' (T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Upchurch
Phillip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American soul music, R&B, jazz and blues guitarist and bassist. Career Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, and Jimmy Reed. (His association with Kool Gents member Dee Clark would continue, including playing guitar on Clark's 1961 solo hit "Raindrops (Dee Clark song), Raindrops".) He then returned to Chicago to play and record with Woody Herman, Stan Getz, Groove Holmes, B.B. King, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1961, his record "You Can't Sit Down" by the Philip Upchurch Combo, sold over one million copies and was awarded a music recording sales certification, gold disc. "You Can't Sit Down, Part 2" peaked at No. 29 on the ''Billboard magazine, Billboard'' charts in the US. In the 1960s he toured with Oscar Brown, appearing on the 1965 live album, ''Mr. Oscar Brown, Jr. Goes to Washington''. He played bass on The Staple Singers 1965 alb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Gale
Eric Gale (September 20, 1938 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz and jazz fusion guitarist. Biography Eric Gale was born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. His grandfather was English, and Gale had relatives in Venezuela and Barbados. Growing up, Gale spent his holidays visiting family in the UK, which allowed him to look at the world through a different perspective. He was fluent in Spanish, German, and French. Gale started playing the guitar at age 12. He attended private, all-boys Catholic schools and he was exceptionally skilled at math, which resulted in him skipping junior high school. During high school, he frequently visited John Coltrane's home after school and sat in on jam sessions, which inspired Gale's readily recognizable style. Eric mentioned how John Coltrane's wife would provide after school snacks and that he was grateful for them. Gale received his Masters in chemistry at Niagara University. Gale made a fateful decision to pursue a musical car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fender Rhodes
The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, the hammers strike thin metal tines, which vibrate next to an electromagnetic pickup. The signal is then sent through a cable to an external keyboard amplifier and speaker. The instrument evolved from Rhodes's attempt to manufacture pianos while teaching recovering soldiers during World War II. Development continued after the war and into the following decade. In 1959, Fender began marketing the Piano Bass, a cut-down version; the full-size instrument did not appear until after Fender's sale to CBS in 1965. CBS oversaw mass production of the Rhodes piano in the 1970s, and it was used extensively through the decade, particularly in jazz, pop, and soul music, as well by many rock artists. It was less used in the 1980s because of compet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph MacDonald
Ralph Anthony MacDonald (March 15, 1944 – December 18, 2011) was an American percussionist, steelpan virtuoso, songwriter, musical arranger, and record producer. His compositions include " Where Is the Love", a Grammy Award winner for the duet of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway; " Just the Two of Us", recorded by Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr.; and " Mister Magic" recorded by Grover Washington Jr. Career Growing up in Harlem, New York, United States, under the close mentorship of his Trinbagonian father, Patrick MacDonald (a calypsonian and bandleader originally from Trinidad and Tobago who used the stage name "Macbeth the Great"), MacDonald began showing his musical talent, particularly with the steelpan, and when he was 17 years old started playing pan for the Harry Belafonte show. He remained with the Belafonte band for a decade before deciding to strike out on his own. In 1967, together with Bill Eaton and William Salter, he formed Antisia Music Incorporated. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milt Raskin
Milt Raskin (January 27, 1916 – October 16, 1977) was an American swing jazz pianist. Biography Born in Boston, Mass., Raskin played saxophone as a child before switching to piano at age 11. In the 1930s he attended the New England Conservatory of Music. He worked on local Boston-area radio before moving to New York City, where he played with Wingy Manone in 1937 at the Famous Door and Gene Krupa in 1938-39. He then played with Teddy Powell and Alvino Rey before joining Krupa again for a short time, then joined the orchestra of Tommy Dorsey from 1942 to 1944, replacing Joe Bushkin. He moved to Los Angeles in 1944, where he occasionally worked in jazz (including on recordings by Artie Shaw, Billie Holiday, and Georgie Auld), but concentrated on work as a studio musician and musical director. Much of his studio work from the 1940s on was uncredited, and he never led his own jazz recording session. Discography As leader * ''Kapu (Forbidden)'' (Crown, 1959) As sideman * Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Strayhorn
William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take the 'A' Train", "Chelsea Bridge (song), Chelsea Bridge", "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing", and "Lush Life (jazz song), Lush Life". Early life Strayhorn was born in Dayton, Ohio, United States. His family then moved to the Homewood (Pittsburgh), Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His mother's family came from Hillsborough, North Carolina, and she sent him there to protect him from his father's drunken rages. Strayhorn spent many months of his childhood at his grandparents' house in Hillsborough. In an interview, Strayhorn said that his grandmother was his primary influence during the first ten years of his life. He became interested in music while living with her, playing hymns on her piano and listening to records on her Victrol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz editor for ''Record Review.'' In September 2002, Yanow was interviewed on-camera by CNN about the Monterey Jazz Festival and wrote an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He authored 12 books on jazz (including 2022's ''Life Through the Eyes of a Jazz Journalist''), more than 900 liner notes for CDs, and more than 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings. Yanow contributed to the third edition of the '' All Music Guide to Jazz,'' serving as co-editor. He has written for ''Downbeat,'' ''Jazziz'', the ''Los Angeles Jazz Scene,'' ''Syncopated Times,'' ''Jazz Artistry Now'', the ''Jazz Rag,'' and ''New York City Jazz Record''. Yanow has produced a number of records under the Allegro record label. He also hosted a regular radio sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob James (musician)
Robert McElhiney James (born December 25, 1939) is an American jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote "Angela", the theme song for the TV show ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi.'' According to ''VICE (magazine), VICE'', music from his first seven albums has often been sampling (music), sampled and believed to have contributed to the formation of hip hop. Among his most well known recordings are "Nautilus (song), Nautilus", "Westchester Lady", "Tappan Zee", and his version of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras". Early life and family James was born on Christmas Day of 1939 in Marshall, Missouri, United States. He started playing the piano at age four. His first piano teacher, Sister Mary Elizabeth, who taught at Mercy Academy, discovered that he had perfect pitch. At age seven, James began to study with R. T. Dufford, a teacher at Missouri Valley College. At age 15, James continued his studies with Franklin Launer, a teacher at Christian College ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
