Lou Donaldson

Born November 1st 1926 Badin North Carolina- Died November 9th 2024  Daytona Beach Florida

Short careers and early deaths in jazz have always made good copy and have become the stuff of legend. Much less publicity and consideration goes to those players who have achieved long careers and lived into extreme old age. Maybe it’s an alto sax thing, I certainly hope so, but in this category Benny Carter, Marshall Allen (still going at 100 and releasing his first solo album!) and Benny Waters instantly spring to mind. To their company must be added the great Lou Donaldson who passed away last November at the age of 98.

He was an alto saxophonist of remarkable consistency who played hard-bop, blues, ballads and funky soul-jazz all with absolute integrity, taste and considerable aplomb. He also had a unique vocal style described by John Fordham as “ a strangled -parrot blues voice” and would thank the audience with the words “ glad y’all appreciate classical singing.” after a performance of ‘Whisky Drinking’ Woman’.

He was also known for his uninhibited, scathing yet humorous comments on the avant-garde and more modern stylists:

For example: “He sounds like he’s been playing a week but missed the first lesson” or “If you want to play outside, play outside the club” or even, during a blindfold test, “Sounds like he’s searching…and I know what for…a saxophone teacher!”

Encouraged by his music teacher mother Lucy, Lou first took up clarinet at the age of 15 and was soon playing in a local marching band. Drafted into U.S. navy during the second World War in 1945 he served with the Great Lakes Navy Band alongside a host of great players including Willie Smith, Clark Terry and Ernie Wilkins. He found himself billeted just 40 miles from Chicago and it was here that he had the epiphany of hearing Charlie Parker for the first time. Bird had to be woken up to perform and was not sartorially dressed but, listening to him soloing, Donaldson immediately knew that his own destiny now lay with the alto saxophone and not the clarinet.

Many alto players, including Sonny Stitt, Jimmy Heath, and even John Coltrane eventually moved to tenor to avoid comparison with Parker. Lee Konitz and Art Pepper, whilst still influenced by him, worked hard to find a different way, but Donaldson chose the alto and set about forming his own style based directly on the master’s outpourings. Sonny Criss, with his slightly chugging quavers, and Jackie Mclean with his sour abrasive tone followed the same path but Donaldson always had a more modern, hipper quaver feel than Criss and a sweeter sound than Mclean. His playing has been, I think, quite accurately described as a “simplification” of Bird. All three players, like Parker, had the blues at the very core of their playing. Lou’s own assessment was “ My playing is a cross between Charlie Parker and Johnny Hodges-You know the players that I listened to coming up.” There is indeed a sweet quality and fullness of tone in his  playing reminiscent of the great Ellingtonian but other early influences are discernable as well including Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson, Louis Jordan, Benny Carter and Tab Smith.

Discharged from the Army on medical grounds in 1946 (he was a life-long asthmatic), Lou returned to North Carolina performing with the Rhythm Vets and recording with them on the sound track of a 1948 comedy movie short “Pitch A Boogie Woogie”. The film was restored in 1985 and the survivors in the band including Lou performed at the screening.

He made the inevitable move to New York City in 1949 to attend GI school and began sitting in wherever he could. Word of his considerable abilities soon got around.

He would relate, with great amusement, how he was asked  one night by Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records if he could play like Charlie Parker to which he replied, knowing it not to be true, in the affirmative. This led to recordings in 1952 with Milt Jackson and Thelonious Monk and his debut as a leader ‘New Faces, New Sounds’( later released as the ‘Memorial Album) with Clifford Brown, Elmo hope, Percy Heath and Philly Joe Jones. Donaldson was a perceptive talent-scout; Clifford Brown and, later, guitarist Grant Green were both recommended to Blue Note by him.

In 1954, the two volume ‘A night at Birdland’ with Clifford Brown, Horace Silver, Curley Russell and Art Blakey was recorded live. Lou claimed that the band originally introduced as  ‘The Blue Note All-Stars’ became ‘Art Blakey with..’ after Blakey tipped Birdland MC Pee Wee Marquette, a well known hustler, a few dollars. In another version he suggested the decision was made at the record company but what he was sure of was that “When Art is in shape to play his best, you can’t play any better.” The recording is a classic, with Donaldson the perfect front line foil to the genius playing of Clifford Brown. Pianist Horace Silver, whose compositions are a good part of the success of this recording went on to record a string of classic albums for the label.

