Mister Magic is a jazz fusion album by Grover Washington Jr. released in 1975. Washington Jr. was an American jazz-funk saxophonist and songwriter who was known for his smooth and soulful playing style. He gained fame in the 1970s and 1980s and achieved crossover success with his fusion of jazz, R&B, and funk. Mister Magic is considered one of Washington Jr.
Standing (or rather lying) between me and sips of tea is my nearly 8-year-old. She's a little wound up from the school day. She tosses and turns, not quite ready to settle down.
By the time I reach the end 90 seconds later she is snoring softly, and I slide out from under the covers and down the bunk bed ladder to enjoy my tea. Nneka Okoye deftly switches between British and Nigerian accents, even using Pidgin English, adding authentic flair for listeners that pulls them even further into this story of self-discovery and acceptance.
Mister Magic is considered one of Washington Jr.'s most successful albums and is a classic in the genre. The album features a blend of jazz, funk, and R&B elements, showcasing Washington Jr.
A lullaby really can work magic. Science tells us why and how
The reporter's kids, Sasha and Noa, both love falling asleep to lullabies. This is a sleeping self-portrait by Sasha, age 4. With great attention to detail, she has drawn the unicorns on her comforter. Sasha Ladly hide caption
toggle caption Sasha LadlyThe reporter's kids, Sasha and Noa, both love falling asleep to lullabies. This is a sleeping self-portrait by Sasha, age 4. With great attention to detail, she has drawn the unicorns on her comforter.
It's after dinner. We've cleaned up the dishes and our youngest daughter is already asleep. My spouse has brewed tea and is queuing up something for the grown-ups to watch.
Standing (or rather lying) between me and sips of tea is my nearly 8-year-old. She's a little wound up from the school day. She tosses and turns, not quite ready to settle down.
In moments like this, I have a secret weapon: lullabies.
It's possible you're thinking: Of course an NPR reporter's secret weapon is Twinkle Twinkle. How very tote-bag.
I have two things to back me up here: heaps of anecdotal stories and actual scientific evidence.
First, an anecdote, in the form of a secret phone recording made in late April at around 9 p.m., as I climbed into the top bunk where my 8-year-old daughter sleeps.
"Do you want a song?" I ask Noa as she yawns.
"Yes, Sleep, Sleep, Sleepyhead," she requests. This is a favorite lullaby, we learned from taking Music Together classes for years when she was younger.
"OK," I say, and begin to sing, very very slowly. "Sleep, sleep, sleepyhead. Sleep, sleep, snuggle in your bed. I will keep you safe and warm so sleep, sleep, sleepyhead." You can hear my rendition — set against the hum of a white noise machine — in the recording below.
'Sleepyhead' — a lullaby
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By the time I reach the end – 90 seconds later – she is snoring softly, and I slide out from under the covers and down the bunk bed ladder to enjoy my tea.
Honestly, when it works like this, it makes me feel like I have a superpower. Or I'm casting a spell: "You will fall asleeeeepppp. Listen to my voooiiice."
It's really not my superpower, though. It's the power of lullabies, especially when sung by parents and caregivers.
"If you think of a child's thoughts as racing and the mother or whoever comes in and sings slowly, rhythmically, it's going to slow their thoughts and then basically they're going to lull themselves into sleep," says Tiffany Field, a researcher on the faculty of pediatrics at the University of Miami School of Medicine.
She did a study of toddlers and preschoolers taking naps at the university nursery schools. The teachers played classical music at the beginning of naptime.
"With the toddlers there was a 35% faster sleep onset. With the preschoolers it was a 19% faster sleep onset, so of course the teachers loved that," she says.
Many of the studies on music and sleep are done with preterm infants in the NICU – including one which compared infants who heard Mozart to infants who heard their mother's lullabies plus a control group that didn't hear any music.
"What they found was that the mothers' lullabies were more soothing to the infants," she says. "They slept better, but they also showed a lot of the effects of decreased heart rate and respiration, better feeding, which probably explains why they had fewer days in the neonatal intensive care unit and their mothers' anxiety was reduced."
Now, I personally love to sing. But Fields says that is not a requirement for this to work. You can sing with any level of enthusiasm or skill, as long as it's slow tempo. If you really don't want to sing, a backrub can have similar effects, she says.
Still, there is just something about lullabies, says Sam Mehr, who studies the psychology of music at the University of Auckland. He also directs The Music Lab. His team did a study playing songs for infants in an unfamiliar language – some of the songs were lullabies, and some weren't.
The babies found all the songs pretty relaxing, he says, "but when they're listening to these lullabies, even though they're totally unfamiliar and not in a language the baby understands, they relax more. So there's something in the kind of DNA of lullaby that helps to calm infants."
He points out that doesn't explain everything, though. If a stranger came and started singing to your kid, it probably wouldn't have the same effect. He thinks the behaviors and actions involved when a parent sings to their child also may play a role.
"The fact that you're singing a lullaby when the baby's upset, you're not doing some other thing like that – the baby can tell that you're doing only that," he says. They can tell you're really paying attention to them and responding to their emotions in real time. Singing does seem to help older kids relax, too – as evidenced by my 8-year-old. But parents tend to sing more to babies than kids as they get older.
