Tag Archives: Lou Donaldson

Lou Donaldson: The Time Is Right

In April 1960, “Blue Note” label released “The Time Is Right”, the eleventh Lou Donaldson album. It was recorded October – November 1959, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
  • Blue Mitchell – trumpet
  • Horace Parlan – piano
  • Laymon Jackson – bass
  • Sam Jones – bass
  • Dave Bailey – drums
  • Al Harewood – drums
  • Ray Barretto – congas
  • Rudy Van Gelder – recording, mastering
  • Reid Miles – design
  • Francis Wolff – photography
  • Ira Gitler – technical personnel

Track listing:

  1. Lou’s Blues – Lou Donaldson
  2. Be My Love – Nicholas Brodszky, Sammy Cahn
  3. Idaho – Jesse Stone
  4. The Nearness of You – Hoagy Camichael, Ned Washington
  5. Mack the Knife – Marc Blitzstein, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill
  6. Crosstown Shuffle – Lou Donaldson
  7. Tangerine – Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger

Lou Donaldson: Midnight Creeper

In September 1968, “Blue Note” late “Midnight Creeper”, the 30th Lou Donaldson album. It was recorded in March 1968, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Francis Wolff.

Personnel:

  • Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
  • Blue Mitchell – cornet
  • Lonnie Smith – organ
  • George Benson – guitar
  • Idris Muhammad – drums
  • Forlenza Venosa Associates – design
  • Reggie Lavong – liner notes

Track listing:

  • Midnight Creeper – Lou Donaldson
  • Love Power – Teddy Vann
  • Elizabeth – Lou Donaldson
  • Bag of Jewels – Lonnie Smith
  • Dapper Dan – Harold Ousley

Clifford Brown: Memorial Album

In September 1956, “Blue Note” label released “Memorial Album”, the 13th Clifford Brown album (it was released posthumously). It was recorded in June 1953, at “WOR Studios” in New York City, August 1953, at “Audio-Video Studios” in New York City, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Clifford Brown – trumpet
  • Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
  • Elmo Hope – piano
  • Percy Heath – bass
  • Philly Joe Jones – drums
  • Rudy Van Gelder – recording
  • Francis Wolff – photography
  • Leonard Feather – liner notes

Track listing:

  1. Hymn of the Orient – Gigi Gryce
  2. Easy Living – Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin
  3. Minor Mood – Clifford Brown
  4. Cherokee – Ray Noble
  5. Wail Bait – Quincy Jones
  6. Brownie Speaks – Clifford Brown
  7. De-Dah – Elmo Hope
  8. Cookin’ – Lou Donaldson
  9. You Go to My Head – J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
  10. Carving the Rock – Elmo Hope, Sonny Rollins

Wayne Shorter

On March 2, 2023, Wayne Shorter died aged 89. He was musician (saxophone) and composer. He was member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and  Miles Davis’s Second Great Quintet, and then co-founded the band Weather Report. Many of the Shorter’s compositions have become jazz standards and his work earned critical praise worldwide. In 1970, he won “Down Beat’s” annual poll-winner, winning the critics’ poll for 10 consecutive years and the readers’ poll for 18 consecutive years. Shorter recorded and performed with Donald Byrd, Billy Childs, Pino Daniele, Lou Donaldson, Benny Golson, Gil Evans, Toninho Horta, Norah Jones, J. J. Johnson, Don Henley, Wynton Kelly, Michael Landau, Lionel Loueke, Grachan Moncur III, Milton Nascimento, Michel Petrucciani, The Rolling Stones, Masahiko Satoh, John Scofield, Esperanza Spalding, Steely Dan, Bobby Timmons, Kazumi Watanabe, Buster Williams, Herbie Hacock, Tony Williams, Joe Zawinul, Freddie Hubbard, Joni Mitchell, Lee Morgan, Jaco Pastorius, Carlos Santana and McCoy Tyner. In 2008, “The New York Times” described Shorter as “probably jazz’s greatest living small-group composer and a contender for greatest living improviser”. In 2017, he was awarded the “Polar Music Prize”. As leader, Shorter released 28 albums.

