Lou Donaldson C. 1953

[Peter Friedman]

Was listening this morning to "Clifford Brown - Memorial Album" on Blue Note.  This 1953 session has some truly fine alto playing by Lou Donaldson. There is no question (to me) that Lou was playing Bird inspired Bebop on this date.

This may be my favorite  Lou Donaldson playing on record . Lou also played in that style with Art Blakey, and perhaps as well on some of the early  Jimmy Smith albums. 

But at some point Donaldson's played changed, and that earlier Bebop - Bird influenced style seemed to fade from his alto work. Perhaps (?)  he discovered that he could appeal to a broader audience and benefit economically by moving into a Soul Jazz  style.

While I can enjoy some of his later playing, it is that Bebop oriented playing from  that 1953 Blue Note date that stands out for me as the pinnacle of Lou Donaldson's recorded work.

 

[Big Beat Steve]

Where, more exactly, would you draw the line between this "earlier" phase and the later period when you feel his playing changed and moved towards Soul Jazz?

Just wondering ...

[jazzbo]

In my listening I don't think he ever really "abandoned Bird" but moved with the music and market into a harder bop and a more soulful style. I hear bebop foundation still there, with the newer beats and expressiveness. I wonder sometimes where Bird himself would have landed if he could have miraculously been healthier and played on a few decades. . . .

[Dan Gould]

I am mostly with Lon on this ... and certainly Lou remained in Bird's thrall if the latter 30-40 years of performances are any indication.  His setlists included the inevitable soul jazz hits but also copious amounts of Charlie Parker bebop. No Fusion of Con-fusion whatsoever.

[JSngry]

He realized that he was Lou Donaldson and not Charlie Parker.

[medjuck]

I agree with Peter.  I liked it when he thought he was Charlie Parker.  I remember being really impressed by his work with Blakey. 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I am very fond of Lou's "Blues Walk". I am really glad that i got to see Lou so many times before he retired. He had a great stage presence, even if he repeated a lot of the same stories year after year.

That said, I do appreciate the earlier Clifford Brown & Art Blakey dates too. Lou did too. He was not bashful about it.

[JSngry]

Sometimes I think I'm Sherlock Holmes. But I'm not, and nothing will ever make it so.

[Peter Friedman]

Of course it is all a matter of personal taste. 

At the time period that Lou Donaldson recorded with Clifford and with Blakey, he was among my favorite alto players. Ten years and more later, there were numerous alto players I greatly enjoyed while Lou had slipped far down the list of my favorites.

[mhatta]

Speaking of Lou Donaldson in 1953, there’s a bootleg recording of a New York live performance with Horace Silver on piano—it’s a really great, Parker-esque performance. That said, I get the feeling that Lou returned to the Parker style in his later years anyway (like on “Forgotten Man” from Timeless).

That said, personally, I prefer the rich tone Lou had during his Soul Jazz days. Opinions are probably divided on his use of Varitone, though... I still listen to the live album "The Scorpion" quite often.

[Gheorghe]

Somewhere I saw a picture of a jam at "Tony´s" in Brooklyn, from that period. And it´s Bird AND Lou Donaldson. I would have liked to hear that. 

[Brad]

7 hours ago, JSngry said:

He realized that he was Lou Donaldson and not Charlie Parker.

Not many can be Parker plus he realized he had to find his own style. 

9 hours ago, jazzbo said:

In my listening I don't think he ever really "abandoned Bird" but moved with the music and market into a harder bop and a more soulful style. I hear bebop foundation still there, with the newer beats and expressiveness. I wonder sometimes where Bird himself would have landed if he could have miraculously been healthier and played on a few decades. . . .

I always wonder whether Bird would have embraced avant garde. 

[JSngry]

He had eyes for Varese. He knew he was trapped, by life. But he remained open and curious up until the end.Because he only heard music.

"Avant-garde" is a lazy, bullshit term anyway. So is "free". So are all these labels. Witness the discussion about "what is Honky Tonk?" I'll tell you what it it - it's goddamn Honk Tonk, that's what it is 

[Stompin at the Savoy]

Some of the earlier recordings on the Lou Donaldson Mosaic still sound pretty boppish.  Lou Takes Off, for ex.

 

 

Edited 13 hours ago by Stompin at the Savoy

[Brad]

11 hours ago, JSngry said:

He had eyes for Varese. He knew he was trapped, by life. But he remained open and curious up until the end.Because he only heard music.

"Avant-garde" is a lazy, bullshit term anyway. So is "free". So are all these labels. Witness the discussion about "what is Honky Tonk?" I'll tell you what it it - it's goddamn Honk Tonk, that's what it is 

You can say that about anything, honky tonk, for example. 

[Stompin at the Savoy]

I like both sides of Lou Donaldson.  His bop soloing is fun and at times reaches greatness. His conception, ideas and technical ability to realize them. The soul jazz stuff is fun too, and even in his later stuff he still tends frequently to reach down inside and pull out some ferocious bop.