Soul Stream

One man's trash is another man's treasure. And to be honest Allen, I think it's a big drag you trashed the thread with the multiple posts in huge type. Hot Dog is not poop, imho. Like Jackie McLean said in the documentary Jackie McLean on Mars..."You think Lou Donaldson WANTS to be playing Hot Dog!!??? He's one of the greatest alto players in the history of the music!" (Or something to that effect.) So, I understand the sentiment. That said, if you consider Soul Jazz an art form (which I do), then Hot Dog is one of the cornerstones of the music. Everything can't be Kind Of Blue (thank goodness), but there are certainly merits Hot Dog and those Lou Donaldson albums mentioned above. By the way, Lou's playing the Village Vanguard tonight...I'm sure he'll play Alligator Boogaloo or Midnight Creeper or Hot Dog since those are all staples of his set. Lou doesn't have to play these anymore for commercial reasons I would imagine. He likes to play Cherokee, sing a slow blues, a ballad and and play Hot Dog... he could do standards all night if he wanted, but he doesn't. So I think even Lou would make the arguement that there are "musical" justifications for this era of his career.

Lou Donaldson Quintet Melvin Lastie (cor -1/4,6) Lou Donaldson (as) Lonnie Smith (org) George Benson (g) Leo Morris (d) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, April 7, 1967 1. 1867 tk.4 One Cylinder Blue Note BLP 4263 2. 1868 tk.6 Aw Shucks! - 3. 1869 tk.8 Alligator Bogaloo Blue Note 45-1934, BLP 4263 4. 1870 tk.15 Rev. Moses - 5. 1871 tk.17 I Want A Little Girl Blue Note BLP 4263 6. 1872 tk.18 The Thang - * Lou Donaldson - Alligator Bogaloo (Blue Note BLP 4263, BST 84263) * Lou Donaldson - Alligator Bogaloo c/w Reverend Moses (Blue Note 45-1934) Lou Donaldson Quintet Blue Mitchell (tp -2/5) Lou Donaldson (as) Lonnie Smith (org) Jimmy Ponder (g) Leo Morris (d) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 27, 1967 1. 1971 tk.2 Ode To Billie Joe Blue Note BST 84271 2. 1972 tk.10 Peepin' Blue Note 45-1937, BST 84271, BST 89904 3. 1973 tk.16 The Kid Blue Note BST 84271 4. 1974 tk.17 The Shadow Of Your Smile - 5. 1975 tk.18 The Humpback Blue Note 45-1937, BST 84271 * Lou Donaldson - Mr. Shing-A-Ling (Blue Note BST 84271) * Various Artists - Blue Note's Three Decades Of Jazz 1959-1969 (Blue Note BST 89904) = Various Artists - Decades Of Jazz, Vol. 3 (Blue Note BN-LA 160-G2) * Lou Donaldson - Peepin' c/w The Humpback (Blue Note 45-1937) 1968 Lou Donaldson Quintet Blue Mitchell (tp -2/5) Lou Donaldson (as) Lonnie Smith (org) George Benson (g) Leo Morris (d) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, March 15, 1968 1. tk.4 Elizabeth Blue Note BST 84280 2. tk.8 Dapper Dan - 3. tk.11 Love Power Blue Note 45-1941, BST 84280 4. tk.14 Midnight Creeper - 5. tk.17 Bag Of Jewels Blue Note BST 84280 * Lou Donaldson - Midnight Creeper (Blue Note BST 84280) * Lou Donaldson - Midnight Creeper c/w Love Power (Blue Note 45-1941) Lou Donaldson Quintet Blue Mitchell (tp) Lou Donaldson (el-as, vo) Charles Earland (org) Jimmy Ponder (g) Leo Morris (d) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 6, 1968 tk.1 Brother Soul (alt. take) Blue Note B1 31883 tk.2 Brother Soul Blue Note BST 84299 tk.3 Snake Bone Blue Note 45-1943, BST 84299 tk.8 Say It Loud, I'm Black And I'm Proud - tk.10 Caravan Blue Note BST 84299 tk.12 Summertime - tk.16 Red Top unissued * Various Artists - The Lost Grooves (Blue Note B1 31883) * Lou Donaldson - Say It Loud! (Blue Note BST 84299) * Lou Donaldson - Say It Loud c/w Snake Bone (Blue Note 45-1943) 1969 Lou Donaldson Quintet Ed Williams (tp) Lou Donaldson (el-as, vo) Charles Earland (org) Melvin Sparks (g) Leo Morris (d) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, April 25, 1969 tk.1 Turtle Walk Blue Note BST 84318 tk.4 It's Your Thing - tk.8 Hot Dog Blue Note 45-1949, BST 84318 tk.11 Who's Making Love (To Your Old Lady) - tk.14 Bonnie Blue Note BST 84318 * Lou Donaldson - Hot Dog (Blue Note BST 84318) * Lou Donaldson - Hot Dog c/w Who's Making Love (Blue Note 45-1949) Lou Donaldson Sextet Ed Williams (tp) Lou Donaldson (as, el-as) Charles Earland (org) Melvin Sparks (g) Jimmy Lewis (el-b) Leo Morris (d) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, August 22, 1969 5027 tk.4 Donkey Walk Blue Note BST 84337 5028 tk.6 Untitled Original Blues, No. 1 rejected 5029 tk.8 West Indian Daddy Blue Note BST 84337 tk.10 Untitled Original Blues, No. 2 rejected tk.12 Candy Man - * Lou Donaldson - Everything I Play Is Funky (Blue Note BST 84337) 1970 Lou Donaldson Sextet Blue Mitchell (tp) Lou Donaldson (el-as, vo) Lonnie Smith (org) Melvin Sparks (g) Jimmy Lewis (el-b) Idris Muhammad (d) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, January 9, 1970 5760 Tennessee Waltz Blue Note BST 84359 5761 tk.8 Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On) Blue Note 45-1956, BST 84337 tk.10 Untitled Original Blues rejected 5762 tk.12 Over The Rainbow Blue Note BST 84337 5764 tk.14 Hamp's Hump - 5763 tk.16 Minor Bash Blue Note 45-1956, BST 84337 * Lou Donaldson - Pretty Things (Blue Note BST 84359) * Lou Donaldson - Everything I Play Is Funky (Blue Note BST 84337) * Lou Donaldson - Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky c/w Minor Bash (Blue Note 45-1956) Lou Donaldson Quintet Blue Mitchell (tp) Lou Donaldson (el-as) Leon Spencer Jr. (org) Ted Dunbar (g) Idris Muhammad (d) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, June 12, 1970 6520 (tk.3) Curtis' Song Blue Note BST 84359 6521 (tk.6) Love - 6522 Cold Duck rejected 6523 (tk.7) Sassie Lassie Blue Note BST 84359 6524 Just For A Thrill - 6525 Pot Belly - * Lou Donaldson - Pretty Things (Blue Note BST 84359)