Mehr says the fact that babies respond especially well to lullabies brings up lots of ideas for future long-term research. "You can imagine that a parent who learns that this is the case and actually increases the amount of time that they spend [singing], you could imagine all these follow-on effects, where the baby's easier to soothe, so the parent's more chilled out and not as stressed about being a parent, which is already a pretty stressful thing," he says. Mehr says that reflects his own experience as a parent, but as a researcher he thinks that kind of long-term study would be hard to do.
There is some evidence that singing to infants can help boost a parent's confidence (that superhero feeling I get). One study of nearly 400 mothers in England found that singing to babies daily was associated with less postpartum depression and higher wellbeing and self-esteem. And in another study, mothers that sang to their children for 90 minutes in a group felt more closeness to their infants than mothers that talked and played but did not sing.
Of course, this is nothing new. Parents have been singing to their children for ages, all over the world. "Lullabies turn up a lot across cultures – they're just everywhere," says Mehr.
A lullaby from Ethiopia
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When Hirut Kassa is trying to get her 1-year-old son to sleep at home in Virginia, she keeps the lights low, rocks him and sings Eshururu, a song from her home country of Ethiopia.
She says it works like magic for both mother and child.
Your Turn: Do you have a favorite lullaby that you sing to your kids — or that you remember from childhood?
Email [email protected] with the subject line "Favorite Lullaby" and share your story about a traditional lullaby from your childhood — or that you sing to your children. Record about a minute of the lullaby on your phone and share on the recording or in the email an explanation of where it's from and what it means to you. Include your full name and location. We may include your response in a story on npr.org. We are taking submissions until Tuesday, June 6.
The Notable Children’s Recordings list includes recordings for children 14 years of age and younger of especially commendable quality that demonstrate respect for young people’s intelligence and imagination; exhibit venturesome creativity; and reflect and encourage the interests of children and young adolescents in exemplary ways.
's incredible talent on the saxophone. The title track "Mister Magic" is a standout piece that became a radio hit and remains one of his most well-known songs. The album also includes other notable tracks such as "Black Frost," a hauntingly beautiful composition, and "Earth Tones," a funky and energetic piece. The lineup of musicians on the album includes some of the best session players of the time, such as Eric Gale on guitar, Bob James on electric piano, and Gary King on bass. Washington Jr.'s mastery of the saxophone and his ability to effortlessly fuse different genres is evident throughout the entire album. His smooth and lyrical playing style, combined with the infectious grooves of the rhythm section, creates a captivating and enjoyable listening experience. Mister Magic solidified Grover Washington Jr.'s status as one of the leading figures in jazz fusion and cemented his place in the hearts of both jazz purists and mainstream listeners. His ability to seamlessly blend jazz with elements of funk and R&B set the stage for many future smooth jazz artists. Even though Grover Washington Jr. passed away in 1999, his music continues to be celebrated and appreciated by jazz enthusiasts all over the world. Mister Magic, with its timeless and captivating sound, remains a testament to his talent and legacy in the world of jazz..
Reviews for "The Timelessness of Grover Washington Jr.'s Music: Why his Songs Still Resonate Today"
1. Karen - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "Mister Magic" by Grover Washington. I had high expectations for this album, but it just didn't meet them. The songs were repetitive and lacked depth. I felt like I was listening to background music at a shopping mall rather than a compelling piece of jazz. Overall, I found the album to be quite forgettable and not worthy of the hype it received.
2. John - 3 stars - "Mister Magic" by Grover Washington didn't really resonate with me. While I appreciate his talent as a saxophonist, I found the album to be too overly smooth and lacking in variety. The tracks all seemed to blend together, and I couldn't differentiate one from another. I was hoping for more dynamic and engaging compositions, but unfortunately, this album fell flat for me.
3. Emily - 2 stars - I have to admit, I was quite disappointed with "Mister Magic" by Grover Washington. I found the album to be unoriginal and lacking creativity. The melodies were uninspiring, and the overall sound felt generic. I was hoping for more unique arrangements and innovative musical ideas, but instead, I got cookie-cutter smooth jazz. It just didn't hold my interest, and I won't be revisiting this album anytime soon.
4. Michael - 1 star - "Mister Magic" by Grover Washington was a complete letdown for me. I found the album to be incredibly monotonous and lacking any real excitement. The saxophone playing felt repetitive and failed to capture my attention. The overall production quality was also disappointing, with a lackluster mix that made the whole album sound dull. I was hoping for more from an acclaimed jazz artist like Washington, but unfortunately, this album missed the mark for me.
5. Samantha - 2 stars - I was not impressed with "Mister Magic" by Grover Washington. The album lacked the depth and complexity that I look for in jazz music. The tracks seemed to follow a predictable formula, and there was little to no improvisation or experimentation. I found myself growing bored with the album rather quickly and felt like it was just background music rather than something I could actively engage with. Overall, it was a forgettable experience for me.