LT-1028

Lou Donaldson - Midnight Sun

Released - 1980

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, July 22, 1960
Lou Donaldson, alto sax; Horace Parlan, piano; George Tucker, bass; Al Harewood, drums; Ray Barretto, congas #1-5,7.

tk.2 The Squirrel
tk.5 Si Si Safronia
tk.6 Dog Walk
tk.7 Exactly Like You
tk.10 Avalon
tk.12 Midnight Sun
tk.13 Candy

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Candy	Kramer-Whitney-David	July 22 1960
Midnight Sun	Mercer-Hampton-Burke	July 22 1960
Avalon	Jolson-De Sylva-Rose	July 22 1960
Side Two
The Squirrel	Tadd Dameron	July 22 1960
Si Si Safronia	Lou Donaldson	July 22 1960
Exactly Like You	Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh	July 22 1960
Dog Walk	Lou Donaldson	July 22 1960

Liner Notes

LOU DONALDSON

"When I was coming up, you were expected to play with all the bands."

That was Lou Donaldson expressing a certain disdain for the instant star syndrome surrounding many of the younger musicians today. When Lou arrived in New York (at the age of twenty-three), gigs were scarce and even sideman jobs in jazz were not easy to come by. But within a short period of time, Lou had recorded with the likes of Milt Jackson, Clifford Brown, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, and Gene Ammons. He also paid a lot of R&B dues in the early 50s, but by 1952 he was a Blue Note artist.

Except for a three year stay with Cadet Records in the mid-60s, Lou was a Blue Note artist until 1975. In many ways he was synonomous with Blue Note. Whether it was 50s bebop or 60s soul jazz that Blue Note was into, Lou was there with some of the best of it. He was also instrumental in bringing musicians such as Grant Green, Horace Parlan, and John Patton to the label.

But the music that perhaps best expresses Lou's personal side is the sessions he did with piano and conga drums. These sessions always had a light airy groove to them and the ebullient Donaldson personality was allowed to flow through without upsetting anyone's preconceived notions as to what the music should sound like.

Because of the fact that Lou did play with all the bands, his music has always been eclectic in a happy, most positive way. It is hard to remember now, but the alto players of the 1940s were a unique and diversified lot. It is easy to think of Charlie Parker as the only alto player of the era because of the wide-ranging effects of his influence, but in reality the alto players of the era were all distinctive players. Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter, Willie Smith, Hilton Jefferson, Tab Smith, Earl Bostic, Pete Brown, Louis Jordan (to name some of the most prominent players) were all in the ears of Lou before he heard Bird. To his credit, he has always kept an extremely warm sound and a book of interesting older melodies. Any musician who has ever played with Lou for any length of time has remarked on his ability to come up with the damnedest tunes!

To these basic traits add a strong affinity for the blues and an ability to swing regardless of what he is playing and you have a pretty fair picture of this talented musician.

There is another facet to Lou Donaldson that is seldom mentioned, but is important to put this music in perspective. Lou is a professional musician who works clubs steadily. He is a pro in the sense that his bands always look the part in terms of their dress and bandstand attitude. There are never any raggedy cats in Lou's groups. And with an ear to what current trends will make his music more attractive to his audience, Lou is quick to tell which way the wind is blowing.

In 1960 it was easy for Lou to see that the Hammond organ was becoming a popular attraction in the places he played. Shortly after this session was made, Lou went to the organ sound for his own group. It was a successful sound for him for fifteen years and a lot of very good organists came out of Lou's band, including Billy Gardner, John Patton, Lonnie Smith, Charlie Earland, Leon Spencer, and Caesar Frazier. That in itself might be one reason that Blue Note kept this excellent music on the shelf for so long, but then, at the end of 1960, Lou brought Grant Green back to New York with him! The combination of organ plus Grant was probably the reason that Here 'Tis (Blue Note 84066) — cut just six months after this session — was issued instead.

Lou would record four of these tunes later. 'Candy" and "Avalon" were on his Gravy Train LP (Blue Note 84079) with similar instrumentation but, except for Ben Tucker, different personnel. This "Candy" is more up and doesn't have the intro in 2/4 as the later version did. Midway through his solo, Horace Parlan begins to conduct a revival meeting and sets a beautiful groove. Tucker who was one of the great walking bass players prior to his retirement gets a taste here before Lou returns.

Lionel Hampton's "Midnight Sun" is seldom heard by horn players, but as Lou ably demonstrates, it is a natural. Nice Tucker here.

The treatment of "Avalon" is not all that different from the Gravy Train version except that, like "Candy," it is better Lou really has the pots on here. Horace Parlan is a ball every time out on the album, and his work here is an example of firm, swinging piano. Tucker and Harewood have their innings before Lou and Ray Barretto throw a chorus back and forth.

Inclusion of Tadd Dameron's "The Squirrel" and Lou's "Dog Walk" continues Donaldson's reputation as an animal lover. Who could forget such favorites as "Goose Grease," "Calling All Cats," "Hog Maw," "Donkey Walk', "Snake Bone," "Turtle Walk," "Hot Dog," "Fried Buzzard," "Sow Belly Blues," and the immortal "Alligator Boogaloo?" "The Squirrel" gives Harewood and Barretto a chance to work out.

"Si Si Safroniat' like "Midnight Sun',' was recorded for Cadet, but as with all the titles recorded at a later date, these versions are better. The intro and ending of "Safronia" are Latinized, but in between there is straight ahead blowing by Lou and Parlan.

"Exactly Like You" was recorded six months before Gene Ammons hit version (which also featured Ray Barretto), but Lou takes it at medium up tempo where Jug's version was decidedly slower There is some beautiful Lou here.

'Dog Walk" is a groovy lope rather than a leisurely stroll. Parlan really rolls 'em here setting the stage for Tucker and a return to the theme.

When Lou Donaldson returned to Blue Note in 1966, he was firmly into the organ soul groove. He had a string of hit LPs and was playing a lot of R&B tunes. Because of the loudness of the music, he took up an electronic attachment for his saxophone. The electronics may have solved his problem of being heard with a loud band, but it created another problem in that his crystal clear tone was absent from his recordings. Despite the fact that this album was recorded nearly twenty years ago, it is a new release. And it is the first Lou Donaldson album in ten years that doesn't have that electronic saxophone. That fact alone will be a cause for rejoicing among his many fans.

Within the last year Lou has returned to the sound heard here for his in-person performances. He plays a lot less R&B, a lot more bebop and more often than not leaves his electronics off. Thus he starts 1980 the way he started 1960, and if the music he plays this year is as good as the music he plays here, 1980 should be a banner year for Lou Donaldson!

BOB PORTER
Radio Free Jazz, WBGO-FM Radio