I'm a Cosmos fan too...but I think it's more of an afterthought of the era than anything else. Those 7 albums are the meat and potatoes of the genre. But there's lots I dig about Cosmos too, especially Leon Spencer Jr.'s playing on "I'll Be There." Also, I'm a big fan of Lou's varitone...some don't dig it, but I think he had a great sound on it. Unlike Sonny Stitt, who seemed to get a pretty harsh, violin-like tone on the vari.

Sorry Jim...didn't know 'bout them dogs fascination. And yeah MG....I think you hit the nail on the head, they all have their own flavor. It's hard to beat Alligator Bogaloo since it's basically the "perfect" record, if there is such a thing. But yeah, I dig 'em all! Be the first on your block to collect all 7! (And you're right about the Scorpion....I just didn't include it since it didn't come out at the time. But it could easily be included in the list as well as an arguement could be made for Cosmos too, which I love even with the voices)

I take it Chuck and Jim ain't fans...

Hey Man...people can think what they want to, but... This is one of THE greatest soul jazz records ever made. In my estimation there are 7 records by Lou Donaldson that are the foundation of the Acid Jazz movement as we know it, made in the Golden Era of this music which spanned from 1967 to 1972. They are in order... Alligator Bogaloo Mr. Shing-A-Ling Midnight Creeper Say It Loud Hot Dog Everything I Play Is Funky Pretty Things Every record listed above is hands down a classic. Sure, we can single out Hot Dog and take a look. First off, look at the players...Lou, Ed Williams (he's no Blue Mitchell, which is why I like Say It Loud a little better), Melvin Sparks and Leo (Idris). O.k...those guys INVENTED this stuff. They were writing the Bible Of Soul Jazz on things like Hot Dog. Listen to Lou play on the title cut...if Charlie Parker lived to play funk, this is what it would sound like. Charles Earland is so badass on the Lou albums he appeared on...he was a freight train. 5000 stars.

A reminder: yes, Norah Jones was "run off" the Blue Note board. I got it verified by Tom Evered afterward. She posted there, said something like "Hi. I'm glad you liked my CD," and shortly afterward, in the "Questions for Tomatbluenote" thread, Aric posted the follwing: "Yeah singers always screw the band. My grandpa told me that his big band (Lee Konitz was on alto)had this chick singer that latter married Boyd Rayburn, and after gigs the band would gangbang her." It went downhill from there. Too many posters not only laughed at Aric's comment, they added speculation as to who was gang-banging who. No woman I know would have been comfortable reading that thread and most definitely not Norah Jones. That one thread had a LOT to do with Blue Note's decision to close that place down. I've related the story many times but it bears repeating. After Norah's Grammy awards show, several EMI mucky-mucks visited the Blue Note bulletin board to see what we were saying, saw this "singers always screw the band" stuff and absolutely flipped out. Their comment was something like, "We're paying FOR THIS?!?" Ah...verification of what always seemed so obvious at the time and since. Sorry Kevin, I hadn't seen you say this previously.