Lou Donaldson: Lou Takes Off

In July 1958, “Blue Note” label released “Lou Takes Off”, the seventh Lou Donaldson album. It was recorded in December 1957, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Hackensack, NJ, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
  • Donald Byrd – trumpet
  • Curtis Fuller – trombone
  • Sonny Clark – piano
  • Jamil Nasser – bass
  • Art Taylor – drums
  • Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
  • Reid Miles – design
  • Francis Wolff – photography

Track listing:

All tracks by Lou Donaldson except where noted.

  1. Sputnik
  2. Dewey Square – Charlie Parker
  3. Strollin’ In
  4. Groovin’ High – Dizzy Gillespie

Lou Donaldson Quintet: Wailing With You

In June 1957, “Blue Note” label released “Wailing With Lou”, the fifth Lou Donaldson album. It was recorded in January 1957, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Hackensack, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Lou Donaldson- alto saxophone
  • Donald Byrd- trumpet
  • Herman Foster- piano
  • Peck Morrison- bass
  • Art Taylor- drums
  • Rudy Van Gelder- engineer
  • Reid Miles- design
  • Francis Wolff- photography

 Track listing:

All tracks by Lou Donaldson except where noted.

  1. Caravan – Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Juan Tizol
  2. Old Folks – Dedette Lee Hill, Willard Robison
  3. That Good Old Feeling
  4. Move It
  5. There Is No Greater Love – Isham Jones, Marty Symes
  6. D. Blues

McCoy Tyner

On March 6, 2020, Alfred McCoy Tyner died aged 81. He was musician (piano), composer, bandleader, one of the most recognizable and influential figures in jazz history. He has recorded and performed with many famous musicians including John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Donald Byrd, George Benson, Art Farmer, Lou Donaldson, Benny Golson, Grant Green, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Milt Jackson, J.J. Jackson, Blue Mitchell, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, David Murray, Julian Priester, Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter, Al Foster, Avery Sharpe, Woody Shaw, Jackie McLean, Cecil McBee, Jack DeJohnette, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Stitt and Stanley Turrentine, As a leader he recorded 74 albums. Tyner was a “NEA Jazz Master” and a five-time “Grammy” winner.

Lou Donaldson: Mr. Shing-A-Ling

In January 1968, “Blue Note” label released “Mr. Shing-A-Ling”, the 29th Lou Donaldson album. It was recorded in October 1967, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, and was produced by Francis Wolff.

Personnel:

  • Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
  • Blue Mitchell- trumpet
  • Lonnie Smith- organ
  • Jimmy Ponder– guitar
  • Leo Morris- drums
  • Rudy Van Gelder – recording
  • Reid Miles – design, photography
  • Del Shields – liner notes

Track listing:

All tracks by Lou Donaldson except where noted.

  1. Ode to Billie Joe – Bobby Gentry
  2. The Humpback
  3. The Shadow of Your Smile – Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster
  4. Peepin’ – Lonnie Smith
  5. The Kid – Harold Ousley

Jimmy Smith: The Sermon!

In December 1959, “Blue Note” label released “The Sermon!”, the fifteenth Jimmy Smith album. It was recorded August 25, 1957 and  February 25, 1958, at “Manhattan Towers” in New York City, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Jimmy Smith– organ
  • Lee Morgan– trumpet
  • Lou Donaldson– alto saxophone
  • Tina Brooks– tenor saxophone
  • Kenny Burrell– guitar
  • Art Blakey– drums
  • George Coleman– alto saxophone
  • Eddie McFadden– guitar
  • Donald Bailey– drums
  • Rudy Van Gelder– engineer
  • Reid Miles– design
  • Francis Wolff– photography
  • Ira Gitler– liner notes

Track listing:

  1. The Sermon – Jimmy Smith
  2. O.S. – Jimmy Smith
  3. Flamingo – Edmund Anderson, Ted Grouya

Lou Donaldson: Sunny Side Up

In 1961, “Blue Note” label released “Sunny Side Up”, the twelve  Lou Donaldson  album. It was recorded in February 1960, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Lou Donaldson- alto saxophone
  • Horace Parlan- piano
  • Bill Hardman- trumpet
  • Laymon Jackson – bass
  • Sam Jones- bass
  • Al Harewood- drums

Track listing:

  1. Blues for J.P. – Horace Parlan
  2. The Man I Love – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
  3. Politely – Bill Hardman
  4. It’s You or No One – Cahn, Styne
  5. The Truth – Lou Donaldson
  6. Goose Grease – Lou Donaldson
  7. Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise – Oscar Hammerstein II, Sigmund Romberg