The relationship with Blue Note continued from 1952 until 1975 with a three year break starting in 1963 when he left to record for Chess Records Argo label. Lou said the reason the BN label was successful “is that they had two guys who really loved jazz.”

The 1958 album ‘Blues Walk’, featuring the Conga drums of Ray Barretto, gave Lou his first Juke Box hit. Bluesey, groove based tracks alternating with tender ballads became his modus operandi and he often added hammond organ to the mix. ‘The Natural Soul’ features John Patton on organ and Grant green on guitar playing a series of soul-jazz blues and vamps, all delivered with a driving hot dance-led groove. As Lou once commented: “What people don’t understand is that jazz bands, traditionally, always played for dancing.” Later in his career he felt that “ That whole spirit has been and gone…they’ve got ‘harmonic improvisation’ now. They’re concentrating on it in schools, and most of the young musicians are playing that way and the essence of jazz is gone. You know, the bluesy feeling, and the soul, and the feeling in the rhythm-that’s gone.”

His biggest hit came in 1968 with “Aligator Bogaloo” featuring Lonnie Smith on organ and George Benson on guitar. Lou claimed that the hit title track was a last minute filler: “I just made the riff and naturally the guys could follow it. That’s the only damn thing that sold on the record. I made a lot of money-no regrets about that.”

A string of albums followed aimed at the same audience: ‘Hot Dog’ in 1969 and ‘Everything I Play is Funky’ in 1970 being good examples but

live he continued to feature standards and ballads alongside the funk and soul. As he says in an interview with Les Tomkins: “See, on the jobs I played the same way I always played- I just made records that the other way.’ A good example of this is ‘The Scorpion: Live at the Cadillac Club’. Recorded in 1970, it has a lovely version of “Laura” and a swinging ‘The Masquerade is Over’ from the ‘Blues Walk’ album as well as lengthy jams on funky vamps.

Albums of a decidedly commercial and heavily produced bent from the 70’s include ‘Sassy Soul Strut’, ‘Sophisticated Lou’ and ‘Sweet Lou’. They earned Donaldson the nick-name “Sweet Poppa Lou”, bestowed on him by producer Bob Porter. Many hip-hop and rap artists, including Kanye West and Tribe Called Quest, have sampled tracks from Lou’s output in this period.

Looking back on the 1970’s Lou remembered “Well, at that time two of my kids were in college. I needed a whole lot of bread.These ideas came from the company. The minute you put demands on the company for money, they put demands on you for what to play. They bring in an A. and R. Man.”

He is very perceptive about his own playing on his very commercial recordings: “I couldn’t really play commercial; nor could I play rock. The background that I have would seep through, I couldn’t disguise it at all. A lot of people thought I had stopped playing jazz, but that was stupid because that’s all I can play.”

By the early 1980’s his live repertoire was standard and bop based again with the the odd foray into soul. He also incorporated a couple of “Cleanhead” Vinson songs to feature his singing. The recordings ‘Forgotten Man’ (1981), ‘Live in Bologna (1984) (both with long time associate pianist Herman Foster), Birdseed(1992) and Caracas (1993), both featuring Dr Lonnie Smith and Peter Bernstein and all on the Timeless label are hugely enjoyable sets.

He continued to work at the highest level until 2017 with a great band featuring guitarist Randy Johnston and Dr Lonnie Smith (Not to be confused with the Lonnie Smith of Aligator Bogaloo!)

He certainly always stayed abreast of the current scene. In a 2006 blindfold test with Ted Panken, he easily identifies Vincent Herring, Donald Harrison, Davis Sanborn, Lee Konitz, Phil Woods, Kenny Garrett and Charles Mcpherson all of whom he talks of with warmth and approval. He is less convinced by his friend Ornette Coleman: “It’s probably great music, but it’s not jazz music.”

He decided to retire from live performance in 2017, but did however attend birthday celebrations for his 95th, 96th and 97th birthday at Dizzy’s Club in Manhattan. He was too ill to make the 98th party and passed away rom pneumonia a week later.

Lou Donaldson was a consistently excellent jazz alto saxophone player with a sweet tone, great time, and a very groovy feel who spoke his mind freely, presented his music with droll humour and always played with the upmost elegance, dignity and sincerity.

Alan Barnes January 2025

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