Jazz Articles about Lou Donaldson

About Lou Donaldson

Radio & Podcasts

Roy Haynes, Brian Charette, Milt Jackson & Lou Donaldson

by Joe Dimino
December 1, 2024

Episode 882 takes a soulful turn as we honor the towering legacy of the late alto saxophone legend Lou Donaldson, who recently passed away at the age of 98. A true giant of jazz, Lou left an indelible mark on the genre, and in this episode, we pay tribute to his extraordinary life and music. We open the hour with tracks from his iconic 1962 LP Gravy Train, a record full of timeless grooves, before diving into selections from his ...

Interview

A Fireside Chat With Lou Donaldson

by AAJ Staff
November 12, 2024

This interview was originally published on All About Jazz in December 2002. Some years back, before he passed, Andy Simpkins and I spoke about his journey and I recall how fondly he spoke of Lou Donaldson. I told Simpkins that most of the things I read about Donaldson are prefaced by Charlie Parker and Simpkins matter of factly replied, “who isn't?" And that is just it. Who isn't? Heck, in some ways, even I am and I couldn't ...

Album Review

Thelonious Monk: Celebrating 75 Years Of His First Recordings Revisited

Read "Celebrating 75 Years Of His First Recordings Revisited" reviewed by Stefano Merighi

by Stefano Merighi
September 30, 2024

Affrontare oggi queste pagine monkiane significa non solo riconsiderare l'importanza cruciale di un repertorio senza tempo, ma provare proprio un'ebbrezza dell'ascolto difficilmente eguagliabile. Thelonious Monk marchia a fuoco con la sua personalità tutta un'epoca del jazz che è quella rivoluzionaria del bebop--nonché quella “riformista" dell'hard bop--e stabilisce molte delle coordinate che ispirano la migliore musica africana-americana di oggi, sia di orientamento free che di stampo armonico progressive. In questo caso, la collana ezz-thetics realizza un'operazione davvero interessante, assemblando ...

Catching Up With

Soul Survivor: Lou Donaldson Keeps the Bop Flame Alive

by C. Andrew Hovan
August 2, 2023

This article was first published at All About Jazz on November 2001. Now in his 75th year, Lou Donaldson counts among the few remaining jazz luminaries of the bebop era still active on the international scene. When I recently sat down to talk with him by phone from his home in Florida, Donaldson had just returned from tours in England, Italy and Greece. The ebullient alto man was then set to fly to New York the following Monday ...

Liner Notes

Lou Donaldson: Say It Loud

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 23, 2023

It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the sound of jazz could be heard lingering in the smoky corners of neighborhood bars in every major city from New York to Los Angeles. These ghetto hangouts were on what was often called the 'chitlin' circuit,' a network of predominantly black operated venues that presented organ combos as the norm. Be it at The Smiling Dog Saloon in Cleveland or The Front Room in Newark, jazz and more ...

Play This!

Lou Donaldson: Alligator Bogaloo

by Joseph Vella
January 31, 2023

Who doesn't love the playing of Lou Donaldson? This late-'60s gem is one of those recordings where everything hits right. It is not only brilliant (and wonderfully dated) but it's also the type of record even your non-jazz friends can snap and tap to. The combo of hard bop and soul jazz is infectious. Right from the opening title track, Lou and Co. set a groove and take us on a compelling sonic hang. George Benson's guitar and the tasty ...

Album Review

Thelonious Monk: Celebrating 75 Years Of His First Recordings Revisited

Read "Celebrating 75 Years Of His First Recordings Revisited" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
October 26, 2022

Another stone resurrection from the Swiss-based ezz-thetics label, Celebrating 75 Years Of His First Recordings Revisited collects 23 of the tracks Thelonious Monk recorded for Blue Note between 1947 and 1952, remastered by ezzthetics' sonic jedi Michael Brändli at Hardstudios in Winterthur. Situated north of Zurich, Winterthur is Switzerland's equivalent of Silicon Valley and Hardstudios looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. The audio quality Brändli achieves there for ezz-thetics' has been raved about many times on these pages. ...