I still think Blue Note made a major mistake in alienating the core of their fanbase. Also, seems like that forum was a voice the BN execs listened to in help guiding their reissue program to a degree. I hope this doesn't sound self-serving. Since the arrival of Norah and the closing of the forum....the old BN reissue program has just gone down imho. The discontinuing of Rare Grooves alone makes me wish for the good ol' days of the BN Forum, when we had the ear of the guys in the office. ...oh yeah, and the new Blue Note Site sucks, anybody try to navigate that jumbled mess. The old design was so eye-appealing and easy to use. BN drops the internet ball again.

Hi Jazzdisco.org are unlikely to be better than the Ruppli-Cuscuna books, and the latest edition on CD-ROM is very likely to improve on the previous books (from what I've seen in the Capitol and ABC-Paramount/Impulse CD-ROMs). Are you interested in a particular musician or session? I'll have the CD-ROM soon, we can run a few searches and compare if you want. Best, F Cool! Thanks alot F, just post back up on this thread when you get it and we can run one two. Mike

Thanks for all the help!! I still have a question though. Other than the ability to cross-reference artists on sessions...Is it the same information (maybe just updated) that jazzdiso.com has on the sessions? Or is it more detailed than that? Seems to me there has to be more completed takes than they show on jazzdisco.

I'm eyeing the Blue Note Discography Book hardcover for nearly 200 bucks online and wonder if it's any different from the online source of jazz discography.com? Can anybody chime in?

wow...that's cool. Thanks for the clip Jim!

The idea of being "current", just seems like a pretty hollow argument to me. Sure, revivalist movements become real old, real quick. Mostly due to everyone hopping on the bandwagon of what initially was probably brought about by real enthusiasts. The millionth time you see something like a Big Daddy Booty and the Oak Street Rub Board Spankers...and that sort of thing at your local arts festival and you can get the idea. Good music never gets dated and is always sought out enthusiastically every generation or two by die-hards that make it fresh again.

Lou Donaldson "Hot Dog"...a nice clean mint OG copy I found for 3 dollars...

Somtimes somethings seem so old, they're new. Is it revivalism...revisitism...progression through regression....? Amy Winehouse uses a 60's style soul band (the Dap Kings) to back her up on one or two cuts on an album and they become huge hits. That stuff's so old that young people think it sounds new. I say this as a lifelong complete revivalist. I live in a world of my own making that stopped in 1971 basically. Not only do I see nothing wrong with it, I've bet my life upon it.

go BEYOND Jimmy or Lonnie Smith circa 1967. ....you can take it to a different place maybe...but you can never go beyond.

Wow...Jazz organ was really born 50 years ago today...that session pretty much created a whole genre of music.

I emailed them and this is the response I received...perhaps if those interested emailed also, it could get something happening... I am a huge fan of the job Water records did on the long-neglected Blue Note organ titles Lou Donaldson's "Say It Loud", Reuben Wilson's "A Groovy Situation" and Jack McDuff's "Who Knows What Tomorrow's Gonna Bring." I wondered if Water was planning to do anything further along these lines in the near future? hello! for now there's no plan of doing anything else in that genre but who knows... thanks for writing Filippo The email address is filippo@runtdistribution.com

Reuben Wilson...."A Groovy Situation" OG Blue Note vinyl....Reuben's killing it.

never found the interview....looked a thousand times at that page..am I retarded?

The idea of Ramon Morris (who's a complete killer...check out his one solo record...he also played with Patton, but never recorded) and Harold Ousley together with Reuben has GOT to be killer!

I wonder if they'll add extra material...that is a very short album in it's original form.

Ghost, I can see how this was an earlier attemp at some of the tunes that ended up on later LPs like Love Bug and Blue Mode. However, it doesn't mean it was 'bad', perhaps just different and the released versions of those songs are classics... The following session however, looks REALLY to be worthwile. The players are all top notch and it comes at a time when Reuben was on the top of his game playing-wise. The tunes were never released or re-recorded in any fashion. I get the feeling times were changing and they ended up with "Set Us Free" which has a completely different approach. If I were a betting man, I'd say this is probably a top-notch contender for a stunning Rare Grooves-type session that has never seen the light of day... Reuben Wilson Quintet Ramon Morris, Harold Ousley (ts) Reuben Wilson (org) Ted Dunbar (g) William Curtis (d) Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, June 26, 1970 Son Of Man Blue Note unissued Do-Ba-Dat-San! - Dance Ville - What's Gonna Happen To Me - Weaver Of Dreams

Does anybody know if they have an email address? I'd like to get in contact with them. Thanks ahead for any help.

I was checking out my Water reissues last night. What a great company and the production value and care was unbelievable. Plus, they put out great titles nobody else would even dream about....I mean to have Lou Donaldson's "Say It Loud", Reuben Wilson's "Groovy Situation" and others reissued in such a caring way is pretty unreal. Are they still active? Do they have a website?