American saxophonist Lou Donaldsonone of the last surviving figures of the bebop era of the 1950s, has died at the age of 98, according to a statement published by his family: “Sweet Poppa Lou Donaldson’s family sadly confirms his death on December 9. November 2024. A private service will be held. Thank you for your support of Lou and his music throughout his career. Thanks to you, his legendary contributions to Jazz will live on forever.
Strongly inspired by the work of Charlie Parker, Donaldson has among his greatest hits songs such as ‘Blues Walk’ (1958), ‘Alligator Bogaloo’ (1967) or ‘Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky (From Now On)’, and he recorded with jazz heroes such as pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Art Blakey and organist Jimmy Smith.
Born on November 1, 1926, Donaldson learned to play the clarinet as a child in Badin, a town in North Carolina. He played the instrument and saxophone in a US Navy band in the 1940s, before moving to New York in 1950 and listening to Charlie Parker in the clubs. His first recording dates back to April 7, 1952, as a sideman on Milt Jackson’s Blue Note debut with John Lewis, Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke (a quartet that would 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 recording, ‘Genius of Modern Music: Volume 2’.
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 formed the frontline horn section on Art Blakey’s seminal hard bop date ‘A Night At Birdland’. ‘. In 1957, ‘A Date With Jimmy Smith’ would be the first of Donaldson’s many fruitful collaborations with organists, and the saxophonist would feature musicians such as Baby Face Willette, Big John Patton and Lonnie Smith on his albums.
He was a bandleader in quartet, quintet and sextet formats for seven decades, earning the nickname ‘Sweet Poppa Lou’ for his upbeat, funky alto sax sound. Among Donaldson’s most memorable albums for Blue Note were his 1958 hard bop masterpiece ‘Blues Walk,’ with the brilliant title track, and ‘Alligator Bogaloo,’ a 1967 soul jazz classic that featured Smith, young guitar star George Benson and drummer Leo Morris (also known as Idris Muhammad), with whom Donaldson would form a funky partnership that would produce numerous songs such as ‘Ode To Billie Joe’, ‘Pot Belly’ and ‘It’s Your’ Thing’, which would be heavily sampled in hip-hop by artists like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Nas and others.
Lou Donaldson continued working for decades delving into funk and other sounds, and his catalog began coveted by a new generation of hip-hop producers. Lou Donaldson officially retired before the pandemic and his last performance took place in 2021.
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