BST 84271

Lou Donaldson - Mr Shing-A-Ling

Released - January 1968

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 27, 1967
Blue Mitchell, trumpet #2-5; Lou Donaldson, alto sax; Lonnie Smith, organ; Jimmy Ponder, guitar; Leo Morris, drums.

1971 tk.2 Ode To Billie Joe
1972 tk.10 Peepin'
1973 tk.16 The Kid
1974 tk.17 The Shadow Of Your Smile
1975 tk.18 The Humpback

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Ode to Billie Joe	Bobbie Gentry	October 27 1967
The Humpback	Lou Donaldson	October 27 1967
The Shadow of Your Smile	Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster	October 27 1967
Side Two
Peepin'	Lonnie Smith	October 27 1967
The Kid	Harold Ousley	October 27 1967

Liner Notes

LOU DONALDSON celebrated his homecoming to the Blue Note roster with one of the biggest selling albums of his prolific recording career.

Alligator Bogaloo (Blue Note 4263) was not only another excellent display of his mastery as an alto saxophonist, it established him as a jazz artist whose ears are very much attuned to the sounds of today. Thus his album also produced two best selling singles in the title tune and Rev. Moses.

Lou suddenly found his records being played by many jocks on R&B station who programmed him liberally, and for Lou he was rediscovered by many jocks and stations whose jazz programming had been almost nil since the advent of format programming.

Indeed this was a tribute to Lou. And, it merely gave proof of what most of the working writers in jazz hove been saying for years. Lou can communicate with an audience, and his sound is as much of the present as any of the big selling record artists. Possibly his lack of completely breaking through was due to the limitations of jazz exposure. But he is well on his way now.

In this present album, Lou has once again called upon Lonnie Smith, organ, and Leo Morris as his back up rhythm section. He has added Blue Mitchell a fellow Blue Note stable mate and a leader in his own tight on many Blue Note albums, including his most recent Boss Horn (Blue Note 4257) and introduces Jimmy "Fats" Ponder on guitar.

If there is a winning combination, why break it up? In Lou's case, he has always opened the door to bright, young new musicians. And he always selects the established musicians who believe in lyricism and melody.

Thus Mr. Shing-A-Ling is a welcome follow-up to Alligator Bogaloo.

Ode to Billie Joe was a tune that came out of left field, landed on best selling record charts, and established Bobbie Gentry as a new voice in the folk-rock field. On the heels of the popularity of the tune, King Curtis released on instrumental version almost identical with the track of the original. But the inventiveness of a true jazz musician is not to be denied. Here Lo takes the tune and gives it a new treatment. In his version, there is every indication that more jazz musicians will begin adding it to their books. He has slowed the tempo, accented the beat, and with Fats Ponder, Lonnie Smith and himself digs deeply into the tune giving Billie Joe far more depth.

Lou's only original in the album is The Humpback. This tune might be classified as a typical Donaldsonian opus. There is never a need for Lou to prove his technical facility. He writes simply and leans heavily on the melody. Blue Mitchell is the perfect companion. His solo is spare, but not sparse.

The Shadow of Your Smile, Johnny Mandel’s theme from The Sandpiper, is a showcase for his beautiful crystal sound. In this day when the electronic gadgets ore making inroads, Lou defies these new elements in the clarity of his tone. If we are to look for influence, there is much of Charlie Parker in evidence, (Do you still remember Bird?)

Lonnie Smith makes his writing contribution in Peepin’. Here is a young man, whose seniority in jazz is less than five years. A self taught organist. Unlike many of his peers, he did not play piano and then switch to organ. He began on organ, and his tastefulness belies his tender years.

This is a tune designed for the young generation and the oldsters too, who like a danceable beat. The improvisations laid down by the musicians are the joy of jazz. Their embellishments and individuality are the foundation of the jazz arts, and with Lou as the influence, so much con be said with simplicity.

Harold Ousley, a fine tenor saxophonist, whose writing talents are gaining slow recognition, is represented here with The Kid. It's a loose chart that allows ample interpretation. Each man shapes his improvisation on the sustained beat.

If Lou Donaldson with his new found popularity by the hit makers on radio becomes a most marketable artist, then his long years of paying dues may be about over.

Among the many dissidents of the jazz arts who always claim they con neither understand nor keep time with the music of the jazz musician, Lou Donaldson offers a sampling here that his jazz is easily definable.

As we noted on his Alligator Bogaloo album.”... As one of the chief ambassadors of the people to people type jazz comrnunication, this alto saxophonist, who has shown great concern for continuing the tradition of combining the old with the new, celebrates his homecoming with a new album that promises to continue his prominent position as one of the outstanding contributors to the sound of happy jazz.”

And...on this new album. he continues to communicate

-DEL SHIELDS
WLIB/FM. N Y
. Executive Secretory. NATRA

Lonnie Smith performs by courtesy of Columbia Records

Cover Photo & Design by by REID MILES
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER