Lou Donaldson RIP

[mjzee]

How could I forget his killer recordings with Grant Green and BJP?  I couldn't.

[Holy Ghost]

Sammich. When Lou was in the groove, it was total boogaloo. Keeps me entertained. RIP.

[andybleaden]

Oh wow - where to start - such a back catalogue and introduced me also to so many other artists.

 

What a character and what a legacy.

 

My fav 3 right now: (as is firing them up on the system -will change by next week!)

 

Alligator Boogaloo

Callin All Cats 

and that recording of John Pattons Funky Mama

 

I was lucky enough to have a whole set of videos of him playing along with Lonnie Smith which although not live in person were a pretty close second. Many of them are thankfully on YouTube...talking of which - I have just found this - 

 

[Michael Weiss]

FWIW, found this excerpt at the end of a cassette tape. A little documentation of LD and Al HArewood playing together in 1986.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL6ZC0TxGHw

 

[Dan Gould]

40 minutes ago, Michael Weiss said:

FWIW, found this excerpt at the end of a cassette tape. A little documentation of LD and Al HArewood playing together in 1986.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL6ZC0TxGHw

 

Is that your photo Michael?

 

[Michael Weiss]

2 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

Is that your photo Michael?

 

Yes. That was taken at Johnny Griffin's memorial service. Lou played a solo version of Thanks For the Memories.

[mjzee]

On 11/25/2024 at 7:05 AM, andybleaden said:

Oh wow - where to start - such a back catalogue and introduced me also to so many other artists.

 

What a character and what a legacy.

 

My fav 3 right now: (as is firing them up on the system -will change by next week!)

 

Alligator Boogaloo

Callin All Cats 

and that recording of John Pattons Funky Mama

 

I was lucky enough to have a whole set of videos of him playing along with Lonnie Smith which although not live in person were a pretty close second. Many of them are thankfully on YouTube...talking of which - I have just found this - 

 

Lou also talked about the Birdland date in the movie "It Must Schwing."  He was badmouthing Blakey there too.

[RiRiIII]

 

Speaking of Birdland, Lou was kind enough to sign my records 15 years ago in Athens.

 

Edited December 2 by RiRiIII
image

[Gheorghe]

On 11/25/2024 at 2:05 PM, andybleaden said:

Oh wow - where to start - such a back catalogue and introduced me also to so many other artists.

 

What a character and what a legacy.

 

My fav 3 right now: (as is firing them up on the system -will change by next week!)

 

Alligator Boogaloo

Callin All Cats 

and that recording of John Pattons Funky Mama

 

I was lucky enough to have a whole set of videos of him playing along with Lonnie Smith which although not live in person were a pretty close second. Many of them are thankfully on YouTube...talking of which - I have just found this - 

 

It´s interesting from my point of view to see that most fans of LD associate him for his work with organ players. 
It seems that different audiences have different points of departure in their beginnings of listening to jazz. 

In my case, the organ was completly absent in my consciousness with the exception of the moments, where Miles plays some chords on the organ when I saw him live in 73/74. It lasted  until the mid 80´s when there was a little club that  spinned always BN records in the small hours and that was the first time I heard an organ (A Date with Jimmy Smith, the one with LD, Donald Byrd, HANK MOBLEY and Blakey) which I dug and bought. And later some Larry Young albums, especially "Unity". 

But Lou Donaldson.... I got to hear him on record very very early in my making of a musician, it was when I still was a kid and had the two BN Thelonious Monk albums, absolutly basics for becoming a musician ! And on that one session where Max Roach replaces the eternal Art Blakey, there is LD with KD. "Carolina Moon".....eh ? I think LD was quite unknown in my country until he started to tour Europe in the 80´s. First time I saw him quite late, I was already playing myself, and LD was on stage in 1985. 
But I remember those tours in the mid 80´s still was a regular quinted with a bass player, a better drummer and an acoustic piano. I had some amuzement when I first saw Lonnie Smith with that Indian Turban, whom I had not known before and who sure is as fast as Jimmie Smith, but somehow after one show with the same gimmicks on following shows, I lost interested and would have loved it to hear LD´s wonderful alto again with a regular jazz quartet, and above all with some better drummer than the last time I heard em ..... 

On 12/2/2024 at 10:30 PM, RiRiIII said:

 

Speaking of Birdland, Lou was kind enough to sign my records 15 years ago in Athens.

 

Oh that´s a treasure ! 

I should have got signed a record by LD but allways thought artists sign only newer records of their own since they are proud of their latest achievment. ......... I WAS WRONG ! 

I wanted to get a record signed by LD and went to the record store to buy one I had thought is very new, it was called something like "Sweet Poppa Lou" or so, and when I spinned it I could not believe this is true. It was some hidous mid 70´s funk without any musical interest. So I had got trapped, the record landed in the garbage can. 

Don´t get me wrong, I love mid 70´s funk and jazzrock if it´s the Miles Groups, if it´s the Headhunters with Herbie, if it is some of the electric Chick Corea, if it´s Billy Cobham and George Duke, but not that music which sounds like background music in a shopping mall......

So I got no LD autograph....
I am not an autograph hunter since I get a bit ashamed if I ask for something like that, so I didn´t even dare to get Pharoah Sander´s autograph on my beloved copy of "Live at the East".....