November 10, 2024
The great alto saxophonist, NEA Jazz Master, and Blue Note legend Lou Donaldson passed away on November 9 at 98 years old his family has announced. Born in Badin, North Carolina on November 1, 1926, Donaldson’s early style was deeply influenced by Charlie Parker, though he soon developed his own distinctive soulful and bluesy sound on the alto saxophone.
After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Donaldson moved to New York City in 1950 and soon made in-roads into the city’s vibrant jazz scene. Blue Note founder Alfred Lion was impressed after hearing Donaldson perform at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem and began inviting him into the Blue Note fold where he would be a key player at several pivotal moments in Blue Note history, becoming a catalyst for many of the directions that the label would take and introducing many future Blue Note artists in his bands.
Donaldson’s first-ever record date on April 7, 1952 was as a sideman on Milt Jackson’s Blue Note debut featuring John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke (that foursome would go on to become the Modern Jazz Quartet). The following month Lion had Donaldson back in the studio as part of the Thelonious Monk Sextet for another foundational bebop date.
Three weeks later Lion was ready to give Donaldson his first shot and leading his own session for which the saxophonist formed a quartet featuring Horace Silver (the pianist’s first appearance on a Blue Note record). The resulting 10” LP New Faces—New Sounds: Lou Donaldson Quintet/Quartet would commence a 22-year run on the label during which Donaldson would produce numerous classic albums spanning bebop, hard bop, soul jazz, and jazz-funk.
In 1953, Donaldson co-led a quintet session with Clifford Brown that marked the sensational trumpeter’s debut recording, and in 1954 Donaldson and Brown were the frontline horn section for Art Blakey’s seminal hard bop date A Night At Birdland. A Date With Jimmy Smith in 1957 would be the first of Donaldson’s many fruitful collaborations with organists and the saxophonist would go on to introduce the likes of Baby Face Willette, Big John Patton, and Lonnie Smith on his albums.
Among Donaldson’s most memorable Blue Note albums are his 1958 hard bop masterpiece Blues Walk featuring the cool struttin’ title track, and Alligator Bogaloo, a 1967 soul jazz classic which featured Smith, young guitar star George Benson, and drummer Leo Morris (aka Idris Muhammad) with whom Donaldson would form a funky affiliation that produced numerous tracks like “Ode To Billie Joe,” “Pot Belly,” and “It’s Your Thing” that would be heavily sampled in hip-hop by artists including A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Nas, and others.
Watch Donaldson perform at the Blue Note At 75 concert at the Kennedy Center in 2014:
